WHAT ARE YOU CANNING TODAY?

[Ldychef2k]

Thanks for the welcome!

Well, when I make stew for the table, I dredge the beef in seasoned flour and then brown severely, add liquids and veggies, the standard thing. I wasn't sure how I would like a thinner stew.

I have noticed that no recipes call for thickener of any kind, for anything. I wondered why, but now that you say it is separating that is the issue, that's not a big dieal if you shake to combine.

Are there other reasons not to use thickener? I watched the video at canningusa.com and they made meatloaf but said that "since we can't use a binder" they made canned meatloaf without it. They didn't say why they couldn't use a binder. Can anyone help with that?

Thanks again for the welcome.

Kris

We all look forward to your input!

I make the cream of mushroom soup, thickened with flour. It does separate a bit, but I just shake the jar vigorously before opening and that seems to do the trick. So you can probably use flour to thicken your stews, and risk some separation. I don't thicken my stews, but I never thought about it until you just asked. If it works for the cream soups, why not beef stew? Worth a shot! I do make my soups and stews packed with veggies and meat, not much broth, so they feel thick to me! And you can thicken so easily when you are heating it up after opening the jar, with some water and cornstarch, so you don't have to risk loss of quality. Just some thoughts!

 

[freemotion]

My understanding is that it breaks down in the canning process and doesn't end up binding. Just makes a mess. The only grain product you can add to canned soups and stews is whole barley or possibly wheat berries, added uncooked, a tablespoon per quart, when you are filling the jars. Haven't done this, as we are not huge grain eaters here, and I'd just as soon have a biscuit or piece of toast with my soup.

 

[Ldychef2k]

Good day today. Had to freeze the green beans because the pressure canner is delayed in the mail. That's okay, it will be fine. (I am telling myself that as I pace and hyperventilate.)

Got some beautiful peaches today and put up 15 half pints of jam, as well as an additional 10 of nectarines.

Today, a local grocery store had an amazing sale on whole chickens (for this area) at 78 cents a pound. I now have ten chickens. The main reason i wanted the pressure canner was to do chicken, and now i am scared ! I told my mom (who grew up on open kettle canning and was sick a lot) that I was canning chicken and she sucked all the air out of the room in one breath.

I am going to follow every possible instruction and heed every warning, do ONE chicken and see how it goes. I am going to cook it first, about 2/3 the way, skin and bone it, and then can the meat, fill with broth to about 1-1.5 inches from the top, and process for 90 minutes at 11 pounds for our area. Is that right?

Is it okay to add onions, carrots and celery to the stewing water, strain it out, reduce the stock and use it as the canning liquid?

Mushrooms were on sale today so I got three pounds and will slice and dehydrate them tomorrow. Also will dehydrate some frozen veggies for my "the sky is falling" pantry.

And since my onion jalapeno jam was so awesome, if I do say so myself, I got some Walla Walla onions and a handful of peppers to make a batch tomorrow. Winco had them SO cheap.

I only worked a half day today (self-employed medical transcriptionist, working at home) so I think I will knock out a couple more hours tonight, hoping not to get distracted again by "putting food by".

Have a great day ! We dropped from 111 to 107 to 104 this week! Tomorrow, I may need a sweater !

Kris

PS: Thanks for letting me say this here. My family thinks I have lost my mind !

 

[Farmfresh]

More green beans, bing cherries and hopefully some sweet corn!

 

[Dace]

T I told my mom (who grew up on open kettle canning and was sick a lot) that I was canning chicken and she sucked all the air out of the room in one breath.

That made me laugh!!

 

[Farmfresh]

I have canned chicken for years. I am currently feeding my dogs some chicken that I canned in 2005! (Those dozen jars got lost on a back shelf with my "old" system) Thing is that chicken smells just perfect after 4 years in a jar in my basement. A little too old to feed my family (ok a lot too old) still if the SHTF and dire need arose it would probably be just fine. As it is my dogs are LOVIN' it!

If you do things correctly there is no problem. Dark, cool, and dry storage keeps things longest.

My grandma was actually the one I watched canning chicken first. No open kettle for THAT modern woman - pressure canner all of the way.

Of course I did get to witness he EXPLODING a pressure canner once!

 

[punkin]

I canned 13 1/2 qts. of blackberries last night and this morning. I had to buy the blackberries, cause I can't find any of any amount to pick around here.

It's OK, though. I got 5 gal. for $10 per. They were beautiful berries and out of the whole 5 gal., I may have thrown out 6.

While I had my canning stuff out, I also canned 2 1/2 qts. of tomato juice.

 

[me&thegals]

Drying about a gallon of mint leaves and then canning hopefully about 6 jars of black raspberry jelly. I might even get to some refrigerator pickles

 

[Dace]

Can I have your recipe for Beep Soup?

You got up at 4:30 to can?

O.K. here goes..... for sufficient canning I use 1 cup each variety.

Pinto
Great Northern
Black Beans
Lite Red Kidney
Large Limas
Small Limas
Blackeyes
Garbonzas
Navy
Green Split (peas)
Yellow Split (peas)
Lentils

You can also add any other bean that you like to this list.

When I can them, I have chunck of cooked ham to stick in the beans. What I do is put a couple scoops of beans in the jar and then add a chunk of hot cooked ham and then fill it the rest of the way and then add the hot liquid. It is so good. I don't add salt as it's already in the ham.

Happy Bean Soup Canning!!!!

I would like to do this but the only recipes I have found include a 24 hour soak followed by a 30 minute boil.

Can anyone clarify what a 'couple scoop' would look like? I know they expand, so do I fill the jar halfway or less?

 

[freemotion]

Hopefully Acres will see this and give her wisdom. I would fill them depending on my goals for the beans....for soup, I would use broth as the liquid and fill the jars about halfway with beans, and I like to add veggies, too, so I would put some veggies in, too, garlic, onions, chopped collard greens. If I wanted it to be more beany and less soupy, I would go maybe 2/3 beans.