Anyone can their own food?

If so what do you can? what recipes do you use? Where do you get your jars?


Im thining about trying this. I want to practice a few times before next spring when we get our garden going again. Last year the only thing we tried saving was Cilantro and we put some into ice trays, filled with water and froze. when we want to cook with it just toss one of the cubes into the skillet, the water will cook out and you are left with some tastey herbs! We also dehydrated a bunch as well.


How to can food

 

we canned a bunch of tomatoes this year and made a bunch of applesauce and canned it as well. I've also made pickles the last few years too. I don't have any recipes with me at work.

 

My wife has made a few batches of "almost pickles" and they are pretty good. We didnt can them or anything though. I want to try and can them this year though

 

My wife and I canned some tomatos and some pickles I have no idea what the recipes are though.

 

zombie. gather up $8 bucks and go to any hardware store. buy that thin book called "blue book of canning". i think the BALL jar company puts the book out. easy peasy!

we canned a bunch of tomatos the year before and they were AMAZING! we had a crap crop this year, so we didnt do it this year. tomatoes are the best learning fruit to can. high acid = low bacteria.

do it!!

 

Good info, Thanks!

 

x2 on the blue book. Has all the info you'll need to get started.

You can buy canning jars at the grocery store by the dozen. Another good place to look for them for cheap is at yard/estate sales. You'll also need a stock pot or pressure cooker or steam canner to process the jars. I just use a stock pot and a water bath, my mother uses a pressure cooker, and my sister has a steam canner and really likes it. A jar funnel and jar lifter are also essential.

My gf and I have canned pickles, tomato sauce and paste, apple sauce, and peppers. The recipes are usually pretty basic. Just make sure your jars, lids, and bands are clean and sterile.

 

Thanks, I guess I need to go look for the blue book

 

if you cant find it..i can run off some copies of key pages and mail you pdf's.

the book is always next to all the canning supplies.

 

canning is a good skill should the meteor hit..or zombies invade.

 

I highly recommend canning your own stuff. We grow our own tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and herbs. The canned tomato sauce and paste usually end up as spaghetti sauce or in chili. You can really taste the difference with the home grown stuff, not to mention it's probably better for you. I can't stand store bought spaghetti sauce anymore.

 

My wife has started making her own white sauce. Its so much better than store bought!

 

I've got apple, cherry and plum trees in my yard. I'd like to start canning some of those into preserves or anything else.

How long do canned things usually last?

 

Not 100% sure because things don't usually sit for years in our cupboard, but I think preserves can last a for several years.

 

I think it depends on how they are prepared and stored, usually the cooler it is the longer it will last. But I dont know in terms of years.

 

Thankfully I found this thread right before I was going to make one. I would like to make apple butter soon. Only thing I hate about canning apple butter if you make it yourself, it will only last like a week maybe after opening it. If I'm wrong, correct me.

 

Not sure on how long it keeps. We have made almond butter but it was eaten within a week

I have the blue book at home I could look and find out.

 

Alright, thanks. And what is this blue book you speak of?

 

its called the Ball blue book of canning. Im Pretty sure I got mine at wal mart

 

This brings back memories!

I remember when I was living with my mom and stepdad we used to jar dang near EVERYTHING that we grew in our garden, or picked at the local farms. We would take a weekend and on Saturday we would go to a local farm and pay dirt cheap to go out and pick whatever we wanted. We would get tomatoes, cucumbers, mustard greens, turnip greens, you name it. Then we would go home and spend the rest of Saturday, Saturday night, and all day Sunday cooking and canning. My mom had 4 pressure cookers going on the stove and GOD I got tired of pealing tomatoes or cutting up greens. They sure did taste better than the canned stuff from the store though!