WHAT ARE YOU CANNING TODAY?

[flowerbug]

the usual tips are to pre-soak in ice-water, to use the smaller pickles, to use actual pickling cucumbers which are firmer, to use pickle crisp (calcium chloride), to not heat them up too much after packing and pouring the brine, to use distilled water, to cut off the flower end, to remove the seeds/pulp, to use grape leaves, raspberry leaves, ... i am not making any pickles this season so we are taking it easy this summer after last years way too many cucumbers grown season. we still have cases of pickles in the closet and neither of use eats them. Mom decided that the fish sticks with home-made tartar sauce (with a lot of pickles in it) was too hard on her stomach so we haven't been eating those for a while now.

all i can say is a good google search will bring up plenty of good tips and others which don't sound like they make much sense, but of course with my bent being what it is i'm more likely to listen to people who do it but also people who actually study it using actual measurements and documenting their procedures...

 

[BarredBuff]

I froze five more quarts of broccoli on Saturday night. I expect to have more tonight.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I made 6 Quarts + 1 pint of Cranberry juice. Have more cranberries in fridge to can tonight. I love this stuff!!
Going to try cherries for cherry juice using the same process.

A I picked up another Ball Canning Book. It was only $8 and has some new recipes, but it also has some recipes showing how to use some of the odder preserves (at least to me).

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Any readers do dry canning? I plan to try that with potatoes this year, and perhaps carrots. And zucchini, and ???????

 

[wyoDreamer]

Just Steam and Pressure canning here. Have not heard of Dry Canning. I will have to look that up.

My Water Bath Canner developed a hole in it so I replaced it with a steam canner a couple of years ago.
I mentioned buying a new pressure canner because the one I have has a bulged bottom. DH says there is a pressure canner in the basement, it is hidden in the canning cupboard down there. I vaguely remember seeing it, but I think it is missing parts - if it is all there, but not what I want it will definitely be missing parts.

 

[Hinotori]

Dry canning or oven canning is for dry goods. It was never for anything else. Air doesn't transfer heat efficiently. All the original canning instructions for it were for wheat, nuts, and beans. All it does is kill insect eggs and help make a seal. It's really hard to even get water to a boil in an oven

Mom has a horror story from when she was in highschool and one of her classmates mother heard that you could can in the oven so she did dozens of pints of green beans. They had a meal with them later on and 5 of the 12 family members died from botulism. The school had a lecture on proper canning methods after that as did Mom's 4H group. This has given Mom a complex about canning vegetables so I hear this story at least once a year.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Picked up 4 dz. canning jars while in town today. I'll be all set when canning season rolls around.

Dry canning or oven canning is for dry goods. It was never for anything else. Air doesn't transfer heat efficiently. All the original canning instructions for it were for wheat, nuts, and beans. All it does is kill insect eggs and help make a seal. It's really hard to even get water to a boil in an oven

This is a different process. The veggies are packed in the jar, without liquid, then pressure canned, just like you would if adding the liquid. Same time frame, same pressure. We can meat without adding extra liquid. Most veggies have quite a lot of liquid in them. The veggies WOULD get up to temp. Supposedly, dry canning improves on the texture of the veggies, when compared to typical canning with them being immersed in water. They even mix up meat loaf, and dry can that. Any how, I'm interested in hearing from any readers who HAVE tried this process. If none have, I may be the first to experiment!

 

[henless]

Never heard of this. I always thought dry canning was putting dry goods (beans, flour, rice) or dehydrated fruit/veggies in jars and either canning in the oven or using a vacuum sealer. Let us know how it turns out please?

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Will do. I ran across it on Rebel Canners. It makes sense that it can be done, b/c when you buy pumpkin or squash pie filling, it's a very thick puree. So, why not potato or carrot chunks? One poster said she did carrot and potato, along with some Onion Soup Mix. Sounds like an instant base for a great soup. She said it tastes just like the veggies that have been cooked all day with a roast beef.

 

[Mini Horses]

Didn't can but did prep and blanch 4 qts of squash from the garden for freezer. Cooked up & ate some of another couple qts. Yummy with onions & bacon. Now some is in frig for later in week. Have a good amount of Italian sausage in freezer, some will be good with that stuff!