Pressure Cannning

[MontyJ]

Things I can whole, or in pieces:

asparagus
beets
beans (green beans that is)
cucumbers (as dill pickles...I don't much care for sweet or bread and butter pickles)
carrots
potatoes
tomatoes
peas
corn
beef
pork
chicken
peppers
onions (mostly white pearl onions, they are great in stew especially this time of year!)
grape jelly
peach jam
strawberry/rhubarb jam (still need to work on that one...dang was it sour)
blackberry jelly
raspberry jelly
green beans with ham and new red potatoes
chicken soup
beef barley soup
tomato sauce
apples
peaches


That is just off the top of my head. I have been doing this for over 20 years. My wife bakes a wonderful chicken. I love to open a jar of veggies from the garden to enjoy alongside it. What I would not enjoy is having a great roasted chicken and a big ole glass of corn juice. That is my preference. If you prefer juice, durgan, fine. Maybe you should ammend your original post to say "If you only can juice, this method might work for you and not result in botulism poisoning."

It's obvious to me that you have not been doing this very long and are excited about the results you have had. As the saying goes, even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. If you have never heard the saying, it deals with being lucky.

As journey has pointed out, not many people are going to juice everything from their garden. In fact, most won't. Most people prefer their canned veggies in the whole form.

Here is a challange for you durgan: Take 40 pounds of green beans, 10 pounds of new potatoes, and 5 pounds of ham, mix them together and can them whole (not juiced) using your methods. Wait 6 months and have a jar for dinner. Actually, don't do that. Odds are the lids would blow themselves off before 6 months was up.

Look, I don't know you and I don't have a personal vendetta against you. However, I do take offense at being insulted. I also do not like to see bad information passed off when it comes to safety. So in the spirit of TEG, I am willing to teach you good canning practices along with any other TEG member with canning experience. Perhaps you will find delight in canned produce beyond that of juices. Maybe then you can really reap and enjoy the benefits of gardening.

 

[MontyJ]

"Feel lucky, Punk?"

Sorry, but that's what comes to mind when I read of experimenting with pressure canning.

Me? I'm such a wuss that I even pressure cook my tomatoes. I know Grammas water bath(ed) for a hundred years, but I'm playing it as safe as possible and skipping even the water bath in favor of my pressure canners.

Gotta stick with Journey11 and MontyJ 'cuz when he''s right he's right and in this important gardening topic THEY ARE RIGHT!

As for the rest . . . "I'm biting my tongue!"

Love, Smart Red

Red, I pressure cook tomatoes and water bath them. It all depends on how much time I have. Water bathing results in a prettier jar, but pressure canning is faster. I think I also read that pressure canning produces a healthier product? Either way they are great!

 

[journey11]

"Feel lucky, Punk?"

Sorry, but that's what comes to mind when I read of experimenting with pressure canning.

Me? I'm such a wuss that I even pressure cook my tomatoes. I know Grammas water bath(ed) for a hundred years, but I'm playing it as safe as possible and skipping even the water bath in favor of my pressure canners.

Gotta stick with Journey11 and MontyJ 'cuz when he''s right he's right and in this important gardening topic THEY ARE RIGHT!

As for the rest . . . "I'm biting my tongue!"

Love, Smart Red

Red, I pressure cook tomatoes and water bath them. It all depends on how much time I have. Water bathing results in a prettier jar, but pressure canning is faster. I think I also read that pressure canning produces a healthier product? Either way they are great!

I do too, just adding the extra lemon juice to up the acidity.

 

[Jared77]

Hi Durgan! Remember me?

Here is how I do my corn. Delicious, and I am willing to take any risk involved. I call my unique process juices but it is really an homogeneous mixture. If you study the process, you will find that 240F is likely reached for the whole homogeneous mixture.

That right there is the problem. I am willing to take any risk involved. That's fine take the risk. Those of us who are arguing with you can't let this kind of risk be posted without taking issue with it.

you will find that 240F is likely reached for the whole homogeneous mixture.

You've posted that you know its a risk. So for everything you've posted you know your taking a chance consuming.

Even if it takes longer to do something its about doing it right, and safely.

The methods that others have mentioned and we've quoted from are proven safe. That's what the issue is. Your posting dangerous information. Its no different than posting information on cleaning a loaded gun. The original poster could clean the loaded gun and not be injured and not have a problem. However if someone else does it and they end up shooting themselves ITS AN ISSUE. Its not the person who got shots fault, they followed the same technique that was outlined. Its the information itself that's dangerous and risky. That's the heart of the issue here.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If someone were to pass through here not knowing any better and take your advice, using your method to can green beans--which are one of the foods most likely to be tainted by botulism--then feed those green beans to their family, I'm telling you, they would very likely get sick.

Journey, I think you are wrong on this and I think it's part of the reason some people are so hard to convince. Look at the statistics. Of course these just cover botulism, not food poisoning or anything like that, but the pressure canning technique is mainly about botulism. I have absolutely no doubt a lot of people use bad techniques, yet very few get sick from botulism. I was part of a similar discussion over on the chicken forum about this a while back. One woman was telling how she, her mother, and her grandmother water bath canned everything and had never killed anybody so all that pressure canning stuff was obviously baloney.

Of course it will depend on your technique and how bad you violate the procedures, but you are likely to not get sick. Its very possible you and yours can go for years without any problem. But what are the consequences if your luck runs out?

The people that would die or get real sick from me using bad techniques are my friends or relatives. Total strangers dont eat the food I can. People close to me that I care about do. They are the ones that would be at risk. Because I use proper techniques, I have no worries about giving them the food that I can.

To me the thought that Id killed or destroyed one of these peoples quality of life because I am too lazy to use proper technique or too hard headed and stubborn thinking I know better than highly trained people that have intensively studied it is just totally unacceptable.

 

[bobm]

I would eat a commercially produced can of soup, meat, fruit , vegetable or juice any day of the week than risk illness or death by consuming any juice produced by Durgan's method. Simply ... NOT SAFE !

 

[Durgan]

I would eat a commercially produced can of soup, meat, fruit , vegetable or juice any day of the week than risk illness or death by consuming any juice produced by Durgan's method. Simply ... NOT SAFE !

First of all my Tomato preserving method is safe generally on two fronts. The high temperature (250F) of canning and the acid content of tomatoes. Either alone is sufficient. If you have doubts, simple increase the processing time to any length you imagine is safe.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?RJSIZ 17 September 2012 . Tomato Juice.Sixty pounds processed
Sixty pound of tomatoes was processed into 22 litre jars of pure tomato juice in two batches.Each litre of juice contains about three pound of tomatoes. The jars were pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for long term storage at room temperature.Annotated pictures depict the process.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?OCIMO 4 August 2012 Tomato Juice
Seventeen pounds of tomatoes were processed into nine litres of juice. Celery was added, since one plant was available and four beets added to enhance colour. Seven litres wee pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for long term storage. Two litres were set aside and stored in the refrigerator for current use.
Note.You must have absolute confidence in your canning method. I read much on the subject, then arrived at my own method using the recommendations as a guide.I use 15 PSI for 15 minutes. This means nothing unless one does it correctly. I bring the whole pot up to 212F by operating without the bubbler in place for about 30 to 40 minutes. Then the bubbler is applied and when 15 PSI is reached I start the 15 minutes timing. The objective is for the contents of the jars to reach 250F for 15 minutes, which kills all bacteria.I do not even contemplate the water method of 212F. It has the potential of being too problematic in my opinion. Pressure canning is dead simple and almost effortless.


http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HYBOX 2 August 2012 Tomato Juice
Twenty pounds of tomatoes were processed into juice. Some peppers, okra, beets for enhancing colour, and egg plant were added,since they were available.Eight litres of juice was obtained and seven were pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for long term storage. Pictures depict the process.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you have doubts, simple increase the processing time to any length you imagine is safe.

I personally prefer to not use my imagination when trying to keep my granddaughter safe. I'll use tried and true well-tested recipes.

 

[Durgan]

If you have doubts, simple increase the processing time to any length you imagine is safe.

I personally prefer to not use my imagination when trying to keep my granddaughter safe. I'll use tried and true well-tested recipes.

You must be living in a bubble. Commercial Food Safe? Food recalls continuously! Listeriosis, Campylobacter, Salmonella,Viral food poisoning - (SRVSs) Read the ingredients on the can of a tomato juice, glued meat, HFCS, pink slime,sugar and salt laced prepared foods. All the facts are available on the internet. My desire is to get as far away from the commercial food industry as possible. If people saw their food prepared in most restaurants they would probably never eat out again. Eat to live , not live to eat.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you have doubts, simple increase the processing time to any length you imagine is safe.

I personally prefer to not use my imagination when trying to keep my granddaughter safe. I'll use tried and true well-tested recipes.

You must be living in a bubble. Commercial Food Safe? Food recalls continuously! Listeriosis, Campylobacter, Salmonella,Viral food poisoning - (SRVSs) Read the ingredients on the can of a tomato juice, glued meat, HFCS, pink slime,sugar and salt laced prepared foods. All the facts are available on the internet. My desire is to get as far away from the commercial food industry as possible. If people saw their food prepared in most restaurants they would probably never eat out again. Eat to live , not live to eat.

Could you please point out where I said anything about commercial foods?