Canning: Pumpkin

If you've been following along with the pumpkin-related posts to date, you should have a pumpkin already peeled, seeded and chopped. Be sure that the pumpkin is not chopped into too large of pieces. What's the point of canning pumpkin if you can only fit three chunks in each jar? The next step of your operation will be to gather your canning equipment, and review the basics of canning. The technique used for canning your pumpkin will be hot packing, and you will use a pressure canner to process your pumpkin.









Place your peeled and chopped pumpkin into a large stockpot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Only allow it to boil for a minute or two, you just want to get it hot, not necessarily to cook it. It will get plenty of cooking in the pressure canner! Put your hot pumpkin chunks into your hot jars. In this case I decided that quarts would be good. You can add a teaspoon of salt to each quart jar if you desire.



Next you will need to fill the jars with boiling water. An electric kettle works wonders in this situation!










Check your headspace using your headspace tool. You should have an inch of headspace for this canning application.










Turn your headspace tool over, or find another suitable thin plastic tool, and work out any air bubbles that may have formed during the filling process. Simply slide the tool down the outside of the food and work it around a bit. Shake, jiggle, pry, whatever you need to do to get those little bubbles out!















Use a clean damp dishtowel or paper towel to wipe the rims of your jars.











Use your lid lifter to place your lids onto your clean jar rims and screw on the rings. Remember that your rings should be "finger tight." They shouldn't be loose, but you don't have to crank them down with all your strength either.








Once the water has come to a boil in your pressure canner you can lower your jars into the vessel. Since the jars will likely be hot, you will want to use your canning tongs to lower them in safely.
















Once the vessel is pressurized and the weight is rocking nicely you can start your processing timer. I strongly urge you to refer to your pressure canner user's manual for processing weights and times. For me, I processed 1 hour 30 minutes at 15 pounds pressure.







Don't forget that when your processed jars come out of the canner, they should be placed on a dishtowel on the counter and not touched until they are completely cool. If you put a hot jar onto the cold counter, it may burst. If you move a warm jar, the seal may be broken. Just be patient, and wait for the little fellers to cool. It will be okay, I promise.

Slow Cooker Chili Sauce for Canning

In our ongoing effort to find tasty things for us to make ourselves and can for later, Willie and I set about making chili sauce for topping our hot dogs. Everyone likes a chili dog, right? We began our search for a good no-bean chili recipe and came across this recipe at Taste of Home. We modified it to fit our own use by taking the hot dogs out and increasing the sauce to meat ratio somewhat, so that it would be better for canning. Here is the recipe we devised:

3 lbs ground beef, cooked and drained

5 15oz cans tomato sauce

⅔ c worcestershire

5 Tbsp dried minced onion

2 ½ tsp garlic powder

2 ½ tsp mustard powder

2 ½ tsp chili powder

2 ½ tsp ground black pepper

¼ tsp cayenne pepper, heaping

Your first step should be to brown and drain your ground beef.




















This gives a better flavor, texture, and appearance to the meat than it would have if you just lumped it all in the crock pot raw.

Next, add in the tomato sauce.

Finally, measure out your flavorings and seasonings This recipe is pretty easy in that all of the seasonings are dry. No chopping onions for you!







Stir it all up and put the lid on. Allow it to cook for about 4-5 hours on low. Just long enough to warm it up and allow the flavors to mingle a bit.








Once it is good and hot, turn your crock pot to "keep warm" and start preparing your jars and equipment for canning.










If you need help with canning equipment, please see my blog post on the subject. Otherwise, continue on to my Basics of Canning page for further instructions on preparing home-canned food. Please note that we processed our chili sauce as though it were spaghetti sauce with meat. Please check your pressure canner's instruction manual for directions on how long to process your sauce, and at what pressure.

Don't forget! You can always pull a jar of chili out of the pantry for Chili Cheese Sandwiches as well!

Can the Sales!

Often times when the subject of canning comes up, the common response I get is that the person I'm talking to doesn't have a garden, so they don't can. The thing about it is, though, you don't necessarily need a garden! Most grocery stores have their weekly ads available online, so why not check out what's on sale and can that? As we have learned in my previous post What to Can, there are a great number of items that can be preserved by canning.

For example, my local grocery stores have the following "cannable" items on sale this week:

Beef Roast (Rump)

I realize that this first one is a little bit of a strange one, but canned meat is fantastic! One of my nursing home residents told me that her husband used to go hunting every year, and a portion of what he shot got canned. Later on, after his health had declined a bit and he was no longer able to go hunting, she would scan the ads to find meat that was on sale, and can it. Grandma always canned a portion of the game that grandpa shot, too. I thought it was a great way to preserve your meat, and it is super easy to use. Some of the best loose meat sandwiches I've ever had came from home-canned meat! Here are some instructions on canning meat.

Roma Tomatoes

Since Roma tomatoes are a paste tomato, it stands to reason that they would be made into tomato paste. Click here for an easy tomato paste recipe that includes canning instructions.

Grapes

Grapes are nice because you can juice them and can the juice, or you can make grape jelly. You could even mash them up to make wine, but then you would need to bottle it, not can it. Besides, that's another blog post in itself.

Peaches or Nectarines

In my family someone always had a peach tree, so there were always peaches to be canned in the fall or winter. While the obvious choice would be to preserve peach slices in a light syrup, you could also make them into jam, jelly, or pie filling, and can that. Nectarines can also be used in place of Peaches, since the only difference between the two is that nectarines lack the fuzz that peaches have.

Plums

I had never considered it before, but you can make plums into jelly or jam. Although I've never tried it, I think it would be an option worth exploring!

Asparagus

Asparagus is an fairly easy vegetable to can. If you have tall, thin jars you can preserve the spears whole, if not, you can just as easily snap them and preserve them in another type of jar. All you need to can asparagus is a little salt and some water, but if you're feeling daring you could always pickle it! Either way, the instructions are here.

Pineapple

Although I had never considered it before, I came up with the idea that one might be able to can pineapple at home several months back, and I spent an entire workday obsessing about the idea. When I got home I finally had the opportunity to research the subject, and was quite satisfied at how easy it is to can pineapple.

Carrots

  You can either can your carrots on their own, or you can use them to compliment other items, such as pickled jalapenos. Likewise, you can pickle carrots and can them.

Apples

  I love apples because there's just so much you can do with them! The top "cannable" items to be make with apples are, for me, apple jelly, apple butter, apple sauce and apple pie filling.

Don't forget! If you have any questions about canning equipment, boiling water canning, or pressure canning, I've got info to help you! Please note that the boiling water canning link sends you to a recipe, but at the bottom of that recipe is boiling water canning instructions.

Food Preservation: What to Can

Bread and Butter Pickles from my
mother-in-law's pantry

We all know that canning is a great way to put the foods we grow in our gardens away for a rainy (or snowy) day, but what exactly are you able to can? 

Well, pretty much anything!

Jam, Jelly, Preserves, or Apple Butter
Peaches, Apricots or Pears
Apple Sauce
Pie Filling
Veggies (carrots, green beans, corn, etc.)
Potatoes
Tomatoes

Taco Soup, Dill Pickle Relish and
Marinara Sauce from my pantry

Pickles
Pickled Peppers, Okra, Squash or Asparagus
Salsa, Taco Sauce or Chili Sauce
Pasta or Pizza Sauce
Soup, Stew, or Chili
Barbecue Sauce
Meat
Fruit or Vegetable Juice

Chokecherry Jam from Mom's
pantry

In my family we have always had our canned "staples."

Grandma and grandpa always kept a fairly large garden, and grandma would can the resulting produce. Strawberry jam, canned peaches, tomatoes, chili sauce, salsa, and she also canned meat. I know what you're thinking: "WHAAT?! Canned meat?! Why would one need to can meat?" Well, grandpa worked for the state fish and game association and, therefore, went hunting on a regular basis. When he brought home a deer, elk, or pronghorn most of the meat went into the freezer, but a good portion was also canned by grandma. It was tasty, already cooked, and made the best loose meat barbecue sandwiches you've ever tasted. So, why can meat? Why not?!

Aunt Steph's Apple Pie Filling

At my parents house my mom made strawberry jam, peach jam, canned peaches, tomatoes, salsa, and pickles. At the house they live in now they have a peach tree that produces far too many peaches for any human to eat, so mom stays pretty busy canning jam and peaches each fall.

At our house Willie and I have canned taco soup, marinara sauce, green beans, dill pickle relish, potatoes, and tomatoes.

So, by now I'm sure you're asking "But what about your great uncle? What does he can?" The answer: Jalapeno jelly.

I've asked my family to take photos of the canned food in their pantries for this blog entry. Photo credits go to: Cheryl Nisonger, Pat Williams, and Stephanie Black.

Aunt Steph's Pickled Beets

Aunt Steph's
Raspberry Jam

Aunt Steph's Tomato Juice
and Crushed Tomatoes

Aunt Steph's Salsa

Aunt Steph's Bottled

 Venison

Aunt Steph's
Applesauce

Food Preservation: Basics of Canning

Some of my favorite memories as a child are helping my grandma do her canning. Another is eating the foods that my family had canned. A lot of folks in my family canned while I was growing up. Mom, both my grandmas, great grandma, some of my aunts, even my great uncle!

The first order of business is to gather together your equipment, your food to be canned, and select your method of processing. In this case I am canning marinara sauce, so I will be using my pressure canner for processing. Once you have gathered your equipment, you should sterilize it either with boiling water or in your dishwasher, if your dishwasher is equipped to do so. It is important to time everything out so that your food and jars are hot at the same time that the water in your canner is boiling. It is also important to keep your  pressure canner's user manual handy. It will provide you not only with recipes and ideas, but important information regarding head space, canning methods, proper pressure, and proper processing times for canning your food.

While you start the water boiling, you should start filling your hot jars with hot food using your canning funnel.










Using your head space tool, measure how much head space you have and adjust accordingly. This recipe calls for 1/2" of head space. Your head space tool can also be used to release air bubbles trapped in the jar before processing. Foods such as vegetables, pickles and relish may have trapped air bubbles that need to be released. Just slide the rounded end of the tool down the edges of the jar and watch the bubbles bloop to the top.













Once your jars are full and have the proper head space, the rims of the jars need to be wiped clean with a damp dishcloth or paper towel. This will ensure that the adhesive can stick to the edge of the jar, without any food getting in the way.















Follow the manufacturer's instructions on how to sterilize your lids. The typical method for this is to submerge them in simmering water. Remove them from the simmering water with your lid lifter and place them on the jars, taking care to avoid contamination.

Once your lids are all in place, you should gather together your canning rings.



















Twist on your canning rings and tighten until "finger-tight." You don't want to crank them down too hard, or your jars may explode, or too loosely, allowing the contents to boil over and out of the jar. It may take a few batches to get it right, so don't get discouraged!













Lower your hot and freshly lidded jars into the boiling water of your canner. Be sure to use your canning tongs to avoid your fingertips being burned by the hot jar, the steam, or the boiling water.

















If you notice that the water level has dropped a bit, add enough hot tap water to bring it back up to the correct level. Bring the water back to a boil before moving on.









Once your lid is on and pressure is achieved, it will be indicated by this little button that pops up. This button also indicates that your canner is locked and the lid cannot be taken off until the pressure has dropped off. When your button pops up and there is a solid jet of steam coming from the pressure stem, set a timer for 10 minutes. When your 10 minutes is up, add your weight and watch it rock!




This first video shows what the movement of your weight will look like if the temperature is too high. See how it is spinning more than rocking, and how erratic its movements are?

Lower the temperature on your stove and it will slow down and become more rhythmic. You want a slow, steady, back and forth motion.

After your food has processed for the amount of time indicated in your pressure canner's user manual, turn off the heat and carefully move your canner away from the heat. Now, leave it alone and let it cool! Don't get impatient and try to hasten its cooling. This could not only affect the quality and safety of the food inside, but you are running the risk of injuring yourself as well. Just be patient and let it cool! Remove your jars with canning tongs and set them on a dishtowel on your countertop once the canner is cool enough to open.


Once you have put your hot jars onto their dishtowel home, leave them be. They shouldn't be bumped, jostled or moved again until they are completely cool. Listen for the pop as they seal in the video below.

Now it's time to enjoy your freshly canned foods! I had some leftover marinara sauce that wouldn't fit in my jars, so I made a "poor man's" Chicken Parmesan out of a chicken patty, complete with a hotdog bun garlic bread. Yum!

Food Preservation: Canning Equipment

Described below are the basic pieces of equipment you will need to begin canning. In later posts I will explain exactly how to use them all, but I thought that I ought to do an introduction and explanation of the things you will need to acquire in order to get started, before I make a post on how to do the actual canning.

Canning Jars - Modern canning jars come in a wide range of sizes ranging from 2 oz to a half gallon. There are two different mouth sizes, which are called regular mouth and wide mouth. They are self-sealing, which means that the lids will adhere themselves to the jars after processing for a set period of time. Processing can be done either in a boiling water bath, or inside a pressure canner, depending upon what foods you are canning.













Canning Rings - Canning rings are screw-on rings designed to hold the lid in place while processing. They hold the lid firmly in place until a vacuum is achieved and the lid adheres itself to the jar. After the jars are sealed, the ring may be removed for storage.














Canning Lids - Canning lids have a heat-activated adhesive around the edge which allows them to adhere to the edge of the jar mouth after processing. Once the jars are removed from the heat, after processing, a vacuum is formed which seats the lid onto the jar. Once the jar has cooled, a tight seal is formed and you can remove your ring for storage. You should be able to pick up your jar by the lid without it falling off, that is how strongly it adheres.



Pressure Canner - A pressure canner is a device used to can foods. It works by using the pressure to increase the temperature at which the foods are being processed. This heat kills bacteria better than the boiling water method, and also cuts processing times much shorter.








At the top of the lid there is a pressure escape stem which a weight fits over. This is how you control how many pounds of pressure are inside the vessel.









The weight comes apart and each of the pieces represents 5 pounds of pressure. Add just the base and it's 5 pounds of pressure. Add to that a ring and it is 10 pounds. The completed weight with both rings is 15 pounds of pressure.








The lid of the canner locks onto the pot by twisting after you have lined up the indicator arrows and dropped the lid into place.










Inside the lid you can see the gasket which seals in the steam and, therefore, the pressure. The nub on the lid toward the top of the photo is a pressure indicator button. Once the pressure inside reaches a certain level, a button on the top of the lid pops up. You should never attempt to open a canner while it is at pressure.






Inside the pot is a rack on which your canning jars rest. The rack keeps the jars away from the direct heat of the burner, and ensures that the boiling water at the bottom of the canner doesn't upset the jars while they are processing.








Always keep the user manual for your pressure canner on hand, and review it each time you use your canner. Working with pressure vessels can be dangerous and it never hurts to double check that you are doing everything right. There are instructions for the canner, instructions for canning (i.e. processing times, head space allowances, etc.) and even some good canning and pressure cooking recipes in here.












Canning Pot & Rack - Although pressure canning is viewed as the safest method of canning, as far as killing bacteria and avoiding food-born illness, boiling water canning is safe for certain foods and under certain conditions. If you wish you can purchase a large pot, like the one pictured at right, and a canning rack that fits inside. Sorry I don't have a picture of the rack, but I typically just use my pressure canner for my boiling water processing as well. Just don't lock the lid on, and it works fine!


Lid Lifter - A lid lifter is basically just a magnet on a handle. It is used to lift canning lids out of the hot water, and place them onto jars without your fingers contaminating the lids.









Canning Tongs - Canning tongs are used to lift and lower jars into and out of boiling water. Canning jars are very hot, even before they have been processed, so please always use your canning tongs to avoid injury.








Head Space Tool - The head space tool pulls double duty. The stair-stepped end is used to measure head space. (The amount of space between the food being canned and the rim of the jar.) The flat handle can be used to coax air bubbles out of the food before you process. Both are important in achieving the correct seal, no leakage, no explosions, and the correct shelf life.





Canning Funnel - A canning funnel is a specially designed funnel made to fit canning jars. Its opening is wide enough to allow the foods being canned to pass through easily. Canning without a funnel would be a huge mess. I think I would end up with more on the counter top than in the jars.