Canning?

[muldoon]

I have been interested in canning for a while but a little intimidated by it at the same time.  Anyway, I think this is the year I'm going to jump in.  I am looking at a pressure canner made by an american company, the 15 1/2 quart with a gasketless seal.  It seems well liked overall based on what I have read.  I also am planning to get the Ball book on canning, which has some information and recipes to start from. 

My question for you guys and gals that already do this is whether or not I am thinking too big or too small?  What size setups do you use and what would you get if you were starting over? 

I have a modest garden, hoping for 10-12 tomatoe plants this year and 5-6 cucumber plants.  Peppers and beans, maybe some squash, garlic, carrots and onions during the winter months.  I do go to farmers market from time to time so I could see augmenting my produce and canning with that as well.  My goals would be to simply make some changes in the food we consume and of course be able to put more back for the future.  I would love to have some homemade salsa year round instead of just in the summer.   

Anyway, aside from the above - what else can you think of that would be essentials?  What size jars would you start out with?  Any specific brands to look for or avoid?  Would I be correct in assuming that if I used a pressure cooker process I could use the same method for everything?  (high and low acid foods?) 

Maybe the Ball book has answers to all my questions already and I should wait until I get it...  anyway, I would appreciate any thoughts on the subject in general before I just go diving in.  Thanks. 

[fishing_guy]

Our friends got us into some canning, especially salsa and pickled veggies.  All has been more of the high acid type.

It was very easy to pick up.  For our family, the half pints work better now that the kids are all grown.  They are easy to share with non-canning friends and relatives.  Plus, it gives you a lot more variety.  We do all of our canning in big pots, and process 8-9 jars at a time.

The Ball book is very good.  We have done a bunch of salsas from it.  We also have done some from the internet.  We got an apple-tomotilla receipe  which is absolutely to die for.  We also do a roasted chipolte/Roma salsa from the Ball book which will knock your socks off.  I smoked and dried my own jalapenos and some other hot peppers and used those.

We supplant our home grown heirloom tomatoes with Big Boys and Romas from the Farmer's market.

It probably doesn't save a lot of money, but the taste is way worth it.

[glenn kangiser]

My mom used to can but we only freeze.  We are too lazy.

[Sassy]

I always froze veggies & fruit but used to can salmon - would use the pint jars & give them away for gifts most of the time - people always semed to enjoy them - too lazy to can anything now.  I had a great big pressure cooker - can't remember the size - Ball & Mason jars seemed to work the same.   Like anything - making bread etc, if you do it on a regular basis you get a routine down & it doesn't seem to be that big a deal after awhile.  HG seems like she's done a lot of canning.

[peternap]

Fishing guy pretty much covered it except I do mostly beans.

It is a little scary with all the warnings but it is like reloading. Read the warnings so you know what they are, then ignore them. Just follow the prescribed methods and you will be fine. Pay attention to the food when you open the jars for use and make sure there is a good seal and the indicator pops.

[Redoverfarm]

I was raised on canned foods.  My mother would can anything she could get in a jar.  Really about the cheapest way to store food.  No electricity required such as a freezer.  She canned every vegetable imaginable that was raised by ourselves.  Also canned  beef,pork, venison, chicken and fish.  The worst part about canning is "stock rotation". 

My DW is a city girl in that she does not can.  So Mom to the rescue on occasions.  She has indicated that she would like to learn which might be an option in the future.  I built my mother a cellar for her canned goods.  Right now if commercial foods dried up I think we would live comfortable for at least 5 years.   

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Muldoon, if you have a big soup kettle you could do high acid foods in, I wouldn't spring for a new pressure canner until you'd made some pickles and tomatoes and salsas which don't require the pressure canner.  Also, you could probably find a used pressure canner at a garage or estate sale and it will work just fine (my aunt gave me her old one after we sold the farm because she didn't need it anymore.)  Start with canning tomatoes, because they are just the easiest thing to begin with, and do some pickles.  As someone said earlier, by the time you figure in your cost and labor, it may not be the cheapest way, but the flavor of ripe tomatoes in the middle of winter will be well worth it.  A lot of times you can advertise on freecycle and get canning jars so that you don't have to spring for new ones.  ALWAYS use new lids for them, though.  Sometimes used ones will reseal, but a lot of the time they don't, and you just wasted all that time and effort for food that will end up spoiling.  IMO, the easiest things to can are: tomatoes, salsa, pickled beets, dill pickles, bread-n-butter pickles, jams and jellies.  After you've tried those, then you can get a canner and try the low-acid foods like corn, green beans, other beans, and meats.  We had shelves lining all the walls of the cellar when I was a kid and they were always full of homecanned food.  Wooden bins of apples sat up on bricks on the floor.  During the early spring before we were getting anything out of the garden or orchard, we'd start eating up all the stuff in jars... I was always getting sent down cellar for a quart of peaches or a pint of black-eyed peas.  Made getting dinner ready in the winter months a really quick affair.    

I've never tried canning meats/fish, though my grandma did it and I've known other people who did (as well as soups and stews, etc.)  I always thought I'd get around to trying it one of these days, but haven't so far, but I do usually put a bit of bacon in the peas when I can them. 

[Pox Eclipse]

I canned a metric buttload of salmon when I lived in Alaska.  Residents can get a personal use permit to dipnet red salmon on the Kenai river, up to 25 fish for the permit holder, and 10 fish for each additional household member.  That creates an enormous amount of fish to be preserved, so some gets smoked, some gets frozen, but most was canned in pint jars.  I would usually end up with 60-70 pints each season, all of which was gone by the following summer.  Pressure canning fish is pretty easy, so long as you wash all your jars well, use new lids, and follow the USDA instructions and timing guide for canning fish..

If you don't already have a pressure canner, don't waste your money on a cheap one.  I was lucky enough to have access to the Cadillac of pressure canners, the 30 quart All-American, which is so precision designed, it has no gasket to wear out.  You will never regret paying a fair price for good tools that will last a lifetime.

[peternap]

Good link Pox, thanks!

[muldoon]

Thanks for all the great information and encouragement.

pox, I bought the 15 1/2 quart version of the same pot.  I fish alot, but always block freeze what I dont plan to consume that night.  What is the consistancy of canned fish like?  I dont particularly care for boiled fish?  Is that what you get? 

Homegrown, I was secretly hoping you would reply with your canning knowledge.  I may be asking you some questions in the coming weeks as I dig into this a bit more. 

fishing_guy, I'd sure love to see that apple-tomotilla recipe you mentioned. 

Thanks again everyone.

[MountainDon]

Canned salmon... When I was younger I had an uncle who lived in BC, Canada. He used to fish for salmon. Some of it he smoked himself, some he would take to one of the canneries that used to be around there. He sent us some of his canned salmon from time to time. It seemed to be much the same as what you buy in the store. The meat is moist and flaky. That was a long time ago... fond memories.     

I like various canned fish; sardines and herring in various mustard, tomato and hot sauces, plus kippers (cold smoked herring). I developed a taste for them on the Isle of Man a long time ago. They have some of the best. Good for breakfast, on toast or with an egg or two.   

And then there's always gefilte fish. 

[Pox Eclipse]

Home canned salmon tastes the same or better than canned salmon or canned tuna from the store.  Salmon is well suited to canning, as it remains firm and flaky.  I have never canned other fish, so results will probably vary by species.

[fishing_guy]

Ask and you shall receive.

http://www.freecookingrecipes.net/recipes/sauces/t/tomatillo-apple-salsa.html

It is quite the different salsa.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Thanks for asking, Muldoon.  You beat me to it.  I was going to ask the same question.  Even bought tomatillos on my last trip to the grocery store just to see if I could ask and then make a batch to eat fresh.  Of course, I'll have to downsize the batch because I didn't buy THAT many, but it sounded really good. 

One of these days I'm going to have to try home canning fish.  We had an elderly neighbor in the town we lived in before moving to WI, and she used to can fish that her son would bring her all the time.  She told me that she had canned some carp one time and then used it to make little patties (I'm thinking kind of like salmon patties?)  I was intrigued by the idea because I'd never thought of canning fish until then... we always froze it in tubs of saltwater.  I'm not big on carp, anyway, but maybe with some other kinds of fish?  Too bad there is no source of fresh salmon in OK.  Or tuna.  There are a few trout fisheries, though...wonder what canned trout would taste like?

[peternap]

...wonder what canned trout would taste like?

It cans very well. Striper, Bass, Croaker, Spot and Crappie all can well. Haven't tried any others.

[muldoon]

I'm gonna add a tomatillo or two to the garden this spring.  We use them alot already. 

I dont care for eating carp myself.  I usually go for the panfish - bluegill pumpkinseed redear and crappie, bass sometimes because they usually hang in the same exact areas but I'm not a bass fisherman.  Going "bass fishing" is to much like going to work for me. 

I'l just trying to picture a glass jar full of crappie meat boiled in a pressure cooker..  I think I like the fish fry better. 

[Sassy]

I started canning salmon because we had a freezer full, had our Indian friends smoke the fish & we'd 50-50 on it for their part of the work, I'd tried all types of recipes.  Canning wasn't difficult - the gutting, cleaning, cutting is what took the time - just stick the fish in the jars (with bones - the bones soften up during the canning process - good source of calcium) add a little salt & seems like I added a little oil - it was a loooong time ago back in the 80's...  the meat was firm & flaky like others have said.  Friends & family always appreciated getting jars of the salmon & because we gillnetted for salmon, it was cheap for us - just the work that went into catching & canning...

I used a big Presto pressure canner, seemed to work well, never had any problems with it.