Ducks4you 2021 Ragtag Thread

[ducks4you]

Be sure to remove the screw tops when they are completely cool. If you Cleaned the rims and sides, you should have no trouble with this. In fact, they usually come off quite easily. I have learned the hard way that basement food storage rusts lids. Fortunately, they is a local recycle place. UNfortunately, right NOW, they aren't worthy any $thing, but they will take them off my hands, and they don't go into a landfill.

 

[heirloomgal]

HERE is yesterday's tomato harvest, now in 8 quarts with 2 pints of juice.
View attachment 44116
I thought I would give you a "Ducks Tomato Canning Primer", NOT bc I do it best, but to encourage those of you about to leap in canning.
First of all, water bath canning, IMHO is the easiest. DH and I have learned to use my pressure canner, and we have put up chili, but it is an afternoon event, and you need to wait for the pressure to go down before you start another batch.
Water bath canning can go all day, if you have the produce, energy and time for it.
ALWAYS research what you intend to can. Some things, like squash are not recommended for canning, just short term freezing.
Do NOT worry about poisoning yourself and your kin!
Whenever I open a jar of tomatoes, for instance, I smell it and look at the lid. If the lid is solid and it smells like I just put it up, no mold...yes, very old jars can rust, Virginia...I am fully confident it "can" (pun) be consumed safely. I won't add lemon juice to my tomatoes bc I am not canning lemon juice...but I Could...
I digress.
1) Harvest

I LOVE this. Canning tomatoes is something I know I NEED to learn how to do, I've needed to learn it for 14 years. But I'm a gigantic chicken. It seems so HARD and so RISKY. And I'm kinda scared of it. Also, adding lemon juice to tomatoes, as I've seen in canning instructions, just seems icky to me. I don't like super sour tomatoes!

 

[heirloomgal]

5) Fill jars. You probably already have the utentsils: plastic canning funnel, magnetic lid grabber, jar picker upper--I forgot the common terms, these are Mine. I clear my sink, fill my jars on rh side, and put my crock pot with produce on the lh side. I have gotten tired of too much juice, so this year I removed the tomatoes with a slotted spoon to put into the jars, There is Still PLENTY of juice. I use a long teaspoon to push out the bubbles and remove any juice if the jar is too full. I fill them all for one batch, then wet a paper towel to wipe both the rims and screw top areas clean, then put on the lids and screw tops finger tight. BEFORE I move them to the stove, which is across the room from my sink, I pour boiling water from the kettle over all of the jars to clean off any produce I may have spilled.
I move my jars over the stove where the water has a brisk boil, and stage them next it. At this point the whole stovetop is hot, so not likely to crack.
Yes, I HAVE had jars crack before. Don't cry if this happens, but it is ALWAYS cold meets hot that does the shattering...and I big mess to clean up. View attachment 44121
Yes, I use a long meat fork to pick up the lid of the canner, so I am not burnt by it.
View attachment 44122

Okay, couple questions for you at this point -
Were the jars only washed in the sink, or do you have to sterilize them first in boiling water?
Were the chopped tomatoes cooked for long before being put in the jars?
Do you need to sterilize the spoon for pushing out the bubbles?
What is 'finger tight'?
What does 'stage them next it' mean? I'm lost after this point. What did you do with the jars and that pot of boiling water, put them in to sit on the bottom?
When you mention the stovetop being hot so not likely to crack (the jars I think), do you mean the jars are hot sitting on the hot stovetop? (you and I have the same type of glass top stove)

Phew, just trying to figure this out has me !

Btw @ducks4you have you kept up with what is happening with Pastor Artur Pawlowski? It's so sad, and terrifying.

 

[flowerbug]

Okay, couple questions for you at this point -
Were the jars only washed in the sink, or do you have to sterilize them first in boiling water?
Were the chopped tomatoes cooked for long before being put in the jars?
Do you need to sterilize the spoon for pushing out the bubbles?
What is 'finger tight'?
What does 'stage them next it' mean? I'm lost after this point. What did you do with the jars and that pot of boiling water, put them in to sit on the bottom?
When you mention the stovetop being hot so not likely to crack (the jars I think), do you mean the jars are hot sitting on the hot stovetop? (you and I have the same type of glass top stove)

Phew, just trying to figure this out has me !

Btw @ducks4you have you kept up with what is happening with Pastor Artur Pawlowski? It's so sad, and terrifying.

the main thing with canning tomatoes is knowing if the variety is acidic enough when ripe. if they are not acidic enough then they would either need more acid added to them (hence lemon juice, but you can also use vinegar or other compatible acids, some of which you may not object to (vitamin C or citric acids) etc.) or they'd need to be pressure canned.

if you scan the canning forum here i've posted a fair bit there and if you'd like to ask these questions there i'd be happy to answer them, but for me to do that here i think i'd be interrupting this thread too much ...

 

[baymule]

I don't water bath mine, I just use the pressure canner. Since I don't have a water bath canner......

Home canned tomatoes are the BEST. My input, after blanching to get the skins to slip, I dunk in cold water so I can handle them.

Great how-to tutorial @ducks4you

 

[heirloomgal]

I don't water bath mine, I just use the pressure canner. Since I don't have a water bath canner......

Home canned tomatoes are the BEST. My input, after blanching to get the skins to slip, I dunk in cold water so I can handle them.

Great how-to tutorial @ducks4you

Is there any possibility for an explosion with a pressure canner?

 

[flowerbug]

Is there any possibility for an explosion with a pressure canner?

yes, but there are instructions (and some safety measures built into most modern pressure canners) provided which help prevent that, are you the kind of person who can't read or follow directions?

 

[baymule]

Is there any possibility for an explosion with a pressure canner?

My pressure canner has a vent that I put the weight over, to let steam escape. The weight has 5, 10, 15 stamped on it for pounds of pressure and holes in it to place over the vent. It lets the appropriate amount of steam to escape to maintain the pressure.

Before clamping down the lid, I always hold it up to the light and look through the vent to make sure that it is not clogged up. That is a safety check.

The lid also has a rubber plug that is designed to pop off if the pressure became too great for any reason.

I've been canning for 40 years and have never had an incident. I've had a few jars break, but it was always something stupid that I did.

I had a cheap canner for many years and hated it. I finally broke down about 10 years ago and got the All American pressure canner and I absolutely adore it. It is a fine precision milled piece of kitchen equipment that will last a lifetime and beyond. It is thick aluminum and heavy. I have the Model 921 and it is named The Beast. I love The Beast!

The canner itself comes with a booklet of instructions and you can buy the Ball Book Of Canning. It's full of recipes and stuff that I'll never make, LOL, but it also has detailed instructions. Plus, You got us!

All American Pressure Canners - Free Shipping | All American Canner

All American Pressure Canners are the best pressure canners to get any food preservation job done. These canners can also double as pressure cookers and are built to last a lifetime.

www.allamericancanner.com

 

[baymule]

@heirloomgal

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or

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[Rhodie Ranch]

I have my Mother's Presto 21 qt canner that she used when we were growing up. Mother will be 91 in November. I have replaced the handles twice, the rubber plug periodically and bought a new weighted thingie about 20 years ago.

As far as lemon juice in tomatoes, its just to lower the pH a tiny bit. I use ascorbic acid that I bought at Wallys.