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Post by zztop11 on Jun 19, 2020 19:51:08 GMT
As a former home economics teacher, I find anything to do with food fascinating. I love to cook, I dehydrate my home grown herbs, etc. I have enough freezer space to put all the foods that I to in there so there is no real "need" for me to can food. I make jelly and freeze it. Preserving foods in a pressure canner is a lot of work but it looks so good afterwards. Just moved to MN last year and we are overflowing with farmers markets. Please convince me that I need to can my foods. Should I get one?
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Post by sabrinae on Jun 19, 2020 20:49:33 GMT
As a former home economics teacher, I find anything to do with food fascinating. I love to cook, I dehydrate my home grown herbs, etc. I have enough freezer space to put all the foods that I to in there so there is no real "need" for me to can food. I make jelly and freeze it. Preserving foods in a pressure canner is a lot of work but it looks so good afterwards. Just moved to MN last year and we are overflowing with farmers markets. Please convince me that I need to can my foods. Should I get one? If you want to can go for it. It’s a great way to preserve local foods and preserve better flavors. It is time consuming and a lot of work, but it is very satisfying. I’d suggest looking at ball’s canning book for a good starting point. It’s really nice to have canned produce during the winter. |
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Post by elaine on Jun 19, 2020 20:59:43 GMT
The only things we completely ate through from my canning days were fruit preserves (and you don’t need a pressure canner for these) and spaghetti sauce.
Canned fresh spaghetti sauce is amazing, but it is a TON of work. Processing tomatoes is a sweaty labor-intensive process. And since I wasn’t growing them myself, but having to buy them, it was also costly. 25 pounds of tomatoes only made 4-5 quarts of spaghetti sauce.
If you have your own veggie garden, you will save money canning. If you are buying your veggies, chances are it will cost more than you think.
But, if you think that your family will eat through in a year what you can, go for it. Fresh pickles are amazing, along with the spaghetti sauce. I second the suggestion of the Ball Canning book.
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snyder
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,934 
Location: Colorado
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Post by snyder on Jun 19, 2020 22:23:56 GMT
I think it depends on what you want to can. Most foods are fine with a water bath, but if you want to do meats a pressure canner is a must. Some say veggies as well. I haven't done many veggies other than tomatoes and salsa and I've always water bathed those and have never had an issue with them. Canning is a lot of work.
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peaname
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,389
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Post by peaname on Jun 20, 2020 11:34:18 GMT
Could you borrow one to see how you like it? My library checks out appliances and cake pans.
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Post by wandawoman on Jun 20, 2020 12:03:23 GMT
We love canned meat. Pork, beef, deer, and chicken are good. You will really appreciate having it when you need to fix a meal quickly.
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Post by SunnySmile on Jun 21, 2020 4:59:48 GMT
I think it depends on what you want to can. Most foods are fine with a water bath, but if you want to do meats a pressure canner is a must. Some say veggies as well. I haven't done many veggies other than tomatoes and salsa and I've always water bathed those and have never had an issue with them. Canning is a lot of work. Veggies, aside from tomatoes must be canned in a pressure canner. I enjoy canning, and have found pressure canning to be easier frankly than water bath canning, which requires a lot of preparation of fruit or tomatoes. Pressure canning is so much easier. Put raw chicken chunks in jars with no water, chicken will make it's own juice, and pressure can. You end up with the most tender chicken, and it's so convenient to have it on the shelf for salads, sandwiches or soups. All you had to do was cut up chicken breasts...aside from washing your jars. A lot of vegetables are the same. You can fill the jars with raw vegetables and cover with water. Go for it! |
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Post by Zee on Jun 21, 2020 14:37:55 GMT
I like canning. It's not hard, in fact it's easier with a pressure canner. I don't have a garden anymore so I haven't canned in a few years but I loved seeing all those jars in my pantry and using my own tomatoes for sauces, soups, chili, etc.
I made jelly, canned beans and pickles, did tomatoes and tomato soup and spaghetti sauce. Now you really don't need a pressure canner for any of that but the beans, but I liked using it for the tomatoes too.
I haven't canned meat, that doesn't sound appealing.
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