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Preserving Food On The Homestead - Canning

Preserving canned vegetables, fish and meats has a long standing tradition among homestead families. Many of the products purchased in the supermarket are canned and for good reason.

Canned foods keep well for extended periods of time. Don’t let that “best before date” fool you. That best before date is called marketing. Consumers freak out when they see the expired date, they throw out the product even if unopened and the sales for XYZ canning company continues to rise. It’s all about marketing!

Canning requires the use of a canner that will hold several pints or quarts of food submersed up to the lids.

The cooking times vary according to the food being preserved. Vegetables require a shorter time frame whereas meats and fish will require significantly more time.

Some people purchase large pressure canners for the job. Our experience is that these canners are heavy, and are suitable for fish and meats, but not fruits or vegetables unless they resort to the boiling method. If one is doing large batches of meat or fish such as salmon then these canners are indispensable.

For cooking times one should refer to the recipes or manuals provided with your canner if available.

However, maybe you purchased a used canner and so this courtesy link goes directly to a website sponsored by Ball a leading jar manufacturer where you will find recipes and cooking times for just about everything.

Canning Tomatoes

In the picture above you can see a large pot that was used to heat and mash the tomatoes. Pickling salt was added to taste and to preserve color. The jars and lids were kept in boiling water until ready to fill.

Some people also place these jars in a pressure canner or boiler. I have both styles of canners but in this case was not necessary since the jars, lids, and tomatoes were all boiling hot.

Lately we did some chicken in the pressure canner.

My family opened up a jar the other day and polished it all off before I got home. Two people and one quart consumed in short order. I have used this recipe for years and believe me it is delicious by itself, warmed up, or placed in a sandwich. The jelly it produces is yummy!

You will never find canned chicken anywhere in the supermarket that will come close!

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