Green Living
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Canning - how to start?
My new years resolution is to learn how to can.
Where do I start?
Any advice on books, equipment, etc?
I realize my produce options are limited now, but we get a lot of citrus at our farmers market, so maybe I'll start with marmalade. Or pickled carrots and beets or something.
Re: Canning - how to start?
i started with jam, it's pretty easy. i don't have any specialty equipment, just a big/deep pot and i put washcloths at the bottom of it so the jars weren't directly on the bottom. you can google for recipes and just adjust sterilization time for your elevation. our county extension has canning instructions online, there are also USDA guidelines/instructions you can follow.
We got together a group of local nesties and had a canning party so a bunch of us learned how to do it together. It was fun and really cheap because we split the cost of supplies and food!
Do you have a copy of Joy of Cooking? There's a whole section in there, I just went with that 'cause I didn't want to buy a separate book. Ball also has a website with instructions.
Some sort of jam is a great way to start, that's supposed to be pretty easy and foolproof. There are two types of canning, boiling water bath and pressure canning. You need a pressure canner for anything that doesn't have enough acid/sugar to kill bacteria, so with boiling water you're limited to fruits and tomatoes pretty much.
ETA: and pickles. That's apprarently not really "canning", it's "pickling", but anyways you can do it in a boiling water bath.
I have this blog in my google reader: http://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/
She's an uber-homesteader, and not of the typical eco-mold, but she talks about canning all the time. There's some stuff about raising goats and building structures and stuff thrown in, but it's a good way to just get some old canning knowledge by osmosis.
I do have a copy! I didn't even thing to check there. I will read through that and probably come back with 8 million questions. Thanks!
Ditto PP about the Ball canning book. Also, try the Idiot's Guide to Canning.
I make and preserve (canning and freezing) most fruits and veggies throughout the year and love it.
You want the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, not the Blue Book. The Home Preserving book is 1000x better (I own both).
You want this: http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314, not (or in addition to) this: http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Blue-Book-of-Preserving/dp/0972753702
I've read the Ball lids have BPA (there's one obscure brand that doesn't), but I figure that's better than having an entire can of BPA. Also, if I keep my jars upright and use appropriate headspace, the food doesn't touch the lid anyway.
I have a pressure canner that I bought for around $80, a jar lifter (sort of modified tongs), a lid wand (magnet on a stick for reaching the lids in hot water), and a candy thermometer. If you're making high-acid, high-sugar foods, the pressure canner isn't necessary; any old stockpot will do for boiling, though you'd need a rack for the bottom to keep the jars from touching the bottom of the pot (I've wondered if marbles would work). Using the books above, I learned to can in about a day. It's easy once you get the hang of it and practice a little. I started with jellies and pizza sauce (boiling) and moved up to meats (pressure) and pickles later on.
Shoot! So this means if my little container garden does produce enough that I need to can, I'll be limited to tomatoes?
I'm doing peas, green beans, tomatoes, and hot peppers (cherry & jalapeno). I had planned on freezing the peas and beans, but was going to can the peppers. Or maybe peppers get pickled; jarred jalapenos are usually pretty vinegar-y?
I didn't even think of doing this so thanks for posting it! I'll have to try this next year. I got a pot that's specifically for canning (comes with the insert thing so the jars don't touch the bottom or hit each other) but it has a concave bottom and I can't get the water to boil on our glass stove top. I want to can more often but don't want to lug everything to my parents house to use their stove.
I've only canned tomatoes and salsa but I'm hoping to try other things next year.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.