Canning Made Easy

Grit Magazine ^ | October, 2007 | S. Schade-Brewer

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yes, it is! I put it on summer veggie platters and people are always surprised at how crunchy yet bland it is, so it compliments any dip served. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

P.S. Raw veggies and salad are just a gateway to ‘Blue Cheese Dressing Addiction’ IMHO, LOL!

[GoLightly]

I sort of remember a little baking soda in the mix

I would think a little corn starch (a thickener) instead of baking soda.

[OregonRancher]

Ball, the parent company, no longer makes home canning supplies. It’s spun off to another company,
http://www.freshpreserving.com/

[newfreep]

I kept seeing this thread title and thought it was “Caning Made Easy” with tips on effective parenting...

[rightly_dividing]

Whatever works. I found a great article in a magazine the other day about growing in bags of top soil.

A while back, early in the summer, Lowes garden dept had two bags of soil with identical plants growing in each bag, to show the difference between the various brands of soil.
Of course the brand that they were selling had bigger plants :)

[JRochelle]

Speaking of blueberries, I just spent my morning picking them. Beautiful berries, and the price was pretty too, 60 cents per pound.

There is always blueberry pie. You can’t go wrong with that.

[rightly_dividing]

good article on bag gardening, thanks.

[goat granny]

T.Y for the correction. I always like being reminder that I am older than dirt.......:O(

[goat granny]

To me no one has ever really tasted a peach unless they pluck it off a tree just before its ready to fall....I'd grab one when on the garden tractor cutting the back yard, so delicious, and the juice would just drips off your chin. Our peach tree would skip a fruiting everyonce in a while. I envy you.....:O)

The stuff you get in the supermarket seems so tasteless.

[CottonBall]

Would one of you come to my house someday and can with me? I can read and read and read but until I try it, it will never make sense. I know I’m going to mess something up!!! :0)

LOL! I felt exactly the same way. In fact, my canner sat in its Amazon box for weeks until I felt 'brave' enough to take it out.

I'd say, just jump in with both feet, not worrying about the end product. Follow your canning book once step at a time - that way it's lees intimidating.

I'm at the point now - after only about a month - that I really enjoy canning. And especially hearing the pings as the jars cool, telling me that the vacuum seal is being set and the jars will be ok!

[CottonBall]

I think a lot of time you need new lids because someone pops it off with an opener and bends it a little. In that case, it won’t re-seal, of course.

Plus - and I'm speculating here - I would guess that the rubber seal gets mashed down when the jar is sealed. The seals on my used lids seems a lot flatter and less flexible than on the new lids.

[MtnClimber]

Does anyone have experience with pressure canning? I looked on Amazon.com and it seems they range from $79 to over $200. Also, is the quart capacity the number of quart jars it will hold or just total volume? And experience with different brands? It looked like there were two general ways the lid attached, a twist-on type and a lid that is held on with several tthumb screws.

[Gabz]

For those who find they have some old preserves, make filled cookies. I use the filled cookie dough recipe from an old 1950’s Betty Crocker cookbook but you can make a basic sugar cookie dough (but not too sweet). Roll it out and cut into 3-4” circles. Put a spoon of preserves in the middle of the circle and cover with another circle of dough. Seal the edges, prick the top with a fork for vents and bake. These are the best! They put poptarts to shame.

Bless your heart I never even thought of that. I will be doing that this year.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

In my experience, Hickory switches hold up the longest. ;)

[Bill_o'Rights]

>>> the government wants to regulate home gardening

I think you ought to start a new topic on that and support it as you did your response to me. Well stated.

[CottonBall]

We bought a house last year and when we ventured into the basement (ewwww) we found a wall of shelves floor to ceiling ...

You are SO lucky! I would love to have a basement. Especially one that already has shelves.

[CottonBall]

Hello again, MtnClimber!

I wonder if I need a pressure canner? I live at 8,500 ft elevation and the boiling point of water is lower due to lower atmospheric pressure. Can’t make good coffee! The pressure canner would get hotter due to increased pressure. Also, is the higher temperature why the pressure canner is needed to can meats?

I'm at 7300 feet most of the time myself. There are pressure adjustments with any pressure canner for altitude - the booklet that comes with your canner will tell ya what pressure to use for your altitude. It's usually a higher pressure than sea level, if I'm not mistaken. W/r meats - they are not acidic, so need a pressure canner instead of a water bath - yes, I believe it is because it needs a higher temp to be sure it is safe.

[CottonBall]

Does anyone have experience with pressure canning? I looked on Amazon.com and it seems they range from $79 to over $200. Also, is the quart capacity the number of quart jars it will hold or just total volume? And experience with different brands? It looked like there were two general ways the lid attached, a twist-on type and a lid that is held on with several tthumb screws.

I've asked all these same questions myself - and many more, on granny's 2nd thread. You can either peruse that thread if you have a lot of free time and a fast connection ;) Or ask again - DelaWhere is a great source of information.

Personally, I got the cheaper Presto one vs. All American or something like that as my 2nd choice. I'm happy with it for now, but it is a bit chinzy for a lot of canning. I think the qt capacity is the total volume. My 23 qt will hold 7 qt jars or 14 pints, double stacked. It got it vs the 16 qt one so I can do water bath canning (the 16 qt one wasn't tall enough to water bath can quart jars).

[CottonBall]

Does anyone have experience with pressure canning? I looked on Amazon.com and it seems they range from $79 to over $200. Also, is the quart capacity the number of quart jars it will hold or just total volume? And experience with different brands? It looked like there were two general ways the lid attached, a twist-on type and a lid that is held on with several tthumb screws.

I've asked all these same questions myself - and many more, on granny's 2nd thread. You can either peruse that thread if you have a lot of free time and a fast connection ;) Or ask again - DelaWhere is a great source of information.

Personally, I got the cheaper Presto one vs. All American or something like that as my 2nd choice. I'm happy with it for now, but it is a bit chinzy for a lot of canning. I think the qt capacity is the total volume. My 23 qt will hold 7 qt jars or 14 pints, double stacked. It got it vs the 16 qt one so I can do water bath canning (the 16 qt one wasn't tall enough to water bath can quart jars).