Thought we could share what is going on with canning among FWC members, including recipes. Today I did my winter's stash of pike and a few cottontail rabbits. I ended up with 18 pints of pike and 2 rabbit. The canner pictured is an All American 921. My recipe for fish is raw chunks of fish, 1/2 tsp canning salt, 2 tbsp ketchup, 2 tbsp olive oil, and 2 tbsp white vinegar. Can at 10 lbs for 110 minutes. We use it for fish salad sandwiches...as a replacement for canned tuna/salmon, or for eating on crackers, fish chowder/soup and a replacement for tuna/noodle casserole. With all recipes make sure you cross reference with a good manual such as the Blue Ball Canning book to make sure you are compliant with safe and scientifically tested procedures.
We had a pretty active canning thread at one time. There were one or two other smaller threads. The ( Official ) FHC canned food thread. It would be great to bump the official one and copy your post over. I have some old school canners that I use and I'll look for a few pictures to add.
YES PLEASE!! I am relativly new to canning having only done veggies so far. Tomatoes, vegatable juice, beets, pickles, and the like. All we have is a old 7 quart water bath and it takes a long time on the kitchen stove to bring every batch up to temp, but we still enjoy it.
I would recommend considering doing your canning outside with a propane stove hooked to a 20lb tank. The one I use is pictured above. They are made for frying fish or a turkey and will get your water boiling more quickly than inside on a range.
I love the AllAmerican canners. Great idea to do it outside on the burner. The canner is a little large for the inside burner of the stove. Have to remember that next time.
Be careful with water bath canning , it works OK for tomatoes but not sufficient for all veggies and won't cut it for meats. Pressure canner is the only way to go.
All safe and tested water bath canning recipes for veggies involve a high ratio of vinegar, citric acid, or are tomato based. That being said I hedge my tomato sauce with lemon juice to be extra safe.
You got it , It's all about the acid. I was doing tomatoes water bath and then had a ton of string beans so that's what got me into pressure canning , although not a cheap canner by any means but it was an investment that will last a lifetime. Yes they are heavy but considering it is a pressure vessel I would prefer that over some of the others out there. If I recall they do not recommend glass top ranges.
hovlandhomestead ...the fish recipe above....those amounts are per pint correct? What headspace do you leave?
Someone on FHC posted about using grape leaves in making dill pickles. They gave more of a list of ingredients than quantities so I went on online and found this recipe. They were very good and for once I had crunchy dill pickles. Brine: 10 cups of water (boiled and cooled, drinking water or filtered water) 2 cups white vinegar 5% acidity 1 1/4 cups canning salt Mix together and stir until salt is melted. Do not heat. I mix it all in an empty vinegar bottle so that it is easy to store if I don't use it all immediately. Into each empty. STERILE, quart jar put: 2 cloves of fresh garlic 2 pods dried red pepper (I used Chile Arbol. Chile Japones, Chile Pequins, or other small dried peppers would work) 2 teaspoons dried dill seed (OR one "bunch" of fresh dill) 1 fresh dill stem if you have it (I usually don't so I skip this part) 2 grape leaves (use one teaspoon unflavored green tea if you can't get grape leaves. do not use black tea, it will discolor the water). Cut 1/4 inch off the blossom end of each cucumber and discard (it contains enzymes that cause softening). Cut cukes as desired. Pack fresh cucumbers into the jars and pour brine over them to completely cover. Leave 1/2" head space. Put STERILE lids on, finger-tight. For CRISPY PICKLES, I process using the "Low Temperature Pasturization" method according to the instructions and latest recommendations from the National Center for Home Food Preservation: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/low_t... : Start heating water bath canner to 120 degrees Farenheit, and put jars of pickles in the water, making sure the water covers them by at least one inch, then bring up to 180 degrees F. Use a jelly or meat thermometer and keep between 180 degrees - 185 degrees for 30 minutes. Do not allow to go above 185 degrees. If it falls below 180, start the timer over. After 30 minutes, remove and set aside to cool and seal. They are ready to eat the next day. These are best eaten within 9 months (before opening... after opening, they must be refrigerated and eaten withing a couple of weeks). They will keep longer unopened but will eventually soften. The cucumbers must be covered with brine in the jar at all times, either before or after opening.
I'd like to see Moderating merge these canning threads https://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/threads/the-official-fhc-canned-food-thread.25058/page- Canning thread And any others Thanks guys and Heidi
Yes it is for pints. The canning books all recommend only pints for fish for safety. Head space is at least 1/2". I typically just eyeball that.
The store had chicken leg quarters on sale for $.39/lb in 10lb bags. I got the limit which was 2 bags. I couldn't turn down that deal. In the past, these deals have been tough and I figure canning will help that out. It is unthawing now. Now deboned or bone in? Cold or hot packed? I will be busy tomorrow. If I debone I will have bones to make stock to can.
De-bone and pack in jars with a little salt = 1/2 tsp pints , 1 tsp. quarts ( not table salt ) ; no water 1 inch head space 11 PSI [ 75 minutes for pints , 90 minutes for quarts ] after pressure is reached let pressure release naturally ; just turn it off and leave it until pressure goes to zero Easy as that.
You can use the presser cooker to make stock from the bones. Quicker than letting it simmer for a couple of hours.
I looked at the original FHC Canning, and that has not been updated since 2018. This one appears to be the new one until they are merged. I have a question regarding tomato sauce. Before I get into this you should all know that I've never made tomato sauce and never done any canning. Based on the current pandemic, I'd like to start learning to can but want to take baby steps. From the store, I purchased the ingredients to make a batch of homemade tomato sauce. We eat pasta once a week. Instead of canning it, I was thinking of simply freezing it. Food Storage - How Long Can you Keep - Spaghetti Sauce/Pasta Sauce - Homemade. Since we'd be using it frequently if I hit the mark on making the sauce. Future batches I'd consider canning. I believe I would need to purchase a pressure cooker in order to do it properly. Do you think freezing would be a good first step? I've read some beginner's guides, and all seems very daunting to me. What concerns me is knowing when I can use a water bath versus a pressure cooker? Plus statement here also highlights knowledge I need to understand. Jason from RI
Give it a try. Water bath or pressure can? It boils down to the acid content of what you are canning. What is going into your tomato sauce? If no meat it ok to water bath. Tomatoes have enough acid to allow it to be water bathed. Pickles has the vinegar in them for the acid and are water bathed, Most not all fruits can be water bathed. Non acid vegetables (beans, corn, potatoes.... ) need to be pressure canned. I suggest buying a book lids and jars and get you feet wet water bathing before buying a pressure canner. Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving: 400 Delicious and Creative Recipes for Today|Paperback it is one of my go to books. Give jelly and jams a try. I find them fun to make.
