HOME CANNING

[m0tty]

Hi all,

i have been asked to elaborate further on the topic of home canning, so here goes my first attempt.

Before i go any further, home canning is not what it sounds. It isn't a production line of tin cans waiting to be filled. It is the process of preparing and pasturising food for long term storage. Also the vessels used for this storing process are made out of glass with the 2 piece lids (a band and a sealing disc).

See here:- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Craf...ords=mason+jar

So home canning is basicaly the practice of sterilising and cooking your produce at the same time in a suitable recepticle for this purpose.

Unfortunatley, when you mention the craft of home preserving in the UK, most folk would think of the production of jam, marmalade, chutneys or pickles. Because of this lack of demand there's not a lot of choice for the equipment or manufacturers of the preserving jars. This means that the cost is at premium for the supplies needed when compared to the USA where home canning ( preserving ) never went out of fashion. I can remember as far back as the mid 70's, my grandmother preserved meat, veg and fruit this way. It's a shame that we have lost the knowhow, when thinking retrospectively how usefull this would be in todays economic strife.

You may have noticed the price of the jar above, remember, that's per jar! Now compare the price for a dozen jars as sold in the USA here:-

http://www.freshpreservingstore.com/...2/shop/384879/

A lot more economical would you agree? Well, add postage to the uk, and to be honest, it doesn't work out any cheaper. I'm currently in contact with a Stateside company who are looking into shipping direct to the UK, so just waiting for further details.

Currently we get our jars from here:-

http://www.cookability.biz/--home-ma...jars/b_697.htm

But the price still doesn't compare to over the pond.

Right, now we've got the jars, we need a water bath canner and a pressure canner. What's the difference? If the foodstuff you're preserving has an high acidic content, then heating and cooking the product in a pan of boiling water for a determined length of time is enough in conjunction with the acidity to kill and prevent bacteria growth. However, should you want to preserve meat and low acidic foods then you will need to pressure cook the product, as a pressure canner can achieve an higher heat output that is required to kill botulism, E.coli etc.

A big stock pot could be put to use as a water bath canner, and an ordinary pressure cooker would suffice for a pressure canner, but you must know the level of pressure being achieved i.e. when the weight starts to jiggle could mean that the internal pressure has reached 10psi, ( it will tell you in the instruction booklet for your particular model), once you know the pressure level is correct, you would then allow to cook at 10psi for 45-60mins depending on the amount of jars and the product being preserved. This is where home canning websites or books come in handy as they contain all the necessary info and recipes for each foodstuff type. Here i would recommend " The Ball Blue Book of Canning" as an excellent choice for beginners and pro's.

The only downside with a standard stockpot or pressure cooker is that you're not able to fit many jars inside, making progress tedious as well as not very economical, only being able to do 2 jars at a time. So we went ahead and purchased a " Presto 23-quart Pressure Canner" here:-

http://www.gopresto.com/products/pro...hp?stock=01781

As you can see this is sized in "quarts" which i believe a quart is slightly less than a UK litre. A litre jar or 1000ml is the size equivalent sold here in the UK, but basically the Presto canner will hold 7 quart/litre jars at once, so batch preserving is more economical. I have a few home canning publications in pdf format including The Ball Blue Book of Canning to share if it's possible on here?? i'm not sure.

The upshot of all this is that you can control what's in your food, you can take advantage of the butcher's offers of bulk buys and can it far superior, compared to a processed product. You can take advantage of supermarkets reduced to clear,close to sell by date. But the best bit is you can preserve all your fresh produce at the moment it is picked if you're green fingered and grow your own. The shelf life is excellent too giving you a 1 year minimum, but 5 years is not unusual, it is also accepted that the shelf life is more like 15 years, but the quality starts to deteriorate after this.

Ok Guys, that's my introduction to canning for those who was asking, and for a treat check out Linda's pantry for allsorts of tips for great meals from canning, dehydrating and economical sources as well seeing visually what the process all entails here:- https://www.youtube.com/user/255sage

I hope you liked this, and if you want the pdf info i have got, just shout up and ask me, and, if you want a part 2 to this then i would be happy to move on to other equipment usefull for this as well. Lastly if anyone could enlighten me on how i can post a pdf on here, that would be greatly appreciated too.

All the best, stay safe, stay prepared

[Decaff]

Fabulous post! Thank you very much

I agree we pay so much more for jars over here and don't even start me on pressure canners, or lack of in this country. I can't understand why we can't buy them here?! Is there a reason for that does anyone know?

I love to make my own food and this would be a great addition to home skills.

[jansman]

That is great information. Thankyou.
Decaff , *I * think we cannot get the gear easily here, simply because it is not part of our culture. Mind you, since 2008 when growing veg got trendy I notice that Kilner jars are easy to get and every garden centre has lots more space devoted to food growing, so Culture is changing gradually.
Home canning is certainly something I would have a go at.

[FEISTY]

Thank you very much, m0tty - definitely something to look into!

[FEISTY]

Thank you very much, m0tty - definitely something to look into!

[Decaff]

That is great information. Thankyou.
Decaff , *I * think we cannot get the gear easily here, simply because it is not part of our culture. Mind you, since 2008 when growing veg got trendy I notice that Kilner jars are easy to get and every garden centre has lots more space devoted to food growing, so Culture is changing gradually.
Home canning is certainly something I would have a go at.

Fingers crossed then that we will be able to get the equipment in the near future. I would love to can chicken in sauces, sausages, beef and vegetables, or jars of fresh berries ready for a pie or crumble . Imagine a row of favourite foods all prepared... Heaven!

[m0tty]

Hi guys, and thankyou for your replies Decaff, Jansman and FEISTY.

The only reason we struggle for better prices / equipment is simply down to demand. During and after the 2nd world war, Britain was still under rationing, so anything you could preserve was a bonus to the food store. As soon as rationing started to phase out, so did the art of preserving, so by the late 60's early 70's it was no longer in fashion, except by the older generations. Nowadays we all rely on processed foods to some degree because our busy lives dictate it, but as Decaff said, just think of rows and rows of your delicious homemade produce preserved at it's finest!

We all moan at times about arts and crafts that are dying out, so here is 1 that with a little bit more interest, might be brought back to the degree where we see equipment more readily available, and the jars come down in price. Besides, i peronally think food preservation is the preppers most important issue along with water storage.

It may be out of fashion, but as we all know, fashions do come around again.

Here are some links to my google drive for you all, one publication of interest that really spells it all out is " the Ball Blue Book of Canning", enjoy the reads, and get back to me with your comments / ideas.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B387tV ... sp=sharing

All the best, stay safe, stay prepared.

Daz

[jansman]

Holy moley! That is some information. Thankyou. This is a project I need to look into.

[nickdutch]

Decaff , *I * think we cannot get the gear easily here, simply because it is not part of our culture.

Wilkinsons sell everything that you need apart from the canners themselves. My canner came off some internet site that sold stuff made in china and warehoused in California. All the rest comes locally. All you need to do after that is to get your life organised so that you can pick up things in the market at the end of the day, take it home in loads and then dehydrate them and can them.

I actually rarely use my canner these days primarily because by comparison with buying cheap value tins, its more expensive, but i do can things from time to time, such as if I buy a whole lump of meat and want to split its usage up over many weeks and have no freezer space

[Decaff]

Decaff , *I * think we cannot get the gear easily here, simply because it is not part of our culture.

Wilkinsons sell everything that you need apart from the canners themselves. My canner came off some internet site that sold stuff made in china and warehoused in California. All the rest comes locally. All you need to do after that is to get your life organised so that you can pick up things in the market at the end of the day, take it home in loads and then dehydrate them and can them.

I actually rarely use my canner these days primarily because by comparison with buying cheap value tins, its more expensive, but i do can things from time to time, such as if I buy a whole lump of meat and want to split its usage up over many weeks and have no freezer space

Agree Nick, I do get some of my stuff from Wilkinsons as they do seem to be very good value. Ooh I would love to go buy tons of tomatoes, or fruit and spend a day canning it all. There is just something really satisfying in making your own food. It would be good to be able to make batches of foods to store when the prices are good or there are gluts to be had. I currently chop, blanch and freeze carrots, peppers, onions, swede, sprouts and any veg we can get lots of from the veg/fruit market cheaply. Makes sense to me.