OT: Home Canning

Try this website. It's a website for Jarden Home Brands, the company that makes Ball and Kerr home canning supplies (who better to know about canning???). I hope this helps you.

Robin

L> Does anyone in our group do home canning?

Get yourself a Ball Canning book. It was great when I first started. Had all the directions on how to do about anything.

Lynne

I have a great recipe for freezer corn if you would like it. Taste like fresh corn in the middle of the winter! Let me know and I'll sen it to you email. linda

Thank you Robin! I will check that out! Linda C

Lynne, I have heard of that book! I will have to check that out too. I can always use another cookbook! Thanks Linda C

I don't think of it as a cookbook, but as a canning bible. hahaha. I've done many things out of it. It's usually pretty cheap too. I've seen it at Walmart in with the canning supplies this time of year. I had one that was pretty old. I had gotten it as a teenager. Last year I treated myself to a new color one. :)

Linda, I hope I'm not too late with this reply. My daughter scraps (what a racket!!) and has some of her layouts published; I lurk occasionally and just saw your request.

First, check out the newsgroup rec.food.preserving. There are myriad knowledgeable folks there who are of generous spirit and vast knowledge. Our FAQ file is very good and can be found here:

. Next, the website you want is the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia. They're at . The U of GA is the only university currently doing research under the auspices of the USDA on food preservation. The website is user-friendly and has a couple great search engines. Their missives and directives are research based -- they don't rely on what your grandmother told you about how she did it. Further, you mention that you have "the cooker" for vegetables. Do you have a *steam pressure canner*? Not a pressure cooker. Larger. Heavier. You MUST can (low-acid) vegetables under steam pressure -- not in a boiling water bath, not in the oven. If you undertake pressure canning, you need to know your altitude, because the required psi will change if you're above 1000 feet above sea level. If you've never canned before, be advised that pressure processing is trickier than waterbath processing. A reliable recipe will tell you the correct method for processing your product, steam pressure or boiling water bath (you'll see BWB on r.f.preserving).

If you're making pickles, you do not WANT to pressure can them but you should process them in a boiling water bath. High acid foods with a pH level of 4.6 or lower (nearly all fruits), jams, jellies, relishes, pickles are appropriately processed in a boiling water bath. Low acid foods such as flesh, seafood, fish, vegetables (your corn and green beans), and combination foods are done in a steam pressure canner. Note: you may see something called a steam canner. BAD IDEA and you can research the rec.food.preserving archives for why if you want to. The word *pressure* is the key. Note that tomatoes are now considered to be borderline safe for BWB processing. If you do them that way, you must add additional acid to each jar in the form of lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar. Amounts vary with the item.

More, get a reliable text. Someone else mentioned The Ball Blue Book (you'll see it referred to as BBB on r.f.preserving). It's a reliable source of information; the current edition has a picture of a cheesecakey thing with some blackberries on top on its cover. The BBB is available online from homecanning.com (the Ball/Kerr site and you may find it at Walmart, Kmart, and Fleet Farm. Book stores do not usually have it. Amazon might. The University of Georgia's own "So Easy to Preserve" is very good, too. And some folks swear by "Putting Food By." I'm partial to the BBB. Just make sure you're using something that's been written within about the last 5 years or so.

Additionally, when you plant those veggies, make sure you're planting something that is suitable for canning or freezing. The seed packet will tell you. Sometimes people aren't happy with the outcome of their labor and it turns out to be because they canned something that was meant for fresh table use rather than preserving. It do make a difference. Some varietals are suitable for all uses.

Besides all that, I see that my reply got rather long. Don't let anything I've written deter you from making pickles. It's pretty tough to kill someone with pickles -- it's easier (though extremely rare) with green beans. Come visit us at rec.food.preserving. If I've confused you, feel free to email me at barbdotschaller near earthlinkdot net -- I'm trusting you can figure out the correct format; my autoreply address is bogus.

And because one of my working mottoes is, "Who tooteth not her own horn, her horn doth not get tooted," I invite you to take a look at these:

Finally, I've posted my recipe for Bread and Butter Pickles a number of times to rec.food.preserving and rec.food.cooking. It's pretty good. "-)

• Exported from MasterCook Mac *

Bread & Butter Pickles

Recipe By : Barb Schaller, posted to r.f.cooking 8-26-04 Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Canning, Preserves, Etc.

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

4 quarts sliced medium cukes (about 25) 3 cups sliced onions (about 4 medium) 2 green peppers -- chopped (or 1 red and 1 green) 3 cloves garlic -- sliced 1/3 cup canning salt 5 cups sugar 3 cups cider vinegar 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed 2 tablespoons mustard seed

Combine cukes, onions, cauliflower, pepper, and garlic. Add salt; cover with cracked ice; mix thoroughly. Let stand three hours, drain well. Combine second column ingredients, pour over cuke mixture. Heat just to a boil. Seal in hot, sterilized jars; process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Yield: 7-8 pints.

Source: Recipe is originally from an old Better Homes & Gardens cookbook in 1983. My sister Anne adds 1 cup of cauliflowerettes to the vegetable program.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Blue Ribbon Winner at the Minnesota State Fair in 1984, 1985,

2001, 2003, 2004. Yee-hah!! Best of the Pickles in 2001 -- Gedney prize. Ball & Kerr Prize for Best Pickled Foods 2004; 3rd Place Gedney Prize for Best Flavored Vinegar Pickle 2004.

Good luck with your new hobby -- it is soul-satisfying.

-Barb Schaller Grand Poohbah for Canning, 2004 Minnesota State Fair "I can, therefore I am. Saints preserve us!"

On 2005-07-22 12:35:28 -0400, Melba's Jammin' said: