Canning fruits and vegetables

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Hello everyone, and does anyone here still can fruits and vegetables like my grandmother on my dads side still does? I can remember when we were young my mom and dad canned everything that they grew, even made homemade tomato sauce.


thank you in advance

Adam
 
I would love to get a place in the country and be able to do that. My Dad is really getting towards the end of his life and talks about how he did it when he was young. He also talks about wanting to do it someday.
Sad thing is it would be nice to learn some things from him, but i probably won't have the opportunity........
 
My wife does it and goes nuts (IMO)

Right now she's doing a crabapple/ cranberry jam. She considers herself a hack for using pectin, as "the apples should have enough natural-- but (she) can't fool around all night".

She also does garden grown tomatoes. Garden success rate is about 50% including hail, pests, canning jars that don't develop a vacuum, etc. Her excuse list is as long and well thought out as the one for fishing.
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I do maple syrup but technically it isn't canning, I don't think, even though I fill mason jars and the lids pop when they cool. My propane bill is about what I'd pay for store bought...
 
We can a lot of material, mostly directly from our garden. We make our own spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes, tomato juice, chili sauce and salsa. In addition, we make 3 or so types of pickels that nearly last us the entire year. This year, we grew our own pumpkins, took the pumpkin filling out them, and are in the process of making pumpkin bread, rolls, bars, etc. In the past we also froze our own creamed corn and many other things. Tastes great when you make it at home! Also helps the grocery bill out when you have 3 kids in the house!
 
I've been canning home grown vegetables for about 35 years. Mostly I make salsa, tomatoe sauce, tomato soup, and pickled peppers, yielding 50-80 pints/year. I use a 30 quart All American pressure canner.

I also freeze my left over home grown garlic, onions, and other vegetables. New Jersey is, after all, the "Garden State".

Tom NJ
 
I grow a nice garden and we take our tomatoes over to Mom's to get canned. Makes a great chili and marinara sauce!
 
Tomatoes,peppers, garlic dill pickles (my favorite), peaches, strawberry jam,green beans,beets,pears..I really enjoy spending an afternoon (or 3)..in the kitchen canning fresh produce. It's so good to have it available in the middle of winter, and you know whats in it..
 
Two things that you can do.. sterilize the jars in the oven at 225F. Also remove the rings when the jars are cool. They are not needed and just corrode anyways. When they corrode they are difficult to get off.
 
Careful - oven processing is strongly discouraged by the USDA and NCHFP. Hot air is poor at conducting heat compared to boiling water or pressured steam, and is highly variable. Also no safe times have been established to assure that harmful spores have been killed. Very unsafe.

Tom NJ
 
Home canning is the leading source of Botulism in the U.S.

Be careful and make sure the center of the canned food is cooked!
 
Originally Posted By: Mixologist
Home canning is the leading source of Botulism in the U.S.

Not to be picky, but actually infant botulism is higher. Infants have less acid in their stomachs and intestines which, combined with the presence of water, the proper temperature range (38-140F), and lack of oxygen, promotes spore hatching. Spores are sometimes introduced through honey, which is why it is recommended not to feed honey & water bottles to infants under eight months of age. After that stomach acids increase due to solid food diets. Almost 100% of infants survive.

Home canning averages about seven cases of botulism per year, out of 28 millions home canners in the USA. Survival rate is 96%. Wound botulism is next, followed by commercially prepared foods. Although the survival rate is high due to artificial respiration and an antidote, the disease can leave you seriously disabled for months.

That said, I agree with your caution. The food in the center of the jar must be exposed to the right temperatures for the right amount of time, and following NCHFP guidlines is wise, especially for low acid foods. Botulism spores can survive 20 hours of boiling water temperatures (212F). At 10 psi (240F) they are killed in 12.5 minutes, and a 15 psi (250F) in 2.5 minutes.

It's a great hobby but there are rules.

Tom NJ
 
I'm sure you could google images for home canning and get plenty of pictures for Dad.

I did several cases of green beans this year, and some kale/collards/chard, and some spagetti meat sauce. I have limited area for storage so can't go whole-hog. As well, I'm the only one that takes care of the garden, snaps beans, and does anything else involved. I do what I feel like doing and not much more.

I have done my own saurkraut and then canned it. It was awesome. Then there were the peaches in honey syrup, peach butter, pickled okra, tomato sauce, peeled tomatos, and some other things I can't quite remember what they were.

When I first started canning I remember what a comforting sound it is to hear the jiggler on top of the canner making noise in the kitchen. It dragged my memory straight back to Grandma's house when I was a young boy, watching all the old Aunts sitting on the front porch snapping beans and yakking it up. Grandma and Grandpa's gardens were always good for a fussing at if you got caught running through them. It was a riot to look at the separate piles of tomatoes in the kitchen from the garden of each to see what the running tally was and who had the biggest tomato. Never was a word said about the contest, but everyone knew the score.
 
Nice story Mr Incredible I enjoyed it.
Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
I'm sure you could google images for home canning and get plenty of pictures for Dad.

I did several cases of green beans this year, and some kale/collards/chard, and some spagetti meat sauce. I have limited area for storage so can't go whole-hog. As well, I'm the only one that takes care of the garden, snaps beans, and does anything else involved. I do what I feel like doing and not much more.

I have done my own saurkraut and then canned it. It was awesome. Then there were the peaches in honey syrup, peach butter, pickled okra, tomato sauce, peeled tomatos, and some other things I can't quite remember what they were.

When I first started canning I remember what a comforting sound it is to hear the jiggler on top of the canner making noise in the kitchen. It dragged my memory straight back to Grandma's house when I was a young boy, watching all the old Aunts sitting on the front porch snapping beans and yakking it up. Grandma and Grandpa's gardens were always good for a fussing at if you got caught running through them. It was a riot to look at the separate piles of tomatoes in the kitchen from the garden of each to see what the running tally was and who had the biggest tomato. Never was a word said about the contest, but everyone knew the score.
 
Some quarts of pickles I canned with fresh garlic & fresh dill & some with HOT banana peppers that have been setting on the basement shelf with the Amsoil case for the past year...

My Pickles & Oil - they go together...
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az7vvc.jpg
 
That HAS to be one of the odder pictures I've seen on BITOG.

It even looks like you can't see the shelves. The black drain pipe just looks like plumbing gone wrong. An Amsoil box - pickles in there too? It's just you and the wife, right? Wow, that's some serious qts of pickled cukes.
 
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