Canning season

[manyplews]

Well,it's that time of year but ,this year it's hard to find enough main crop tomatoes to make it worthwhile to can.Even the local truck farmer doesn't have enough to sell by the bushel.
My wife and I used to can/coldpack a lot of whole tomatoes,tomato juice,green beans,sauerkraut,beets,pickles and mincemeat.
I was very surprised at the price of some canning equipment and supplies.
We used a Squeezo to make juice and these things are now selling for over $150 - hard to believe.
http://www.squeezostrainer.com/produ...FUmi4AodXzIAsA

I see some on ebay but most of them aren't cheap either!

We have a 20 gallon crock that we used to to make sauerkraut.Looking online,one of these would likely cost 200 - 500 dollars today,


Happiness was going into the fruit cellar and looking at the 200-300 jars of canned food!

Our tomatoes have avoided the blight but I checked the calendar and counted 9 times,I applied Daconil this year.They also aren't ripening as fast as
they should - at least,that's my impression!

[Doug9345]

I'm lucky. I have three All American canners. Two were my parents bought in late '72 or early '73. The bigger one has had maybe five loads in its entire history. The other one was our main source of putting food up that we grew or scrounged. I know I ate better growing up because we had a canner. The other one is a retired friend's that is too handicapped to use it anymore. I do what canning he wants done. There was a fourth one, but that was lost in the house fire this spring.

[habitat_gardener]

I went to a canning demo a few days ago, and the next day I went to my gardens and picked about 30 more tomatoes. It's frustrating that I don't have canning supplies or a kitchen where I can do canning. (I donated most of the tomatoes.) I'll have to ask around to see if I can trade some tomatoes for use of a kitchen and canning tools!

[Doug9345]

You can do a hot water bath anywhere you can boil water. You need a pot deep enough to cover the jars by an inch or so. If the one you can get your hands on isn't deep enough for quarts do pints or pint and a halfs.

I've used a pressure canner on wood stoves, coal stoves, electric, gas, an outside fire place and a Coleman stove once.

It's really worth the effort to put up your own food.

[salix]

Yes, Habitat Gardener - you can use a stock pot as a boiling water bath, or if you are doing 'short' jars, even a dutch oven. Make sure anything you do in a boiling water canner is acidic, fruits generally OK (except for figs, and something else I can't remember right now), tomatoes do need a bit of acid added (lemon juice, vinegar or acid blend mix from the wine making shop).

I am so happy it's canning season. Looking around my kitchen I see the All American pressure canner, the Presto canner and two large stock pots. Jars empty and full, countertops full of ripening tomatoes, sauerkraut bubbling away...

[SharonRossy]

Ok, I have a question because I have always been afraid of canning, although my mother always canned. I dont' need a special basket to put in the pot? As long as the jars are covered, with water. What I would appreciate is someone's method of how to do it, with the amounts, etc. I know that vinegar or bottled lemon juice has to be added. I'm talking about canning tomato sauce. I was thinking of freezing the sauce instead.

[Doug9345]

The jars need to be spaced off the bottom or the jars will bounce around when the water boils. The basket also keeps them from banging into the sides. The pressure canner I remember as a kid had 3 pieces of hardware cloth cut in a circle, stacked on top of each other and droped on the bottom of the canner.

There really isn't that much to be afraid of with canning. With high acid foods the worse that is going to happen is that they are going to ferment or mold and both are obvious and both should cause the jars to unseal. Of course you need to exercise the normal care you would use around boiling food.

I've always used a pressure canner so I've never used vinegar or lemon juice and can't give you the amounts.

[salix]

Sharon, you would be well advised to buy (fairly reasonable from Costco) or get from library the "Bernardin's Complete Book of Home Preserving" or go to the Harvest forum on Garden Web for proper safe instruction. Please be careful of using random instructions obtained online or at non-approved preserving sites. Some 'recipes' I have seen have been truly cringe worthy and downright dangerous.

Canning is perfectly safe, but you need to do your homework and be meticulous in your method.

P.S. For a boiling water bath, you need to have a bottom rack to keep the jars from direct heat and allow the water to circulate all around them. Ensure your pot or boiling water bath has at least 3 inches of clearance from the top of the jars. There should be at least one inch of water covering, and you need enough room to prevent the boiling water from overflowing.

[NarnianGarden]

Just addin that you can also freeze you own tomato sauce / ketchup - that way, one doesn't have to worry if there is enough acid.

[tlintx]

I have plenty of freezer space so I've stopped canning entirely. I used to roll up tinfoil and put it in the bottom of the stockpot, btw, as a ledge.

We were up in Allentown last week and the corn looked almost as short as the stalks I've got growing in pots! Wasn't very impressive tasting, either. The "lancaster beef steaks" at the Reading Terminal Market were envy inspiring, though -- I almost bought one just for seed but I was reminded that large tomatoes and airplane flights and toddlers are not a recipe for success. And it was probably a hybrid anyway. Only saw tomatoes at that one stall, so perhaps you're not alone in having late tomatoes?

[TomNJ]

I prefer to use citric acid to acidify my tomato sauces instead of lemon juice or vinegar. Only 1/2 teaspoon per quart (1/4 tsp/pint) is needed and it has the least affect on flavor. You can usually find citric acid in Indian grocery stores, or online.

I can all of my tomato products in an All American 30 quart pressure canner at 15 lbs pressure, but still acidify since I add a fair amount of low acid onions, garlic, and peppers to my sauces and salsa.

TomNJ

[Doug9345]

It was asked how much of what to add to tomatoes.
From:http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09341.html

To ensure safe acidity in whole, crushed or juiced tomatoes, add lemon juice or citric acid when processing in a boiling water bath. Add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes. For pints, use 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. Acid can be added directly to the jars before filling with product. Add sugar to offset the taste, if desired. Four tablespoons of a 5 percent acidity vinegar per quart can be used instead of lemon juice or citric acid. However, vinegar may cause undesirable flavor changes.

There is other information there also.
This I found interesting.
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09305.html

In the United States, 120-150 cases of botulism are reported each year. Of these, approximately 15% are foodborne, 65% are infant botulism, and 20% are wound caused. Two other forms of botulism, adult intestinal colonization and iatrogenic botulism, also have been reported, but rarely.

The bold letters are mine. That means only about 23 people come down with botulism in a given year from food.

[manyplews]

Originally Posted by salix

Sharon, you would be well advised to buy (fairly reasonable from Costco) or get from library the "Bernardin's Complete Book of Home Preserving" or go to the Harvest forum on Garden Web for proper safe instruction. Please be careful of using random instructions obtained online or at non-approved preserving sites. Some 'recipes' I have seen have been truly cringe worthy and downright dangerous.

Canning is perfectly safe, but you need to do your homework and be meticulous in your method.

P.S. For a boiling water bath, you need to have a bottom rack to keep the jars from direct heat and allow the water to circulate all around them. Ensure your pot or boiling water bath has at least 3 inches of clearance from the top of the jars. There should be at least one inch of water covering, and you need enough room to prevent the boiling water from overflowing.

That's good advice!
You can find lot's of info on the web:

http://www.homecanning.com/



"The Ball Blue Book - guide to home canning and freezing" used to be the last word on canning.
Many are listed for sale on eBay

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cookbooks-/1...l+canning+book


We never used a pressure canner - alway's used a boiling water bath - frequently called "cold-packing" by us rednecks.
I don't remember my mother or my wife adding vinegar or other acidic product to anything except dill pickles.
If you buy jars,check and make sure the rims do not have defects or the lids won't seal.

[newatthiskat]

I have a Presto Pressure canner that was gotten on Amazon. It was about 76.00. I got it because it was cheap and I could safely put it on the top of my flat top electric stove. I have now used it for several years. Love it! The most expensive thing about canning is getting stocked up on Jars. I am putting them on my Christmas list this year in hopes I get several dozen. I hate to say how many I have bought this year. Since it was really my first making Jams. Problem with canning. I keep using the product and never get enough to really have a good storage. My kids keep raiding my pantry. Good thing is I have food for them when they are hungry. That makes me feel great. No starving grandkids. Now I am going to buy the second Presto 23 quart canner. It is going to be my daughters Christmas present. Since her child got Cyclosporin she is really determined to raise more of her own veggies.

[SharonRossy]

Thanks for all the advice. I know I had a book on canning probably by Ball. But after much thinking and reading, I'm going with freezing. I have limited storage space, cause my DH is a collector of too many things so something has to give. The freezer works for me!