Canning supplies

[frontiergirl53]

Hi, I have been looking in to buying a canning set. Are they worth it? What are your favorite veggies or fruits to preserve? What would a whole set consist of? How much would that cost? Thanks to everyone who replies to this!

 

[baymule]

I can tomato sauce, pickles, jelly, chicken broth, vegetable soup of whatever is ready in the garden. YES! It's worth it!

 

[frontiergirl53]

You can can chicken broth? @baymule

 

[MoonShadows]

I have a pressure canner for my home. I don't remember how much I paid, but it was worth every cent. There is nothing like cracking open a jar of fresh canned veggies, sauce or whatever in the middle of the cold, dark winter (or even the late fall or spring for that matter). We love making tomato pasta sauce, and one of my favorites is fresh sweet corn; tastes like it just came off the cob. Canning is a must for any serious gardener to preserve the harvest and have natural food when the garden is covered with snow.

 

[journey11]

This is what I bought starting out -- Ball Enamel Water Bath Canner, Including Chrome-Plated Rack and 4-Piece Utensil Set, except mine at the time also included a copy of the Ball Blue Book, also a necessary item for beginning canners. Arguably, you could use a butter knife or chopstick in place of the air bubble removing utensil, but it also has a handy measuring device on it for headspace and doesn't cost much. Any piece you might break or lose can be cheaply obtained at Walmart. The 4-piece utensil set and BBB will also be used for pressure canning if you decide to go further into that. You can get tons of canning recipes of the internet, but the BBB also goes into depth about equipment and procedures, so I definitely recommend it for new canners. It will help you to get off to a good start and not develop any bad or potentially unsafe habits.

I can anything I can get my hands on and there are tested recipes out there for almost every fruit or veggie. Home canned foods can make wonderful (and oft requested) Christmas gifts and can command a higher selling price than their grocery store counterparts if you should decide to market what you've crafted in your kitchen. We have an old member on here who has kept so busy selling jams in her etsy store, she no longer has time to chat with us.

 

[baymule]

Oh yes I can chicken broth! It is my grand daughter's favorite. I butcher old hens, boil and pick meat off bones. I package and freeze the meat, chill the broth to skim the fat off, then can. I probably should can the meat too... LOL

My dream pressure cannery is the All American. It doesn't have a gasket that has to be replaced. Its on my list for this year. The one I have has a gasket and I have to regulate it carefully. I want the kind with weights that go on top.

Many of us also dehydrate ,the best dehydrator is the Excalibur. I have a 9 tray and load it up! You sure came to the right place if you want to preserve your garden produce! We'll be delighted to help you!

 

[dickiebird]

The canner Journey linked to is a good choice for beginner or advanced food canning.
Too bad you don't live closer as I have one I'm getting ready to list on Craigslist.

THANX RICH

 

[Ridgerunner]

Check out post #12 in his thread. It tells you what canning supplies and equipment I use. I don't have prices though.

http://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/pressure-canner.12785/page-2

I can a lot of chicken broth. We use a lot but I also supply three other people. There are all kinds of uses for it and practically everything that goes in it is from the garden.

I can a lot of dill and sweet pickles, corn, green beans, beets, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, and saurkraut. Our normal Saturday supper is a quart of vegetable soup I canned with cheese and crackers. Simple quick and good.

I can dried beans for the convenience. Any time you want beans just open a pint. They are already cooked so all you have to do is rinse them and heat them up. That's a lot better than having to cook them all day.

My Christmas gifts for certain people I actually like is about a dozen jars of various jams, jelly, and chutney made from fruits and berries I grow. Last year I included a quart of canned apple pie filling. Just heat up the crust and pour it in. I already have mint jelly canned and waiting for this Christmas.

Yes, I think canning is worthwhile.

 

[baymule]

Plus there is nothing at the grocery store that's as good as what you can from your garden!

 

[Sam BigDeer]

Amen, Baymule, Amen!!!!
Plus, Plus, your home canned foods does not contain all the chemical preservatives as the 'store-bought' stuff..
Sam