What are you canning now?

flowerbug

Garden Master
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
15,885
Reaction score
23,778
Points
417
Location
mid-Michigan, USoA
yes, we won't plant the warm weather crops here until the end of May. peas go in earlier.

green garlic we can harvest any time the soil gets warmed up enough to dig in, but i've not been weeding it out the past few years as much as i was before so i've not been eating it. once i get it all weeded out i'll have to plant some more for this reason in a fixed garden area so i know where it is and i won't mind if it tries to take over again.

this spring i get to see how bunching onions work here as i've not grown them before and i'm a bit excited at the prospect. :) i have two nice clumps to break up and get replanted. we love onions of all kinds so i sure hope they work out well.
 

YourRabbitGirl

Garden Ornament
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Messages
434
Reaction score
192
Points
85
Some pics of canning this season.....

900x900px-LL-71284015_100_3423.jpeg

The green in the jar is from a thick slice of green tomato.

900x900px-LL-a24cd5dd_100_3426.jpeg


Cleaned and waiting jars.....

900x900px-LL-429a431a_100_3427.jpeg


Slumgulleon, cooking down....

900x900px-LL-e9586770_100_3428.jpeg


Hot pepper butter, cooking down in the crockpot.
canned corn today. exactly what you see in the pictures above. I will save them for sweets. have any more ideas on what to can? ill check on the comments again tomorrow.
 

flowerbug

Garden Master
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
15,885
Reaction score
23,778
Points
417
Location
mid-Michigan, USoA
canned corn today. exactly what you see in the pictures above. I will save them for sweets. have any more ideas on what to can? ill check on the comments again tomorrow.

for us whatever we like that we can grow enough of all at once to make it worth putting up a batch so we have some for the rest of the year or two.

with your climate i'm not sure what seasons are like, if you can grow all year round i'd much rather have fresh or freshly steamed vegetables. it is nice to have some things cooked up ahead of time for later use, we freeze those more than can them (we don't have a pressure canner).

canning takes enough work and energy that if i didn't have to do it i surely wouldn't, but come the middle of winter opening a jar of canned tomatoes is really good and ok and makes the effort worth it.

we don't have enough fruit here available that i've managed to scrounge up yet to make canning something like apple sauce worth it, but one year we had someone give us about 10 bushels of mixed apples that were leftover from his place and we made apple sauce from those for the homeless shelter. it turned out really good. i'd do that again if i could source good apples again like that.

do you have seasonal fruits you can put up?
 

Ridgerunner

Garden Master
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Messages
8,227
Reaction score
10,049
Points
397
Location
Southeast Louisiana Zone 9A
have any more ideas on what to can?

I'm in a different situation form you in climate and lifestyle. The typical things I'd waterbath can were jams, jellies, chutney, saurkraut and pickles. The things I'd pressure can were green beans, corn, beets, tomatoes and tomato sauces, dried beans, chicken broth, and soup. We froze certain things out of the garden too.

Most of the jams and jellies were given away as Christmas presents though we ate some. We gave some of the other stuff to friends and relatives. I canned the dried beans because it is really convenient to open a jar of cooked beans when making a meal instead of spending the time to cook them each time. Our typical Saturday evening meal was to open a soup and have that with cheese and crackers. Quick. simple, and easy clean-up.

A good part of the year we never touched most of what was canned or frozen. I'd bring in fresh vegetables when we had them. But in winter when that was not available we ate the canned or frozen stuff. In your climate you may always have fresh stuff available.

My goal was not to be self-sufficient. I simply enjoy growing things. And I enjoy the canning and freezing, to some people those are more like work. As most of us know there is nothing like the taste of fresh stuff from the garden. While canning and freezing does detract from that flavor it still compares favorably with anything you can get from the sore.

This photo shows the typical jams and jellies that were in one of our Christmas presents.
Christmas.JPG
 

digitS'

Garden Master
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
25,719
Reaction score
28,728
Points
457
Location
border, ID/WA(!)
Convenience makes sense to me.

Some folks can potatoes. I assumed that was because they didn't have suitable storage temperatures but they described them as having better flavor. Dry beans? Well, @Ridgerunner says convenience.

@flowerbug doesn't usually can fruit ... but, if you buy fruit in season at a good price and buy it canned during the winter? I'm a little disappointed in the quality of canned fruit. Too often, it looks and tastes to me as tho it was not ripe before canning or overripe and the cooking process with all the sugar makes it palatable. Nothing more.

Anyway, I'm not likely to be canning peaches or pears. But, if I was to cook & can dry beans, here's my question:

I have a pressure cooker/slow cooker combination. It is too big for the two of us as a slow cooker but lots smaller than the canning pressure cookers I have seen. Do you think that canning would work in that? Would there be special precautions?

Steve
who will check the size, maybe setting some pint jars in it, when he is back home from this office visit
 

Ridgerunner

Garden Master
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Messages
8,227
Reaction score
10,049
Points
397
Location
Southeast Louisiana Zone 9A
Steve, if the pint jars can fit it should work. You'd want some kind of rack in the bottom sot he jar does not sit on the bottom. What is your elevation? You need to adjust canning pressure for elevation.

One precaution for dried beans is that they swell as they cook. Pinto beans do not swell as much as black turtle beans. I'd have to look at my notes but I think I use 3/4 cup dried pintos but only 5/8 cup of dried black turtle. So leave them some room to expand. I also soak them overnight before I can. I can't think of any other special precautions.
 

Plainhat

Leafing Out
Joined
Feb 15, 2020
Messages
5
Reaction score
15
Points
15
Hey Steve, I hope/wish so!
You asked:
... here's my question:

I have a pressure cooker/slow cooker combination. It is too big for the two of us as a slow cooker but lots smaller than the canning pressure cookers I have seen. Do you think that canning would work in that? Would there be special precautions?
I've not quite moved into the pressure canning world yet. I was following this (perhaps out of date) advice and waiting until I had reason to go for the larger pressure cooker: https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/pressurecookers.html
From that page:
To be considered a pressure canner for USDA processes, the canner must be able to hold at least four quart-size jars, standing upright on the canner rack, with the lid in place. It is also important to realize the canner should have a way to follow recommended venting procedures to remove air from inside the canner before it is pressurized, and to indicate that the canner remains at least at the target pressure throughout the entire process time
and CNET seemed to agree here https://www.cnet.com/news/instant-pot-max-home-canning-safety/

I would love to see some other information to the contrary so I can have the BEST excuse to buy an Insta Pot
 

flowerbug

Garden Master
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
15,885
Reaction score
23,778
Points
417
Location
mid-Michigan, USoA
Steve, if the pint jars can fit it should work. You'd want some kind of rack in the bottom sot he jar does not sit on the bottom. What is your elevation? You need to adjust canning pressure for elevation.

One precaution for dried beans is that they swell as they cook. Pinto beans do not swell as much as black turtle beans. I'd have to look at my notes but I think I use 3/4 cup dried pintos but only 5/8 cup of dried black turtle. So leave them some room to expand. I also soak them overnight before I can. I can't think of any other special precautions.

if you are pressure cooking them (as a different process from pressure canning them) sometimes dry beans can give off a foam that you don't want to clog up the vents or pressure gauge. since i don't have a pressure cooker or pressure canner i've never experienced this personally, but i recall it being mentioned.
 

Latest posts

Top