Canning Pics, Feel free to post yours!

[barbs]

nope, you need a pressure canner for your soups........I want one to can homemade beef stew, chicken stock, all kinds of homemade soups, chilis & sauces, etc.

does your husband like canned fish?.....home-canned sock-eye salmon is awesome

as for canned meats, i always keep a few cans of Costco canned chicken in my eartquake kit & rotate them out...canned chicken is great in sandwiches, soups and casseroles.

I really like the idea of canning over freezing, because so many people lose their full freezer when the power goes out in summer, or the teenager yanks the cord without thinking to plug in some electronics outside, etc. (It's never happened to me, but it's happened to others I know.)

[barbs]

oh cheekysaver one other thing... I don't know the price of the bernardin snaplid in other province in Canada, but here the lowest price for regular lid is 1.50$+tx at the dollar store.

I now use tattler lids that are fully reusable and bpa free. They are more expensive at the biggining, but after 3-4 use of the lid you have equal you initial cost. And for me doing alot of jars in one year this is the best because I'm not living close to a dollars store and we all know when this is time to can, this is time!

I give you the link of tattler if you want to look at this info. Maybe you are not ready now for that, but this is good to know I think

http://www.reusablecanninglids.com

I've never seen canning lids in a $$ store............I usually use my $5 Canadian tire promo card to stock up on lids & pectin throughout the year....keeps the price down.

[lizardqueen78]

nope, you need a pressure canner for your soups........I want one to can homemade beef stew, chicken stock, all kinds of homemade soups, chilis & sauces, etc.

does your husband like canned fish?.....home-canned sock-eye salmon is awesome

I really like the idea of canning over freezing, because so many people lose their full freezer when the power goes out in summer, or the teenager yanks the cord without thinking to plug in some electronics outside, etc. (It's never happened to me, but it's happened to others I know.)

I thought that I'd need one for soups.....I want a pressure canner for the same things, soups, chilis, sauces!

Hubby likes canned tuna, that is about it.....I feel that it may not be cost effective to can that myself. I think it was more of the 'idea' of canned meats - the salesperson did a horrible job of selling him anything...in fact she actually talked him out of buying one! *shakes fist*

I've never seen canning lids in a $$ store............I usually use my $5 Canadian tire promo card to stock up on lids & pectin throughout the year....keeps the price down.

Here they have the lids at Dollarama for $1.50 for 12 of them.....last summer it was $1.25 lol they are the Bernadin brand, I have used them often since I get the jars and rings second hand or from family etc.

[cheekysaver]

Ok, question - what are you canning with your pressure canners?

I asked for one for my bday, DH has searched high and low (so he says) and the one store that he found them at told him they were mostly for meats! He is grossed out by the idea of canned meat, and asked for another idea for my bday gift lol

Can I use a water canner for soups? They wouldn't have meat in them, but will have dairy - I'm thinking potato leek, broccoli cheddar etc.

I'm trying to plan ahead for next season, as we missed out on most fruits this year This thread makes me want to preserve everything lol the pie fillings that cheekysaver posted look awesome!

A pressure canner is used for low acid things like anything with veggies or protien (including milk but there is a chance the milk might seperate in it)
Broccoli is one of the produce items that is not recommended for canning... water bath or pressure canner. The best and safest place I can send you so you know what can and can not be canned is http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/before...started/31.php and http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/high_a...uction_/69.php and http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/low_ac...uction_/72.php The last link shows low acid foods for canning. Some of the low acid foods I have canned are Carrots, Potatoes, Beef fajitas, Dry packed browned ground beef, Pork, Turkey, Bacon, Spag sauce with meat in it, green chili ect. Don't be scared off because there is lots to learn. I only started pressure canning this summer and it is really easy once you have the steps down.

[cheekysaver]

I've never seen canning lids in a $$ store............I usually use my $5 Canadian tire promo card to stock up on lids & pectin throughout the year....keeps the price down.

Dollarama has regular size snap lids. I also picked some up when lowes was clearing out their canning supplies and when superstore was clearing out their canning supplies. I even got some on clearence at walmart at the end of Aug this year. I purchased some of my jars new and some used so I really needed new lids to go on the jars.

[cheekysaver]

What a great thread!. Most folks I know don't even cook, never mind can and bake - good to see this skill is alive and well. Can we post pics of our gardens too?

I love garden pics!

[2010ontest]

I've never seen canning lids in a $$ store............I usually use my $5 Canadian tire promo card to stock up on lids & pectin throughout the year....keeps the price down.

I found it hard to buy 166 box of lids per year at CT with 5$ card :S
I prefered to get my vinegar for free at CT with the card (and the few other I've got from friends and neighbor)

With my reusable lid I don't bother to find deals, stock-up lids, ect. I'm not living close to store, so don't go there all the time. I save my time and gas to have the reusable one

[bluerose]

lids at the doller store hmmmm gonna take a looky,canned 11 jars brown beans this week,put the canner aside for awhile ,but since I am pretty new at this still learning the ins and outs been a great year though.

[snipandsave]

I am very sure we do... but I will say the reason I can and I am building a food storage is because when I got sick I had trouble cooking and trouble making ends meet. I can at any point have a hip or shoulder or ankle or knee dislocate or just get sprained and put me out of commision. It is far better to be ready for this to happen and plan ahead. It is not a "if" I will get hurt or sick ... it is a matter of when for me. This next time when I get hurt I will not have to be visiting a food bank... and if I don't get hurt for 6 months or a year... it doesn't matter because my food won't spoil or get frost bite... am I a prepper? Sure... I am not preparing for the end of the world with a 3 year food supply... just lifes definate realities of having EDS.

Sounds smart Cheekysaver. I think it is always wise to save money and have a backup for whatever!? If that makes me a prepper then "here yee, here yee"!

I think Prepper just implies someone who activley prepares vs someone who does not. If you have a stockpile you are a prepper I think, because you buy now and save later...preparing for inflation no? Or else, you would have the belief that the sale will role around again, so why stock up? maybe I'm wrong?

I don't buy into anything 100% but do consider scientific evidence and do know that historically the world has had depressions, earth quakes, ice storms, major layoffs, chemical spills and economies have crashed etc and nobody alive has been 100% immune to all of that in Canada or elsewhere.

Buying some land would just help me save some money and I have always wanted to have an orchard and to get my hands in the dirt but never had any space. So maybe I'm a "hippie prepper"?

If at the end of the day I all i did was save a few bucks then cheers!

Snip.


Snip.

[cheekysaver]

I got my pressure canner in the mail yesterday... we ordered it on Weds and got it on Fri... and we ordered snail mail to reduce the shipping... that was fasssssssst! I am so happy!

[tobiwobi]

[tobiwobi]

I only did beets, and my 1st time ever this year. I'd recommend starting with beets if a newbie, I found it fairly easy. So inspired by everyone's pics!!!! I only did 8 jars of beets, already ate 2 so yummy, and it's great to know exactly what goes in it. Sobeys is having 5lb beet bags on for $0.99 so I'll likely do more beets.

I would like to do salsa too, can someone tell me how many tomatoes I need to buy to do 6 jars?

Can we move this thread to Home and Garden, because it is going to get lost among all the brags? It's a great thread, thanks for starting it OP and thanks to everyone for sharing tips and pics.

[Snow In Summer]

Once upon a time I was growing & harvesting. I lived on a 1.5 acre property which I built 10 raised beds of solid cedar wood and filled them with 100% pure black gold (mushroom compost). Oh you have inspired me so much in posting this thread in growing and canning again!!! I have a 23 L Presto canner as well. I did it for 9 years but haven’t for several years being alone now. I have the most amazing dill pickle and bread and butter pickle recipes from my great grandmother from the Ukraine that are to die for!!! My mother taught me how to can as she grew up on a farm in Northern Alberta. My grandfather bought a 150 acre property when they immigrated but had no money for a house. So he built one from logs by hand. They had no electricity or running water. Just a wood stove, a stream nearby and spent the summer canning the farms bounty to survive the winter months on the farm. Funny how times have changed …

[NickiB]

Ok, for those of you who dehydrate, I'm having issues...

Bought a dehydrator on Friday while I was out Black Friday shopping... Stocked up on blackberries, raspberries, mushrooms and tomatoes.. Loaded up the dehydrator Sunday night, and woke up to beautiful dried Cremini mushrooms, and roma tomatoes. However, the raspberries and blackberries look the same as when I put them on the tray.

According to the directions, they should dry at maximum 18-24hrs, however, I'm now going on day 2!! Raspberries are starting to dry I can see, blackberries, not so much. What am I doing wrong?

Dehydrator is set at 130 degrees, has a fan, and I have even tried rotating the trays. I'm stumped!

[cheekysaver]

Ok, for those of you who dehydrate, I'm having issues...

Bought a dehydrator on Friday while I was out Black Friday shopping... Stocked up on blackberries, raspberries, mushrooms and tomatoes.. Loaded up the dehydrator Sunday night, and woke up to beautiful dried Cremini mushrooms, and roma tomatoes. However, the raspberries and blackberries look the same as when I put them on the tray.

According to the directions, they should dry at maximum 18-24hrs, however, I'm now going on day 2!! Raspberries are starting to dry I can see, blackberries, not so much. What am I doing wrong?

Dehydrator is set at 130 degrees, has a fan, and I have even tried rotating the trays. I'm stumped!

Ok I found a vid for you. When dehydrating raspberries and blackberries freeze them first. It helps them break down and rehydrate better... the dehydrater she is using is the excalibur and it will dry items up to 2-3 times faster then the round dehydraters so if it takes her 24 hours it could take you 48 or a bit more and that is ok... the trays need to be rotated about every 12 hours placing the dryer items where the less dry fruit trays were. Humidity in your area can also vary drying times. Once your food is dehydrated and cool store it away in a air tight container right away... a half hour cooling is fine... once I left my dehydrated bananas out for 24 hours and they absorbed enough moisture from the air to make them softer again... I was cheesed off lol!!!

Here is the vid that shows the process for your fruit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBdq_dvLR_E

Now on another note mushrooms onions and peppers and some other veggies rehydrate better when they are slightly steamed... I put my cut up veg in a cassarole dish with about 2 TBSPS of water and I put a lid on it and turn on the microwave for 2 mins then I dehydrate. This gives the rehydrated veg a less chewy texture and it rehydrates much faster.

Dehydrating frozen veg you happen to get on sale can work really awesome... no steaming needed just put it on the tray and go.

Cauliflower and broccoli have very strong smells when you dehydrate and the cauliflower goes a off color and you might be tempted to toss it... don't toss it... when it is rehydrated it comes back a beautiful white color just like when you put it in the dehydrator.

I hope that helps!