Store It Foods

Probably the single most important (and costly) item that you will buy for home canning is a pressure canner. A good pressure canner will probably cost more than all other canning supplies combined. The good thing about a quality pressure canner is that you only have to buy it once. With proper care they can last for a very long time. I own an aluminum canner that belonged to my Great-Grandmother, and is probably 80+ years old. I still use it every year, with great success.

Choosing the right size pressure canner can be a balancing act. You don’t want to get one too small or you will be canning small batches one after another. At the same time, you don’t necessarily want to get one too big, or you will have empty space inside the canner.

Personally, I suggest you consider getting one larger than you think you will need. Once you get started, you will want to can more and more. For example, my new canner holds 18 wide mouth pints at a time (or 20 regular), because I can stack them two levels high. My old canner will only hold 8 wide mouth pints at a time. That makes a huge difference in the amount of time with canning supplies.

Dry pack canning is growing in popularity.  This method of long term storage is effective at providing an air tight environment for those foods you wish to include in that storage, making it perfect for dehydrated and dried foods. 

An important consideration, however, is what size of container you wish to use in the process.  The number 10 can is extremely popular, and is approximately one gallon in capacity.  Smaller cans are available if you wish to use them, but if you do wish to use them, it is also necessary to make sure the can sealer you are going to use is capable of handling those smaller cans.  That is not necessarily always the case.

Consequently, prior to making an investment in such a tool, it would be wise to determine the ideal can sizes for use in your family.  This is another case of “looking before you leap.”

There are many people who love their steam canners.  However, some doubt the safety of the method.  The USDA remains on the fence.  It will not list it as being safe, but it will also not say that it is not safe.  According to the agency, the jury is still out, even though there are a great many canning experts who have now thrown their support behind the method.

In any case, for those who are uncertain as to whether they should opt for water bath canning or steam canning, there is now a new alternative.  They can choose the new dual use canner which can do both.  It’s easy to convert from one method to the other.

Once again, if you but look for them, surprising options can sometimes come to light.

Here’s an innovative idea from Ball.How many a time have you opened a jar of peaches or something else you have canned at home, used what you needed, and then transferred the remainder into some sort of a plastic container for storing the leftovers in your refrigerator?  That’s probably something that we have all done.

Now Ball has introduced plastic storage lids for regular or wide mouth jars that can be used with that now opened canning jar so that it can be used for that refrigerated storage.  Now we need not concern ourselves with transferring contents from one container to another.

It may not be a big thing, but it can be a bit of a time saver, and may even save a little bit on expense as well.

If you are planning on purchasing a new pressure canner it is logical to assume that buying a bigger canner will speed up the process by allowing you to can more at a time.  Be careful with such assumptions.

These units, of course, can be used for both canning and pressure cooking.  Such a dual purpose appliance can be wonderful, but check out both sizes and capacities.  In other words, with some models you will find that you can increase the quantities of food going into the pressure cooker, but as a pressure canner the smaller sized unit will only hold 7 quart jars, while the the larger sized model will still only hold 7 quart jars.  It may, however, fit more pint jars than the smaller canner, but will you be using pint jars?

Yes, studying it out before the purchase can be a good idea.  Bigger is better if bigger has some advantages for you, but you need to determine if that is really the case.

Would you like to make use of a surefire method of losing weight?  You can eat all you want, yet keep those pounds off.  Eat, eat, eat and lose fat.  The secret?  Sanitized tape worms.

“Ridiculous!” you say?  Well, yes it is ridiculous.  Who is their right mind would make use of an intestinal parasite in an effort to control weight?  Doctors and nutritionists would certainly turn a huge thumbs down on the idea, and undoubtedly just about everyone would agree with them.  Yet, at one time, there were those who tried this method, and, as an ad from the early 1900’s shows, there were suppliers of tape worms who met this demand as they successfully advertised their product.

We can smile now as we wonder about the gullibility of our ancestors, but that is because we know better. 

It is important, of course, to know better, not only about the dangers of tape worms, but about other health related matters.  Research continually provides information relating to previously unknown hazards.

This includes canning methods.  These days more and more people are rediscovering the value of home canning.  Preserving food saves us money, and when money is tight, that is a wise thing to do.  Consequently, old canners are being dusted off and old canning handbooks are being brought to light for perhaps the first time in years.

That’s good, but that’s also bad, for some of those old canning methods have been found to be unsafe.  Canning the way your grandmother did may not necessarily prove to be harmful, but it might be.  Consequently, it might be wise to ignore some of those old instructions and to research what have been proven to be safer methods of canning.

It just might save us some pain and regret, and would help to eliminate the possibility of our children and grandchildren looking back in wonderment at our canning foolishness.

Many recipes call for the use of fruit syrups in the canning of fruits.  There is nothing wrong with that, but, believe it or not, you do not necessarily need to use syrup.

As an alternative you might like to add a half cup of sugar to your sterilized jar.  Top that with boiling water — enough to dissolve that sugar.  Then add the fruit.  Should you find there is not enough liquid, all that you will need is a little more boiling water.  Once your satisfied with the amount of fruit and the level of your liquid, proceed with the canning process as per usual.

There are two main benefits to this method of producing fruit preserves.

1. It’s quick and easy.
2. You will never worry about having too much or too little syrup.

Like any other canning tip, this is something which you might want to first try on a small scale.  In other words, see how you like it.

Too often when the words “food storage” are used. many of us tend to think “home canning,” and leave it at that.  This is very much of an over-generalization.

Food storage can incorporate canning, of course, but if can also include freezing, dehydrating, and, in fact, anything that allows you to preserve and use your food items, whether that’s for the long term or for the short term.

Consequently, when you are looking for tools, tips and guidelines relating to food storage, don’t stop with those solely related to home canning.  You may be missing out on any number of other helpful hints and resources.

Pressure cookers have been around for an awfully long time, although their popularity seems to have ebbed and flowed.  Today, though, that popularity is on the increase and for good reason.  They speed cooking, they save on energy and they’re safer than ever.

But should you get a pressure canner instead of a pressure cooker?  Well, if you get right down to it, a pressure canner is a pressure cooker.  On the other, hand a pressure cooker is not necessarily a pressure canner.  The difference is primarily in the size.

If you want your pressure cooker to serve as a canner as well, it has to be large enough to accomodate the jars into which your food is placed to be canned.  Not all pressure cookers are capable of doing that.

Thus, when it comes time to make that purchasing decision, you would be wise to consider all of the possible uses to which that appliance might be put.  Home canning is also increasing in popularity, so that might be an important consideration even if it is, at this point, but a future consideration.

The best way to preserve meat, poultry, and vegetables longer is through canning. Canning is not as difficult as it sounds. You just need to have a reliable pressure canner that will do the job.

Canning is also recommended to prevent easy spoilage of foods with a low acid content, such as fish, vegetables, and meat. These foods spoil easily and canning disrupts the spoilage process. A pressure canner can also be used for fruit preserves such as jams and jellies.