Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum Canning

Who on here does it? I need a new hobby since retirement. Pros vs cons.

My wife uses the old cooktop presto canner. Its pretty easy but takes quite a bit of time. I bought her an electric canner she likes better but dont do as many jars at a time. Im sure there are plenty of youtube videos to watch. I would recommend you start small batches till you get the hang of it. It would suck to can 100 jars of something and the lids blow off a week later. Good luck. Its a dying art but it is certainly a piece of the sustainable life puzzle.

Wife and I can every year. Will usually can around 100 jars of tomatoes and depending on what we plant anywhere from 50 to 100 jars of other types of produce. Our garden spot is only 35' x 85' so we rotate what we plant each year. We also buy peaches and apples and can them as well. Go to waljunk and buy you a Ball Guide to Canning book

DoA and I can some. I think he might enjoy it more than I do since he asked for a bigger canner one year for Christmas. We started out with a Presto 01781 Pressure Canner and Cooker back in 2011 and it still does just fine, but you can only get one tier of quart jars or two tiers of pints (or smaller). The bigger one he got will hold a tier of quarts and a tier of pints.

Definitely get the Ball Canning Book to get you started. You need to can at the pressure recommended for where you live.

High acid foods can be canned with just a water bath canner, but everything else needs to be pressure canned. We have a couple of water bath canners, too. Tomatoes are great for the water bath processing.

We have put up ground beef. We have done it both raw packed and with it cooked and drained first with water added. The consistency is different between the two methods. We prefer it cooked before putting in the jars.

We have also boiled chicken, deboned it and processed it after shredding.

I am sure DoA could tell you more things based on his experience with doing it. I prefer to use the stove top in the kitchen because the canner is fairly heavy when full of full jars, but he uses an outdoor burner that runs on propane.

One of things we added to our shop design was a space for family and friends to gather that is climate controlled and we will have an L shaped kitchen area with a gas range. When we get the range, the gas hooked up and the cabinetry installed then we will do our canning out there instead of in the house.

Also, be sure that if you have one of those new type stoves that only works if it senses a pot on it that you get the correct type of canner, too. I have a friend that had the same model as our first one and when she got a new stove, the old canner would no longer work because the eye didn't detect that it was there.

I've got much respect for anyone that cans....

We do a lot of it and you do need to pay attention to making sure temp, pressure and time are correct. The Ball Canning Book and a few others are essential. The old biddies on The Tube of You will try and tell you different, do not fall for it. Salmonella is not fun times. Just saying...

Have fun with it and enjoy the fact that you are able to put up food for when times get tough.

My grandmother was a canning queen. Probably put up 100's per year from stuff she grew in her large garden out back. She used it for barter, to help others and for good eats every day.
I would love to have her green bean recipe, they were the best ever.
Funny how food brings back good memories.,

I’d love to learn how to do it but have never taken the time to do so.

X10000

The extension service teaches classes on food preservation

I have done some canning. When I was a kid my parents canned 100’s of jars every year.

Green beans are the most dangerous food to can I believe.

Canning is pretty simple once u do it . I don’t use a pressure cooker or water bath . I make dill pickles, squash pickles, salsa and can lot it tomatoes that I don’t make salsa out of . After u fill jars just boil the lids and put them
On hot an u will hear them pop when sealed . Bout same thing as water bath. Rest of stuff like green beans ,peas a corn i freeze . Certain things u need to can to kill disease or pesticides I just freeze . Mom used a pressure cooker to can green beans an peas . I have 3 freezers so I’m good on freezing things . Corn or green beans that I freeze I blach them first before putting in bags . Lot the online instruction I’ve seen really complicate things to me . Anyone wants learn how I would learn from someone that does it an not experiment because ur can lose ur good veggies you work so hard to grow .

First thing is having enough surplus to can.

Expand garden! lol. I would rather grow garden than hunt . Already got over 100 maters seeded in greenhouse an 50 peppers . I spend lot time on that . I start maters in greenhouse for at least 10 neighbors and family . Cost very little just my time . Nothing like an open a fresh jar of salsa or dill pickles . Makes it all worthwhile to me .

Plus I only grow Heirloom varieties and by doing so I'm able to save my seeds from year to year. With us rotating planting we don't worry about cross pollination. Some of the yields are not as great as GMO plants but to us the taste is much better on most of the produce and the nutrients are much better. A lot of the GMO junk is like eating a filler with no taste.

We started last year. Started growing late in the season in a small raised bed and some grow bags.

This year we are expanding to 6 raised beds and 20+ grow bags.

I have canning equipment that was given to me as well as new equipment.

We haven't used pressure canning yet.

So far we've canned tomato's, pickles, Jalapeno. We've vacuum sealed and frozen Okra.

We were very late to the game last year. Limited supplies to get started. This year is gonna be different.

We are starting seeding this weekend, indoors with heat mats and grow lights. I've also had some over winter okra and peppers from last year sitting outside on warm days.

We are getting more serious about being more self sufficient.

wife and I can every year, mostly green beans and preserves.

Green Beans = Low acidity = Problems.
My Grandmother had it down to a science... We are more careful and diligent.

I usually just do pickles and make jalapeño pepper jelly

We do green beans every other year and as long as you follow Ball's guidelines you want have any problems (pressure can only). I've canned for probably 50 or 55 years with no problems.

I know most of y’all hate TikTok, but there’s a world on know how on canning and gardening on there. I grew up around it and have done it all my life. But if I was a city boy like a lot on here are, that’s where I’d look. You tube as well.