Can I get an honest answer for this one?

[Guest inoubliable]

I've been googling and googling and I'm not coming away with any straight answers.

 

How easy is it to can produce??

 

Every site I've looked at has different instructions, different "must have" lists, different ideas on what you can and cannot can, and different estimates on how much time/effort it takes (I realize this would vary based on what and how much you're canning and level of experience).

 

Any good sites out there for someone who doesn't have a clue? I'm working off of a basic "I want to grow tomatoes. We eat a lot of tomatoes throughout the year. I think I'd like to can some to cut down on my grocery spending."

 

Help? :(

[Plink]

Canning is time consuming, but not difficult. Ball has a pretty good website. My one complaint is that standing over boiling pots of water is a hot job in the summer.

 

I bought a chest freezer and try to use it as much as possible.

[Guest inoubliable]

Ball. Okay. I'll look there. I was running into a lot of DIY blogs and some forums where everyone was pretty snarky to anyone asking a beginner's question.

 

Dumb question - if I'm canning tomatoes, or anything else, they can keep on a pantry shelf, right? I don't have to go buy a huge freezer or refrigerator?

[Parrothead]

I think it depends on the produce. Low acid produce requires a pressure canner. If nothing else it takes quite a long time for the canner to release the pressure.

 

Stuff that can go in a water bath would take less time, but there are not many veggies that make the high acid cut needed for water bath canning.

 

The actual canning - the trimming, blanching, even cooking- does not take particularly long, and. It is fairly simple to do.

 

 

[sparrow]

Buy the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. You can typically find it in any store that sells canning supplies. It is the canning bible.

 

You can keep your jars on the pantry shelf and they'll look beautiful :). I was just gazing at my tomatoes today.

[Guest inoubliable]

Buy the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. You can typically find it in any store that sells canning supplies. It is the canning bible.

 

You can keep your jars on the pantry shelf and they'll look beautiful :). I was just gazing at my tomatoes today.

 

 

Thank you!

[mytwomonkeys]

canning is so easy. i can everything! i have a presto pressure canner. i can't answer anything about water bath canning, but the pressure canner is crazy simple to use. i know with acidic foods (like tomatoes) water bath canning is supposed to be fine. for lower acidic foods, they recommend a pressure canner. people debate that still, but that's the overall consensus.

 

ETA - i would by ball jars. the cheap ones are cheaper for a reason imo.

[Jennifer3141]

If you really want to learn GOOD canning techniques, I'm going to recommend, "So Easy to Preserve" by the Coopertive Extension of the University of Georgia. And if you are in an area that doesn't support canners/farmers with classes and stuff, they have DVDs!! There is even one specifically for tomatoes and tomato products. :)

 

Or you can befriend a regular canner who can walk you through it. There's a GREAT canning group on FB with over 6,000 people.

[Jennifer3141]

And beware. It can become an addiction. I started the fall with over 600 jars of goodness. And I'm REALLY getting into stocks and soups now. :)

[mytwomonkeys]

if you have roku, i recommend the LDS channel. they have a show that has self sustaining information & quite a bit on canning. i can look up the title of the program if you would like. i'm not LDS, and the show isn't religious in content -- it just goes along with their preparedness.

[Guest inoubliable]

Thanks everyone! I'm not sure how much I'll get into it, but DH and I have been meal planning and really watching our spending and analyzing receipts, and it just seemed to jump out at me that maybe I should look into canning our own tomatoes. I'm guessing pretty much any veggie can be canned? I see some stuff about jams and preserves. I don't think I'd get much into that, but I guess it depends on if I came across a good bit of berries or something that I couldn't possibly finish before they went bad. I just saw something about canning applesauce. Whoa. Whole new world here.

[Guest inoubliable]

if you have roku, i recommend the LDS channel. they have a show that has self sustaining information & quite a bit on canning. i can look up the title of the program if you would like. i'm not LDS, and the show isn't religious in content -- it just goes along with their preparedness.

 

 

Oh, that'd be great! I do have a Roku.

[Jennifer3141]

Thanks everyone! I'm not sure how much I'll get into it, but DH and I have been meal planning and really watching our spending and analyzing receipts, and it just seemed to jump out at me that maybe I should look into canning our own tomatoes. I'm guessing pretty much any veggie can be canned? I see some stuff about jams and preserves. I don't think I'd get much into that, but I guess it depends on if I came across a good bit of berries or something that I couldn't possibly finish before they went bad. I just saw something about canning applesauce. Whoa. Whole new world here.

 

 

Most veggies can be canned but you need to pressure can vegetables. Hot water bathing won't work for that.

 

You would probably get into jams more if you made your own. If you have kids who can resist the smell of homemade strawberry jam cooking, you have weird kids. :)

 

Homemade applesauce is AMAZING. Soooo much better than the store carp that it is ridiculous!!!

 

And if you are canning for money, you really see a difference in your grocery budget when you get into soups and stews. I cannot believe how little I spend some weeks because we just don't need much beyond fresh milk.

[mytwomonkeys]

Oh, that'd be great! I do have a Roku.

 

i can't find my roku channel changer thingy. my kids are to bed, lol. i'm sure my 8 year old knows exactly where it is. i will look tomorrow. basically, download the LDS channel from the roku store. the show has a female brunette host. you can scroll through the titles of the shows and look for ones that are specific to canning. they have gardening shows too & everything. quite a bit of useful information on homesteading and self sustaining. all very informative. each show & episode has a description.

 

i can potatoes a lot. they are on sale this time of year for $2.99 for a 10 lb bag! That is a great deal! i peel them & cut them up, can them with a little canning salt. when i want to eat them, i throw them in a casserole dish with salt & pepper and a little butter. it is a great side dish and so fast!

[sparrow]

Tomatoes, while somewhat labor intensive, are SO easy to can. I made some grape juice with this method. Grapes, sugar, water=delicious juice and it's unbelievably easy.

[Guest inoubliable]

 

 

Most veggies can be canned but you need to pressure can vegetables. Hot water bathing won't work for that.

 

You would probably get into jams more if you made your own. If you have kids who can resist the smell of homemade strawberry jam cooking, you have weird kids. :)

 

Homemade applesauce is AMAZING. Soooo much better than the store carp that it is ridiculous!!!

 

And if you are canning for money, you really see a difference in your grocery budget when you get into soups and stews. I cannot believe how little I spend some weeks because we just don't need much beyond fresh milk.

 

K. So, I need to look into a pressure canning thingy. Any brands to recommend or warn me of?

 

The kids are weird enough already. Today they argued over whether to have mushroom soup or bean burgers for lunch. Their food preferences always seem to take people by surprise. My little vegan weirdos. LOL. I just mentioned to DS12 the homemade jam, though. And he thought for a second and said, "Does that mean you'll make biscuits?". Well. I guess I'll have to.

 

Homemade applesauce sounds amazing. I just found some recipes for salsa! Oooh!

 

Soups and stews. I haven't run across anything on that yet. I wonder, though.... making a huge batch of lentil soup and canning it? Is that a thing people do? I'm still trying to wrap my mind around having food, already cooked, sitting on a pantry shelf and not going bad. Canning is SUCH a huge new thing for me. (I know. Canning? Really? I just learned all the marvelous things my KA stand mixer can do a few weeks ago, though.)

[Clarkd]

We can tomataoes and spag sauce. We also love applesauce and jams. We have a Preserving the Harvest book but I also agree with the Ball Blue book. Be certain you get recent books as the older editions have out of date recommendations. We had better luck freezing whole meals or pressure canning soup/stew than individual ingredients but we used a lot of prepared/processed foods. Going from prepared foods to making everything from canned/frozen individual ingredients was too much of a change. Having prepared meals that we had prepared and frozen or canned was much more do-able.

[Guest inoubliable]

i can't find my roku channel changer thingy. my kids are to bed, lol. i'm sure my 8 year old knows exactly where it is. i will look tomorrow. basically, download the LDS channel from the roku store. the show has a female brunette host. you can scroll through the titles of the shows and look for ones that are specific to canning. they have gardening shows too & everything. quite a bit of useful information on homesteading and self sustaining. all very informative. each show & episode has a description.

 

i can potatoes a lot. they are on sale this time of year for $2.99 for a 10 lb bag! That is a great deal! i peel them & cut them up, can them with a little canning salt. when i want to eat them, i throw them in a casserole dish with salt & pepper and a little butter. it is a great side dish and so fast!

 

Will do! (Don't you love how the Roku remote is one of the tiniest remotes on the planet and always seems to get lost??) Thanks for the info!

 

Potatoes!! I wasn't even thinking of that! I figured I'd just harvest and try to keep them in a spot in the basement so that they'd last through a winter. Huh.

[Guest inoubliable]

Tomatoes, while somewhat labor intensive, are SO easy to can. I made some grape juice with this method. Grapes, sugar, water=delicious juice and it's unbelievably easy.

 

Ohhhh. *drool* That looks good! We don't usually have juice around here, beyond what my juicer spits out at us. Thanks for that link - the pictures are incredibly helpful!

[Guest inoubliable]

We can tomataoes and spag sauce. We also love applesauce and jams. We have a Preserving the Harvest book but I also agree with the Ball Blue book. Be certain you get recent books as the older editions have out of date recommendations. We had better luck freezing whole meals or pressure canning soup/stew than individual ingredients but we used a lot of prepared/processed foods. Going from prepared foods to making everything from canned/frozen individual ingredients was too much of a change. Having prepared meals that we had prepared and frozen or canned was much more do-able.

 

Any links to some soup/stew recipes for canning? Or would I find some in the book you mention? I like the idea of having some meals prepared ahead of time now that it's been mentioned.

[Reflections]

i can't find my roku channel changer thingy. my kids are to bed, lol. i'm sure my 8 year old knows exactly where it is. i will look tomorrow. basically, download the LDS channel from the roku store. the show has a female brunette host. you can scroll through the titles of the shows and look for ones that are specific to canning. they have gardening shows too & everything. quite a bit of useful information on homesteading and self sustaining. all very informative. each show & episode has a description.

 

i can potatoes a lot. they are on sale this time of year for $2.99 for a 10 lb bag! That is a great deal! i peel them & cut them up, can them with a little canning salt. when i want to eat them, i throw them in a casserole dish with salt & pepper and a little butter. it is a great side dish and so fast!

 

 

I've been looking and I can't find it - so I would be interested too!!

 

 

 

I love to can and it's very rewarding. The only negative is there is a learning curve. My biggest tip: your eyes are bigger than your stamina. Learn from us, don't go strawberry picking (or crab apple picking) and bring home 50 gallons of fruit and think you'll get it all washed, boiled and canned in one afternoon with littles in your house.... Start small.

[Guest inoubliable]

 

My biggest tip: your eyes are bigger than your stamina. Learn from us, don't go strawberry picking (or crab apple picking) and bring home 50 gallons of fruit and think you'll get it all washed, boiled and canned in one afternoon with littles in your house.... Start small.

 

Thank you for that! I can picture myself doing that already. I just tried looking up some pick-your-own places nearby. Is canning something a 12 year old can help with? A relatively mature 12 year old, I mean? He already cooks and bakes plenty, but I'm still not sure how a pressure canning thingy (I need to learn the name of this device) works.

[Clarkd]

Preserving Summer's Bounty

The Everything Canning and Preserving

are good places to start for all methods (freezing, canning, etc.) And they both have canning soup directions. For freezing we used our own recipes or fav recipe books and experimented to see what froze well. We especially liked Moosewood's African Peanut Stew, our own burritos, an edamame/cranberry/rice/pecan mix, acorn squash/apple/walnut mix, and a vegetarian version of spicy shepard's pie. I would think the african peanut stew would also can well (leave out the rice) since it has pineapple but I would pressure can it to be safe.

I was very nervous at first. You hear such horror stories. I didn't have anyone to help me irl. I was surprised how straight forward the process was once I started.

[Guest inoubliable]

Thanks! Got the books on my wishlist now. I don't know anyone IRL who does canning so I'm relying completely on what I learn here, Youtube videos, and whatever books and websites are recommended.

[KungFuPanda]

There's a book called Small Batch Preserving. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007R9055W My library had it, so I checked it out and eventually bought my own. It got me started with recipes for just a few jars at a time. Also, Ball has a canning starter kit. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003ENB1KI It has this little basket that holds a few jars and dips right into a stock pot.

 

My point is that you CAN start small and do a couple jars of something without devoting a whole day or tons of money to the endeavor. Just read a recipe, see what you need to make it, and give it a try.

 

The good news is that canning is pretty cheap to start and pays for itself quickly.

[Guest inoubliable]

Where is the best place to get the canning jars? I usually go to Amazon for pretty much everything, but if there's another place I should consider, let me know. I think I saw canning jars at Hobby Lobby the last time I was in there and they have 40% off coupons every week. Hmm...

 

Looks like I'll be heading to the library tomorrow, too.

[Reflections]

 

Thank you for that! I can picture myself doing that already. I just tried looking up some pick-your-own places nearby. Is canning something a 12 year old can help with? A relatively mature 12 year old, I mean? He already cooks and bakes plenty, but I'm still not sure how a pressure canning thingy (I need to learn the name of this device) works.

 

Our 7yo helps quite a bit! Honestly - the strawberry jam was a family affair from start to finish - even the 2yo (who picked like a champ).

 

The pressure canning thingy is an adult toy, imo - and I usually let my dh handle it, but I don't think it's complicated - usually when we get to that stage in the process my 2yo is d.o.n.e. and needs mommy time. There are plenty of sites out there with video tutorials - like youtube and I *think* ball's.

 

We have picked up jars at walmart and kroger - but also at yard sales and craig's list. Our canning pressure thingy we got on amazon.

[Guest inoubliable]

Thanks! :)

[Jennifer3141]

 

Any links to some soup/stew recipes for canning? Or would I find some in the book you mention? I like the idea of having some meals prepared ahead of time now that it's been mentioned.

 

 

 

I'm fussy about food safety so I stick to the most current canning materials. The thing to be careful about is following safe canning methods. There are some whackos out there still hot water bath canning corn and chicken and worse. You have to have a basic understanding of some scientific principles. Once water boils at 0 elevation, it's 212. It will be 212 in three hours. It will be 212 in two days. Every canning class I've ever taken has some numbskull in it who just cannot GET this. You want higher than 212, then you have to PRESSURE can. I don't know how the cooperative extension people can be so patient with that one.

 

There are also tons and tons of videos and recipes that just aren't safe. And you won't know the difference until you've been doing it awhile. There's this marvelous recipe out there for "monkey butter." And people canned it like crazy this summer. I even did a batch but I used a pH test strip on it before and after canning and I was shocked. You can't eat that canned - it's nowhere near acidic enough to can. You can make monkey butter and freeze it and please do - it's AMAZING. But one or two websites went out there with the recipe and everyone canned it. No, no, no.

 

I do buy jars on Amazon but that's where I get my fancier ones like my Wecks and my Leifheit and my Quattros. Oh yeah. There are GORGEOUS European jars out there. Nothing wrong with the Balls either but I LOVE my pretty jars.

 

There are BPA free reusable lids out there. One company is called Tattler and another is 4ever. 4ever is new and I haven't used any of theirs yet. I converted everything to Tattler this past year. I LOVE them. If I'm going to hunt down heirloom, organic produce and then go through the process of canning it, why would I cap it off with a lid coated in BPA??? And you buy Tattlers once and reuse them over and over again for YEARS.

 

I buy my Ball jars at the grocery store. I stick a box in my cart once or twice a week year round and then I built up a giant stash. Lots of people do Freecyle or Craigslist or garage sales and hit jackpots. you may find that once you tell people you are interested in canning, that jars start finding you. Everyone has an aunt or grandma who used to can and they had a stash somewhere.

 

I make a canning day during the season. Once a week, I reserve what I need at my favorite farmers and then go home and can it. Sometimes, a day stretches into two (strawberry jam) or three (the 200 pounds of organic potatoes!) but I try to control it a bit. At the peak, that's hard to do and I have to abandon my one day thing.

 

I have 2 hot water bath canners and 2 pressure canners. I've got an All American pressure canner that does 14 quarts at a time and a Presto that does 7. I love my AA but it's for my serious canning. I use my Presto for stuff like the chicken stock I did this week. The AA is HEAVY.

 

Apple season is both joyful and sad for me. Aside from pumpkin, the apples are the last produce I put up locally. So when that last apple butter or pie filling or applesauce comes out of the canner, I take a deep breath. Tomato season means there will be sauce on my ceiling and it will probably stay there until Thanksgiving. ;)

 

Look at that! My random canning thoughts for the day...lol

[lavender's green]

Lots of great advice here. I'll just add that the more specialized equipment you have, the easier things go and the less skilled you need to be. I can't believe how long I went without a wide-mouth funnel, for example. The next time I do canning I'll get one of those magnetic lid holders, because I hate fishing lids out of the boiling water with a pair of forks. I also love having a jar lifter. It's so much easier and safer than trying to use tongs. If you're making applesauce, it's a bazillion times easier to use a food mill (ours attaches to a kitchenaid stand mixer) than forcing it through a seive by hand, back when we were too poor to buy extra equipment! These are all things that you can do without if money is tight or you can't find them in stores, but having a little extra equipment can make the whole job go much more smoothly.

[LucyStoner]

Where is the best place to get the canning jars? I usually go to Amazon for pretty much everything, but if there's another place I should consider, let me know. I think I saw canning jars at Hobby Lobby the last time I was in there and they have 40% off coupons every week. Hmm...

 

Looks like I'll be heading to the library tomorrow, too.

 

I have gotten a ton of canning jars used for cheap or even off freecycle. I worked at an organization where there were a lot of senior ladies and so many were happy when I said I was canning that they gave me all of their stuff when they were downsizing/moving to a condo. I ended up freecycling some of the stuff because I ended up with too much. Just check the threads and top rim to make sure they are totally intact and unchipped. Recycling/reusing is part of the allure of canning for me.

[Guest inoubliable]

Wow, Jennifer! So much to take in. (And all the pretty jars to look at and drool over now, too!) Thank you so much - I didn't know to be careful of the differing instructions I got, I just knew I was confused! LOL. I'm going to the library on Monday, hopefully, to see if I can track down the books mentioned here before I go on an Amazon binge. If there was one fantastic, well made, gorgeous, lasts-for-ever canning jar you could recommend, which would it be? I'd much rather save up and spend some good money on something really nice and worthy, than stock up on a ton of cheaper but not as well made jars, kwim? I feel like if I put that much effort into learning how to do this and if I invest that much money to get quality stuff (even on a small scale), then I'm much more likely to stick with it.

 

Magnetic lid holders....this sounds necessary! Thanks, Lavender. And now I know yet another thing my KA stand mixer can do!

[LucyStoner]

Make sure you get a pressure CANNER and not a pressure cooker. A pressure cooker is not the same thing and many people seem to think it is when they offer them for sale.

[brookspr]

We have an extra freezer so I just freeze all of my tomatoes, sauces, veggies, etc... I did canning a couple of times for jams and jellies and I prefer the freezer jam to the stuff that's canned in the water bath. I have a big garden so I have lots of produce at the end of the season that needs to be kept for the winter. I'm still using onions from the garden I pulled in October!

[Clarkd]

I agree with Jennifer3141 and am thrilled to hear of the bpa free lids! Please note that I said to use the soup/stew recipes from the recent canning books for canning soups. The other items I mentioned are what we freeze. I do however think the one exception is that the african peanut stew would be completely safe if pressure canned.

[Guest inoubliable]

Mmmm. African peanut stew. That just sounds...amazing. I just found a vegan version and I think I'm going to HAVE to try to make this tomorrow.

 

I'm really glad you guys mentioned the BPA free lids. I hadn't thought of that at all, but you're right - if I'm going to the trouble to continue eating heirloom, organic produce and then go through the effort to can it, I don't want to top it all off with lids containing BPA. Thanks for pointing that out!

[BrookValley.]

If you have a smooth-top stove, just be aware that not all canners can be used on them (I have a regular water-bath canner and I cannot use it on my stove. I have to schlep everything to my mother's apartment to can).

[Guest inoubliable]

If you have a smooth-top stove, just be aware that not all canners can be used on them (I have a regular water-bath canner and I cannot use it on my stove. I have to schlep everything to my mother's apartment to can).

 

Good to know. We have an El Cheapo in this apartment. Very old, not smooth-top, barely reliable. I'll keep the smooth-top issue in mind as we're looking for another place to rent.

[Live2Ride]

I'm a big canning mama, lol. I like the blue ball cookbook especially for beginners. It lays it all out simply. Then go from there.

 

Anything canned (pressure or boiling as per instructions) is to be stored in a dark cool area. We have ours all over the house since I have a small house :)

 

I can all kinds of stuff from our garden, or stuff I pick from local places, or if I get a really great deal.

 

Remember to keep everything as sanitary as possible and follow the directions. It's not hard, but it just takes some time. the kids help me with many things, but the actual handling of the canner and jars going in and out, I do that myself.

[Pippen]

The USDA guide to canning is online here:

http://nchfp.uga.edu/

 

It's not hard but it's important to follow safety guidelines. Do you know anyone in real life that cans who could show you how? That's how I learned and I appreciated observing and being able to ask questions.

[Jennifer3141]

Wow, Jennifer! So much to take in. (And all the pretty jars to look at and drool over now, too!) Thank you so much - I didn't know to be careful of the differing instructions I got, I just knew I was confused! LOL. I'm going to the library on Monday, hopefully, to see if I can track down the books mentioned here before I go on an Amazon binge. If there was one fantastic, well made, gorgeous, lasts-for-ever canning jar you could recommend, which would it be? I'd much rather save up and spend some good money on something really nice and worthy, than stock up on a ton of cheaper but not as well made jars, kwim? I feel like if I put that much effort into learning how to do this and if I invest that much money to get quality stuff (even on a small scale), then I'm much more likely to stick with it.

 

Magnetic lid holders....this sounds necessary! Thanks, Lavender. And now I know yet another thing my KA stand mixer can do!

 

 

Oh man. Do not start with Wecks! They are gorgeous but they are trickier to use. They probably are the safest canning jars in the world chemical-wise with glass tops and all but that little seal is tricky.

I put a lot of my applesauce into these this year: http://www.amazon.com/Leifheit-Canning-Supplies-1-Liter-Preserving/dp/B000A387ZC/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1359238513&sr=1-1&keywords=leifheit+canning+jars because they look gorgeous on the table. They also fit standard wide mouth lids.

 

Magnetic lids holders are great unless you use the reusable lids like I do. Because uh, they don't work on plastic. I can mail you mine, KK!!!

 

And don't worry about the stove!!! You can buy this: http://www.amazon.com/Waring-SB30-1300-Watt-Portable-Single/dp/B000I14C7I/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1359238791&sr=1-5&keywords=electric+burner+1800+watt I have a smooth top stove that I have a love/hate relationship with and for the times when I am REALLY canning, I use my stove and this burner. I've been kicking around the idea of getting another one so I could have three canners going at once...

[nukeswife]

 

 

And don't worry about the stove!!! You can buy this: http://www.amazon.co...urner 1800 watt I have a smooth top stove that I have a love/hate relationship with and for the times when I am REALLY canning, I use my stove and this burner. I've been kicking around the idea of getting another one so I could have three canners going at once...

 

 

Is this for when you use a waterbath? I thought of canning things, but was having concerns about waterbath on my glasstop stove. I know some just use a huge stock pot instead of the ones with the domed bottoms. Although I have thought of just using the extra side burner on my grill to can in the summer, but wasn't sure if that would be all that cost effective for the propane.

[Jennifer3141]

Is this for when you use a waterbath? I thought of canning things, but was having concerns about waterbath on my glasstop stove. I know some just use a huge stock pot instead of the ones with the domed bottoms. Although I have thought of just using the extra side burner on my grill to can in the summer, but wasn't sure if that would be all that cost effective for the propane.

 

 

I use it for both! I actually like using my Presto pressure canner on it better than my smooth top because I get more consistent temps. But my All American works better on my stove.

[nukeswife]

I use it for both! I actually like using my Presto pressure cnaner on it better than my smooth top because I get more consistent temps. But my All American works better on my stove.

 

 

Great thanks for the tip. I would hate to have to replace the stove in this rental because of a mishap if I could just get something else to use to can on.

[nukeswife]

I use it for both! I actually like using my Presto pressure cnaner on it better than my smooth top because I get more consistent temps. But my All American works better on my stove.

 

 

which pressure canner do you have, and for a waterbath do you just have one like the big ball one?

[Jennifer3141]

which pressure canner do you have, and for a waterbath do you just have one like the big ball one?

 

 

Pressure canners: All American 930 and the Presto 16 quart.

 

Water bath canners: Ball Elite stainless canner (with the glass lid I love) and a 20 year old stainless steel canner with no name. I had an enamel one when I started but I hated it because it chipped easily.

 

 

I was thinking tonight KK, since your kids are happy little vegetable easter, how are there on beans?? You will not believe how easy it is to can beans once a month or so and how CHEAP it is. I just throw a can of beans into something almost every day now.

[mytwomonkeys]

I've been looking and I can't find it - so I would be interested too!!

 

 

 

 

 

i still can't find my stupid remote, so we are watching netflix through the wii until it turns up.

 

go to your roku though & download the BYU TV channel. there are several sections dividing the shows available (varying from religious to more entertainment). i *think* the show i'm thinking of is in the same section with the food nanny (also a fun show!). i can't think of the name of the show, but if you scroll through, the host is a brunette female. it sort of looks like a talk show setting. she covers a variety of topics, but they have specifc shows on canning (usually a blonde guest is there). there is another show that is all about gardening that is very good too! i'm sure there are other good shows as well. many have to do with self sustaining since that is important to the LDS church & i am trying to learn about homesteading, so i find the shows really informative.

[mytwomonkeys]

 

 

Pressure canners: All American 930 and the Presto 16 quart.

 

Water bath canners: Ball Elite stainless canner (with the glass lid I love) and a 20 year old stainless steel canner with no name. I had an enamel one when I started but I hated it because it chipped easily.

 

 

I was thinking tonight KK, since your kids are happy little vegetable easter, how are there on beans?? You will not believe how easy it is to can beans once a month or so and how CHEAP it is. I just throw a can of beans into something almost every day now.

 

 

 

i agree wit these recommendations for sure.

 

i have the presto 23 quart, but that's just so i can stack the jars and can more. :)

[Reflections]

i still can't find my stupid remote, so we are watching netflix through the wii until it turns up.

 

go to your roku though & download the BYU TV channel. there are several sections dividing the shows available (varying from religious to more entertainment). i *think* the show i'm thinking of is in the same section with the food nanny (also a fun show!). i can't think of the name of the show, but if you scroll through, the host is a brunette female. it sort of looks like a talk show setting. she covers a variety of topics, but they have specifc shows on canning (usually a blonde guest is there). there is another show that is all about gardening that is very good too! i'm sure there are other good shows as well. many have to do with self sustaining since that is important to the LDS church & i am trying to learn about homesteading, so i find the shows really informative.

 

 

 

Thank you - when I am back in control of the remote I'll check it out!!! But did you know that one can go to roku.com and add channels from their website onto your roku???

[mytwomonkeys]

 

 

Thank you - when I am back in control of the remote I'll check it out!!! But did you know that one can go to roku.com and add channels from their website onto your roku???

 

 

 

i actually did know that. :) do you know if it's possible to use the roku without the remote? is that possible? i tried but can't figure it out, so we just reverted to our pre-roku days and are watching amazon and netflix through the wii. i'm so frustrated. we lose that remote so much -- even though the rule is to keep it in the basket on the coffee table!