What are you canning now?

[flowerbug]

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.

 

[ducks4you]

Crops are MONTHS away. So cold here. usually get potatoes in on Good Friday, peas shortly after that. Then make sure frost is done before setting out anything else/ May be June before we get anything to eat from the garden.

Do you know anything about "snow peas?"

 

[flowerbug]

Do you know anything about "snow peas?"

do you mean like this?

What’s the Difference Between Snow Peas, Snap Peas, and Garden Peas?

Brush up just in time for the season.

www.thekitchn.com

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

Some pics of canning this season.....

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

Cleaned and waiting jars.....

Slumgulleon, cooking down....

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]

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]

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.

 

[digitS']

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]

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]

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]

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.