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I have had an aversion to
pressure cookers my whole life, and I have known and spoken with many
women who once used them as a means of cooking. Some of the tales I’ve
heard caused me not to want to learn how to use one. I recall my mother
safely using one when I was very young. She would make mashed potatoes
in hers. But when I heard my childhood girlfriend tell me that they once
had to scrape their dinner off of the ceiling, I abandoned all thoughts
of ever using one.
Pressure canners work on the same principle, even though they may be
designed slightly different. They are primarily used to raise the food
temperature substantially higher than boiling, to 240 - 250̊F. This is
done to kill the bacteria that can cause botulism, which can survive
normal boiling temperatures.
Purchasing a pressure canner is a major expense, but there is a broad
price range to choose from in finding an affordable one. Like other
homemaking tools, it will pay great dividends in the years you use it.
In fact, a pressure canner can serve two purposes: one as a canner and
the other as a pressure cooker. In the manual that comes with your
canner, there are instructions for using it both ways. So when you read
the instructions to learn how to use your canner, make sure you’re in
the correct section of the book, since they appear the same.
What You’ll Need & Why
Other than your canner, the following items should be on-hand the day
you start to can:
1. Rubber gloves - in order to handle hot jars and splashes.
2. Jar lifter- to lift the hot processed jars out of the canner after
canning.
3. Wide-mouth funnel - to neatly fill and pack the food into your jars.
4. Jars & Lids – Used jars can be purchased, however you’ll need new
lids. Avoid using cracked or chipped jars.
5. White vinegar - to reduce the white water marks on the outside of
your jars during canning.
6. Canning salt - which is different than table salt. Using canning salt
will prevent clouding of the liquid in your canning jar. Clouding of
meat juices can also indicate that the food is contaminated. Using
canning salt will help to reduce confusion.
7. Canning ingredients -which is the meat you plan to can.
8. Time - when there are no small children around, so you can
concentrate on what you’re doing. It will also avoid accidents and keep
you from getting stressed out.
The Day Before You Get Started
Whenever I am learning something new, I always read up on it, and then I
mull it over in my mind for days before I actually do it. I’m not
procrastinating, but trying to troubleshoot what may go wrong along the
way.
So, you’ll want to:
1. Read, read, and re-read your instruction manual that comes with the
canner. You can always do a trial run with just water in the canner to
get a feel for it before the day you actually can your meat. I didn’t do
this because I have water-bath canning experience, but I wish I had. It
would have given me more confidence when I canned the first time.
2. Plan to pressure-can a few jars the first time. Get a feel for what
it is like to do a small amount, and then work your way up to processing
larger amounts of meat and other recipes. It will also keep you from
making mistakes and losing a large amount of meat.
3. My instruction manual was divided into two sections: pressure cooking
and pressure canning. Dog-ear or paper clip all of the important pages
the information is printed on. You can even use highlight on those
pages, so you can quickly focus in on the important information. My
memory isn’t as good as it once was, so it was nice having all the
important points highlighted.
What the Book Didn’t Tell Me -
Canning Day
1. The instruction manual nicely breaks down the steps for using your
canner, but not the steps of setting up for your canning session, which
I’ll cover here. After you have all the things gathered and cleaned,
like your jars, lids and rings; and your canner has been newly cleaned
with hot soap and water, then set up the pots of water that need to be
boiled. You’ll need three pots of boiling water: one pot for pouring
over your meat, one large pot with the 3 quarts of water that will go
into your canner, and one for sterilizing the lids.
2. Once the jars are clean, place them on a cookie sheet set, and set
them in the oven. After they are situated in the oven, turn it on and
set it to 200̊F. You can move and manage all of your jars with your
rubber gloves on, which actually give you more mobility than oven mitts.
3. Now that you have all of your pots ready and your jars are heating
up, you can start pre-cooking your meat of choice. Only cook it halfway,
since the canner will cook it the remainder of the way. It is possible
to pack the meat into the jars raw, but this can only be done with low
fat foods. For example, you wouldn’t want hamburger grease floating
around in your canning jars. All fat content should be poured off before
placing it into the jars.
4. When you see that you’re about five minutes away from the food being
cooked halfway, make sure your water, or broth, which will cover your
food within the jars, is boiling. The canner water and the pot with the
lids should also be boiling. Now you’ll have everything ready to go when
your meat is ready to be packed into the jars.
5. Using your wide-mouth funnel, pack your meat loosely into the jars as
per instructions, along with some boiling water to avoid air spaces.
Using a utensil, dislodge any air bubbles that may be in the jar. Fill
with boiling water to one-inch from the top of the jar. It is suggested
that you add salt now - up to one teaspoon.
6. After cleaning the top edge of the jars, place the lids on and firmly
tighten the threaded rings.
7. Make sure you place the canner lid on the canner properly the first
time. When all your jars are in the canner, and the lid is properly
sealed, pressure will begin to build and water will begin to sputter out
of a valve that’s on the cover of the canner. Don’t let this scare you.
It doesn’t mean it’s about to blow. Patiently wait while the canner
gains enough pressure inside to cause the moveable valve to slip into
place. If it begins to be too long a period of time, like a half hour,
then cool your canner down and reseal the lid. Reread your instructions
so you know how to properly do this.
Once the processing time is finished, and your jars are completely
cooled down on your protected kitchen counter, your jar lids should seal
and have a concave appearance. After 12 to 24 hours, remove bands and
wipe off any food residue from bands and jars. If bands are left on,
they may rust and become difficult to remove. Store canned food in a
cool, dark, and dry place. Home canned food can be kept for many years.
However, after one year the quality will begin to deteriorate. For this
reason, always date and label jars before storing. If you do this, it
will help you better identify those jars that become unsealed over time.
Detecting Spoilage
If up-to-date instructions are followed carefully, spoilage is uncommon.
However, it is still recommended to check for signs of spoilage before
tasting any canned food. Check for a broken seal, gassiness when
opening, mold, sliminess, cloudiness, or unpleasant odors. If any of
these signs are present, discard the food.
As a safeguard against using canned low-acid and tomato products which
may be affected with spoilage that is not readily detected, boil food 10
minutes for altitudes up to 1,000 feet above sea level. Extend the
boiling time by 1 minute for each 1,000 foot increase in altitude. Many
times odors that cannot be detected in the cold product will become
evident by this method. If, after boiling, food does not smell or look
right, discard it without tasting.
Expanding Your Repertoire
As you gain experience from canning meat, such as chicken breast and
hamburger crumbles, you’ll want to branch out into canning stew, chili,
and soup. There are plenty of recipes and resources available, but heed
whatever instructions they give you for food safety.
The Ball Blue Book is an excellent resource, but try to get the most
recent publication. They have replaced it several times over the years,
and you’ll want the most current volume. This book will come with
illustrations and food safety guidelines for the each recipe you want to
cook.
The following recipes are from the Backwoods Home magazine, which is a
great homesteading magazine. These recipes are used by the author, so
they are tested. Adapt the recipe to your taste.
Beef Stew
5 pounds beef (or venison stew meat)
1 Tbsp oil
3 quarts cubed potatoes
2 quarts sliced or cut carrots
3 cups chopped celery
3 cups chopped onions
1 quart or more tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes
1 ½ Tbsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Cut meat into 1-inch cubes; brown in oil. Combine meat, vegetables, and
seasoning in a large stock pot and cover with tomato sauce, tomatoes, or
water and bring to a boil. Do not cook. Ladle hot stew into hot jars,
leaving 1-inch headroom. Remove any air bubbles. Wipe jar rim clean, put
hot, previously simmered lid on jar and screw down ring firmly tight.
Process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes at 10 pounds
pressure. Makes about 14 pints or 7 quarts.
Swiss Steak with Mushrooms
Several cubed steaks or round steak cut 1-inch thick, cut into pieces to
fit into wide mouthed jars
6 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp flour
1 pint cold water, or more
1 Tbsp salt
2 cups mushrooms, cut into pieces
2 sweet peppers, cut fine
Add oil to large frying pan and brown meat without scorching. Remove
meat to a warm place. Add flour to frying pan, stirring well and add
cold water gradually to make a thin gravy. Add salt, mushrooms, and
peppers. Bring to boil. Pack steak pieces into hot jars to within an
inch of the top and ladle the mushroom sauce over top to within an inch
of the top also. Wipe the rim clean, add hot, previously simmered lids
on jars and screw down ring firmly-tight. Process pints for 75 minutes
and quarts for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.
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