Canning

[Damelon]

Does anyone do it? I'm thinking of starting a small garden this year and in order to get the most out of it I was looking into canning.

Any tips for a beginner?

[Vader]

If I had an abundance of vegetables I'd rather freeze or pickle them. I don't like canned stuff at all with exception of tomatoes and some beans which can be okay in some cases.

[Avatar]

Never tried it.


--A

[wayfriend]

Off and on. Tomatoes (sauced) and pickles (bread and butter) usually.

Lately we have a vacuum storage thingy. It has an attachment for sucking a vacuum into mason jars. Just putting fresh vegatables (like lettuce) in a vacuumed mason jar keeps them fresh in the fridge for much longer than you might guess. Not sure if that qualifies as "canning".

[SoulBiter]

I love canning.

Jams (Strawberry and Jalapeno
Green beans
Relish (sweet and dill)
Tomatoes
Salsa
soups
Peaches
Collards and Turnips
corn
Peppers

You will need a pressure cooker and know what things to cook for what length of time. Easy to look up on the internet. Date all your cans. Make sure to check them... if the lids aren't sealed the contents are not safe.

Don't force the pressure on the cooker (even safely) because the shift in pressure causes the liquids to come out of the jar.

[Savor Dam]

Menolly bought an Instant Pot pressure cooker earlier this year. Quite a versatile device and we get lots of use from it, but it's supposedly not suitable for canning.

[wayfriend]

A device that makes pot instantly? Genius!

[Vader]

A device that makes pot instantly? Genius!

But isn't pot supposed to relieve presure instead of building it up?

[Avatar]

--A

[Icarus Unfallen]

Appears you all are a day ahead. Today is the proper day for those reefer riffs.

[Avatar]

Yesterday now, but it was duly celebrated of course.

--A

[SoulBiter]

Canned 24 qts of green beans, 10 pints of dill relish, and 24 pints of jam in the last few weeks.