The Can-o-phobic's Corner

[Farmfresh]

Freemotion........WTH is up with that dudes HAIR?????

Then it is not just me?


Actually you are right the new pressure canners have the MOST safety features on them. My new (OK 3 yrs old now) All American pressure cooker has a safety blow out valve, a pressure gauge AND a jiggle weight! That is TWO ways to monitor the pressure, and actually three ways (if the pressure gauge would pop) to relieve too much pressure. In addition the lid bolts on and screws down with big old wing nuts!

My old borrowed All American canner that I learned on just had the safety valve, and a pressure gauge in addition to the bolt on top.

When my Grandma Nettie blew the safety valve on her canner she had turned it up on high to get the pressure up fast and then got busy and was not watching her pressure gauge it was at OVER 25 pounds of pressure when it burst. Most things are canned at 10 pounds. Actually I think she replaced the safety valve which I think was made of a soft metal (maybe lead) and kept on using the canner.

The again a little explosion was nothing to bother Grandma Nettie. This is the same gal that used to drag us all outside to "watch" when there were tornado warnings!!!

You know ... it is amazing that I lived.

 

[SKR8PN]

I will probably break down and pop for a pressure-canner if and when I ever get an outdoor propane-fired canning stove/burner set up in some form.

Honestly, my reluctance to pressure-cook or pressure-can is not so much the danger to life and limb from "asplosions", it is the thought of having to clean up afterwards

Aren't fermented foods also generally too acidic for botulism?

Pat

Pat..........this is very similar to the one I bought at Dicks Sporting Goods for 89.00. Works GREAT!
http://www.amazon.com/King-Kooker-C...5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1278709285&sr=8-5

 

[TanksHill]

Thanks ORChick. I appreciate the encouragement.

I do dehydrate some things. Onions, peppers fruit etc. I have two dehydrators on I got at good will for a steal and the other I have had for ever. That door trick is pretty interesting. I will have to make note of it and give it a try. I am sure we will have some good heat this Aug.

I pressure can as well. Last year was my first year to can veggies. My family voted to blanch and freeze instead. You know I did some chicken breast I got on sale a while back. It works great in pot pies. Mostly I find myself canning beans. Black beans, kidney etc.. I like the convenience of having them ready to go when needed. Oh yeas ad chicken stock. My canner is a Presto. Just a year old. It has the rubber gasket, safety lock and gauge. I watch it like a hawk and haven't had any problems with it.

As for fermenting..... I have my kefir. I have thought about sauerkraut and the ice pickles. It's just another one of those things to learn on my list. Maybe I will tackle it this winter when I have a bit more free time.

g

 

[VickiLynn]

The Fed Ex truck just pulled in with my brand new Presto 23. Now I'm afraid to open the box!
I've got 'ta stop reading this thread!

 

[SKR8PN]

The Fed Ex truck just pulled in with my brand new Presto 23. Now I'm afraid to open the box!
I've got 'ta stop reading this thread!

BE BRAVE!! Cut that sucker open NOW!!!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I used to have a pressure canner.

It was an older model, made in the USA, the type that my husband said his maternal grandmother used.

It had never been opened. My FIL picked it up at a garage sale, brand new, in it's original box - former owners said it was purchased and sat in the closet for umpteen years never opened.

I didn't get to use it, either.

My Aunt asked me to bring it to her house - she was going to teach me to pressure can...but she wanted to use it, too.

Never saw it again. And apparantly, my Uncle thinking it was just an old box of junk, tossed it.

Moral - never loan out a pressure canner.

but - I've not been that upset because I have heard the story of how my MIL's pressure canner blew up - and she had to go to the ER to have glass shards from the jars that had exploded removed from her face and arms.

Thanks, I'll stick to water bath....

although, we picked and snapped a bushel of green beans, and Becca's mom canned 21 pints of green beans last night out of that bushel...and subsequently cooked the remaining for their dinner

however, She said she wants me to learn....I have about another 1-2 bushels of green beans...........................................................

 

[kimnkell]

If a ferment goes bad, I think you can tell by the odor before you eat it - right?

I'm not afraid of canning. Just haven't felt the need to yet. I don't know shy, but the thought of canned meat makes me . I wouldn't mind having a better way to preserve stock though. Right now I freeze alot of stuff. Not exactly SS if the power goes out. We do have a generator for that purpose and it'll work as long we have fuel to run it.

Canning is a great way to preserve meat. I love it! When I find ground beef on sale I will buy alot of it and fry it up and put it in jars pour boiling water over it and process it in the pressure canner. I just used my last jar this week from what I had canned back in the winter. Time to find another big sale. Canning has saved us lots of money on groceries and gas for that matter. That way I always have something in pantry quick to eat. Heck, makes me wanna go can something...lol..

 

[ORChick]

If a ferment goes bad, I think you can tell by the odor before you eat it - right?

I'm not afraid of canning. Just haven't felt the need to yet. I don't know shy, but the thought of canned meat makes me . I wouldn't mind having a better way to preserve stock though. Right now I freeze alot of stuff. Not exactly SS if the power goes out. We do have a generator for that purpose and it'll work as long we have fuel to run it.

Canning is a great way to preserve meat. I love it! When I find ground beef on sale I will buy alot of it and fry it up and put it in jars pour boiling water over it and process it in the pressure canner. I just used my last jar this week from what I had canned back in the winter. Time to find another big sale. Canning has saved us lots of money on groceries and gas for that matter. That way I always have something in pantry quick to eat. Heck, makes me wanna go can something...lol..

Now this is exactly why I have never felt a huge need to buy a pressure canner. I am sure that a jar of already cooked, and then boiled again, and then heated again before serving, ground beef crumbles are useful in certain circumstances - I can imagine that there are many kid-friendly meals that could use this quite well. But, well, I don't have kids, and I married a foreigner with different taste memories from his childhood, and I can't think of a single thing that I cook that would incorporate this sort of meat. Not to disparage anyone else who does this, but this would be a waste of meat, money, shelf space, jars, etc. for me. Just goes to show that we are all different, doesn't it?

 

[TanksHill]

Different strokes for different folks!!

 

[SKR8PN]

We pressure can venison stew, beef stew, chicken chunks and beef chunks. The stews are a great 10 minute meal. The chicken is used for soups, chicken salad, etc. The beef is great for soups, beef and noodles, beef stroganoff, etc. All make for quick, easy and CHEAP meals.