HOME CANNING

[Decaff]

Just thought I would try to show you my latest canning exploits! These are jars of chicken stock made from our Sunday roast chicken. This is how I did it all.
Added chicken carcass, skin and all into my largest stock pot, added in 2 carrots, one onion, 2 bay leaves, 2 sticks of celery, 10 or so peppercorns and boiled the lot for 2 hours (lid on to so as not to lose it all in steam).
Drained through a metal sieve into a huge jug, washed out the stock pot and the sieve, placed sieve back over the stock pot this time with a muslin cloth over it to strain out all the little bits. leave this in the fridge overnight so that the fat can solidify on the surface and be removed.
Next day scrape off the fat to reveal the beautiful jelly substance underneath, bring this jelly to a boil on the cooker top.
Fill your canner with the correct amount of water (according to your canner instructions) and put this on the heat to prepare for the hot jars.
Wash canning jars, lids and rings in hot soapy water, but the jars onto a baking sheet in a hot oven to keep sterile, add the disc part of the lids into a saucepan and add just boiled water, keep this simmering for ten minutes or so (this warms up the wax sealing ring which makes it easier to adhere to the jar when canning and also keeps them sterile)
When stock is boiled and jars are hot hot hot, ladle the liquid into the jars leaving 1" head-space, wipe the rim and threads of the jar with white vinegar using paper towel to remove any residue or they may not seal, add the disc on top of the jar using a magnetized lid lifter and secure with the metal ring fingertip tight, using a jar lifter place into the canner.
When all jars/the canner is full, close canner and bring up to a boil, when you can see a steady stream of steam coming though the vent pipe, time for 10 minutes. when 10 minutes are up add on the weighted gauge (10 PSI for my altitude) and wait for this to start its jiggle. Once jiggling set your timer for 20 minutes and the countdown begins!
After 20 minutes are up, turn off the heat and leave well alone until the canner has come back down to zero pressure (you will know this from your own manual instructions) remove the weighted gauge, open the canner lid with the lid facing away from you as there will be lots of steam and this will burn your face if not careful. Remove the jars and set onto a tea towel and when all removed cover them over and leave till the next day so that they can seal up.
Remove the towel and check all jars for seal by pressing the top of the lid, if it moves up and down it hasn't sealed so can either be put into the fridge for use within the next few days or can be re-processed. If sealed, remove the rings and give the jars a good scrub under running hot water to remove the watermarks from the jar and lid. Dry and then using a permanent ink pen (I use a sharpie pen) write the contents on the lid and month, year and then they are ready to go into your food storage system.

[Decaff]

Sorry, here are the photos!

Butternut squash, swede, mushrooms, carrots, chicken stock. I don't have photo of the fruit but will add to my next posting.

[Brambles]

Just a quick observation, you don't need to sterilise lids and jars when pressure canning.

See USDA Guide to Home Canning. Chapter 1 Page 15.

"Empty jars used for vegetables, meats, and fruits to be processed in a pressure canner need
not be presterilized. It is also unnecessary to presterilize jars for fruits, tomatoes, and pickled
or fermented foods that will be processed 10 minutes or longer in a boiling-water canner."

http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/ ... %20Can.pdf

The link above is to a free downloadable PDF. I would strongly recommend anyone interested in canning to have and read this publication. It's been my bible.

In the same way, the lids only need bringing to a boil to soften the rubber gasket. HTH

[Decaff]

Just a quick observation, you don't need to sterilise lids and jars when pressure canning.

See USDA Guide to Home Canning. Chapter 1 Page 15.

"Empty jars used for vegetables, meats, and fruits to be processed in a pressure canner need
not be presterilized. It is also unnecessary to presterilize jars for fruits, tomatoes, and pickled
or fermented foods that will be processed 10 minutes or longer in a boiling-water canner."

http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/ ... %20Can.pdf

The link above is to a free downloadable PDF. I would strongly recommend anyone interested in canning to have and read this publication. It's been my bible.

In the same way, the lids only need bringing to a boil to soften the rubber gasket. HTH

Hi Brambles, I know you don't need to sterilise jars and rings for pressure canning but I do, just to keep things extra safe in my OCD head it doesn't take long to do and gives me peace of mind that my home canned goods are as safe as possible. I use the Ball Blue Book for reference but I will also download this guide thank you for the link

[bunkai]

Just a quick observation, you don't need to sterilise lids and jars when pressure canning.

See USDA Guide to Home Canning. Chapter 1 Page 15.

"Empty jars used for vegetables, meats, and fruits to be processed in a pressure canner need
not be presterilized. It is also unnecessary to presterilize jars for fruits, tomatoes, and pickled
or fermented foods that will be processed 10 minutes or longer in a boiling-water canner."

http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/ ... %20Can.pdf

The link above is to a free downloadable PDF. I would strongly recommend anyone interested in canning to have and read this publication. It's been my bible.

In the same way, the lids only need bringing to a boil to soften the rubber gasket. HTH

Good point, I couldn't understand why everyone soaked their lids so I did a search and saw the latest info stating that it was no longer deemed necessary. I don't even bother softening the seals now as the heat from the canning process does a decent enough job.

[Brambles]

Just a quick observation, you don't need to sterilise lids and jars when pressure canning.

See USDA Guide to Home Canning. Chapter 1 Page 15.

"Empty jars used for vegetables, meats, and fruits to be processed in a pressure canner need
not be presterilized. It is also unnecessary to presterilize jars for fruits, tomatoes, and pickled
or fermented foods that will be processed 10 minutes or longer in a boiling-water canner."

http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/ ... %20Can.pdf

The link above is to a free downloadable PDF. I would strongly recommend anyone interested in canning to have and read this publication. It's been my bible.

In the same way, the lids only need bringing to a boil to soften the rubber gasket. HTH

Good point, I couldn't understand why everyone soaked their lids so I did a search and saw the latest info stating that it was no longer deemed necessary. I don't even bother softening the seals now as the heat from the canning process does a decent enough job.

Hadn't heard that so just did a quick google and Ball say the same about their lids. I haven't used Kilner lids in years. I had a bad batch or two of Kilner lids, some had no gasket, a couple were mis-shaped so I concluded their idea of quality control was not the same as mine and I now get Ball lids sent over from USA. It's cheaper and the ball lids are better quality.

[Decaff]

Did you use the kilner jars for pressure canning or water bath only? Curious as I remember reading somewhere that they were not for pressure canning? Shame as they do make huge jars which would be fabulous to pressure can in.

My ball blue book says jars should be hot if you're filling with hot liquids/food and putting into a hot canner as cold jars could crack? It's rather confusing out there I'm finding!

I go the extra mile also as Mr D had major intestinal/colon surgery earlier this year so he has to be extra careful now and any food poisoning could see him hospitalised for months at a time.

[Brambles]

The Kilner jars with two piece lids are suitable for pressure canning and I've used them for many years. It's the ones that have a clip top that you cannot use for canning/bottling.

If I'm hot packing I do indeed warm jars up. The Ball Book recommends adding 2-3 inches water to your canner and half filling jars then heat the canner to a simmer, not boil until needed.

I simply thought it appropriate to point out that presterilising is not necessary when pressure canning as you are preserving at a temperature higher than boilng point.

Canning is a pretty simple and effective method of preserving, however, there are a lot of internet 'experts' that muddy the waters by offering advice and recipes that go against the rules, hence the confusion. If you stick to the advice and recipes given in the Ball Book and the USDA Home Canning publication you will be fine.

The US also has county extension offices that offer excellent advice.

Boiling water bath canning basic turorial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eVXHsWJDlg

Pressure canning basic tutorial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COjmM04i1ck

[Hamradioop]

Thanks for the links Brambles HNY

[Ragdolly]

Cracked open a jar of my Cabernet cranberry blueberry sauce yesterday to go with the Duck. Mmmm