CANNING: I know this is long but I wanted to say a few words about canning MY OPINION There are 2 types of canning processes. Water Bath and Pressure. Water Bath: This type of canning is used for processing fruits and vegetables with High acid levels. Such as Tomatoes, Salsas, Pickled, basically anything that has vinegar as one of the main ingredients, Jellies, and Jams. You are fairly limited in what you can safely can using this method. Very easy to do and if you are just learning to can you should start with the water bath method. Make a few jellies or jams. Pressure: My favorite process. You are really not limited on what you can preserve by pressure canning. There are certain foods such as pumpkin that should not be canned because of the density, the heat can’t get into the center for killing botulism or other contaminates. Yes, I have canned squash which is one of the things that they say can’t be canned but so far I am still here, pumpkin I will not attempt. The number one thing to remember when canning is be SUPER CLEAN. Wash your hands frequently or use rubber gloves wash them frequently too. Don’t touch your hair or face or other surfaces that are not clean. Clean counter tops with Clorox to kill any germs. You do not want to cause your family or anyone you give your canned meats and veggies to have food poisoning. I can’t stress enough how much you need to watch what you are doing when canning. Jars must be sterilized, I use my dishwasher then I keep put it on the dry cycle to keep the jars hot. Lids need to be heated before sealing or they will not seal. Wipe the rims of your jars, #! Check for nicks or cracks in your jars. #2 Make sure to wipe the rims with a paper towel soaked in vinegar before placing lid on jar to make sure no food particles are on the rim to cause the lids not to seal. I can go to my canning closet and pull out a whole meal and have it ready in 20 to 30 minutes. Roast Beef, Potatoes, green beans, carrots. Hamburger meat to make tacos, casserole, spaghetti sauce (oh wait, I have spaghetti sauce already in a jar) but you get what I am trying to say. It is a time saver in the long run especially if you work all day and don’t feel like cooking much. You get a home cooked meal without all the preservatives that are in our foods at the store in already processed foods. You control what your family eats. It is time consuming and a lot of work, on the days you can, but when you look at what you have in your storage it gives you peace of mind and a sense of pride in yourself that says “Hey, I did all this myself” Let me tell you, you will have some jealous family, neighbors and friends when you show them what you have accomplished.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 14:08:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015