Canning & Preserving Food

John Brunner said:
I have a dehydrator that I use off & on, but I've never preserved in bulk with it. Don't you live in a semi-desert environment? Do folks around you preserve stuff by letting it air-dry?
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I'm always fascinated by @Kate Ellery 's posts when she is drying fruit outdoors. That would be impossible here due to high humidity and insects. (Not to mention raccoons and other critters.)
 
Jake Smith said:
The kitchen is too hot, due to the length of "time" canning takes, and heats up your whole house. We've always done it outside, using this tail gaiter cooker. Our Grandma, was smart about a lot of things, like remedies and other things too.

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When I was a child in New Jersey, air conditioning wasn't common and my father built a Canning Kitchen in the basement where it was usually cool. That became my mom's space, and she had the laundry stuff moved down there too. Our garden there wasn't large, but it was productive. Our neighbor there had a HUGE garden and probably gave my parents stuff he grew.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
I'm always fascinated by @Kate Ellery 's posts when she is drying fruit outdoors. That would be impossible here due to high humidity and insects. (Not to mention raccoons and other critters.)
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It reminds me of some of those pasta & tomato sauce videos we posted on SOC v1.0 All those Italian women making gnocchi outside and air-drying fresh tomato sauce on large tables to make tomato paste. It makes one wonder how one could actually grow anything in conditions so arid that food dehydrates by sitting outside.
 
Don Alaska said:
When I was a child in New Jersey, air conditioning wasn't common and my father built a Canning Kitchen in the basement where it was usually cool. That became my mom's space, and she had the laundry stuff moved down there too. Our garden there wasn't large, but it was productive. Our neighbor there had a HUGE garden and probably gave my parents stuff he grew.
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We never had an a/c growing up, or TV until teens, only black and white then, one of our neighbors got a color and they were the talk of the neighborhood. We used to have those lines rolling and mess up the shows, and be sent out to turn the antenna; they would yell no, go back, that's too far; on and on. Kids this day and time, they wouldn't be able to imagine our way of life growing up. I bet your mom loved her area. Grandma canned all the time, and I used to love her canned peaches she gave us.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
Bean report: Yesterday I pressure canned 5 pints of small red kidney beans (from dry). I decided to put a tiny amount of bacon grease (about 1/3 teaspoon) in each jar, plus a bit of salt. I opened one jar to go with our supper tonight, and they turned out pretty good. I think next time I will forego the bacon grease and just can plain beans. That should be better for use in soups and stuff, though the bacon flavor would be good in a "red beans and rice" supper.
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I want to add an update to this post. After reading on the Penn State University website of things NOT to can, it says to never add oil or butter to canning recipes, so I have to assume that bacon grease is also a bad idea. I'm not sure I understand it, because the Ball Blue Book includes tested recipes that include bacon which is bound to render some fat. At any rate, I will not be adding bacon grease to any recipe in the future.
 
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Beth Gallagher said:
I want to add an update to this post. After reading on the University of Pennsylvania website of things NOT to can, it says to never add oil or butter to canning recipes, so I have to assume that bacon grease is also a bad idea. I'm not sure I understand it, because the Ball Blue Book includes tested recipes that include bacon which is bound to render some fat. At any rate, I will not be adding bacon grease to any recipe in the future.
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I tried to find out what the problem with using butter in canning recipes is.

Here are the first 2 search results:
can butter.jpg

This is why I canned some broth, then gave up canning anything else.
 
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John Brunner said:
I just wanted to can some of my favorite recipes and not kill myself doing it. Is that too much to ask in the 21st century?
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That was my dilemma when trying to decide whether to buy an electric pressure canner. So many pearl-clutchers out there whose personal skies are falling, plus I don't want to die for some dumbass reason. "She should have passed on the green beans."
 
Beth Gallagher said:
I want to add an update to this post. After reading on the Penn State University website of things NOT to can, it says to never add oil or butter to canning recipes, so I have to assume that bacon grease is also a bad idea. I'm not sure I understand it, because the Ball Blue Book includes tested recipes that include bacon which is bound to render some fat. At any rate, I will not be adding bacon grease to any recipe in the future.
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Yeah, I know they say that, but I know a number of people who use oil in canning recipes. They add vinegar to lower the pH though. It is like canning salad dressing.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
I want to add an update to this post. After reading on the Penn State University website of things NOT to can, it says to never add oil or butter to canning recipes, so I have to assume that bacon grease is also a bad idea. I'm not sure I understand it, because the Ball Blue Book includes tested recipes that include bacon which is bound to render some fat. At any rate, I will not be adding bacon grease to any recipe in the future.
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Beth, I think that is because ;lard or pig grease has a very high heating tolerance.
 
Don Alaska said:
Yeah, I know they say that, but I know a number of people who use oil in canning recipes. They add vinegar to lower the pH though. It is like canning salad dressing.
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Yes, people do pretty much as they please and always have. There are generations of "this is how grandma did it and we're all still alive" recipes (including my family). In today's litigious society, most food-related instruction has to include the CYA disclaimers.
 
Marie Mallory said:
Beth, I think that is because ;lard or pig grease has a very high heating tolerance.
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According to the Penn State guidelines, oil (they never mention grease) can coat the food, interfering with heat conduction in the jars. It can also interfere with the jar seal, causing early failure if siphoning occurs. I just don't understand why a bit of grease is an issue when a piece of bacon is not. As @John Brunner said, there are so many conflicting "expert opinions" floating around.
 
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