mytwomonkeys Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 What are your favorite things to can in the winter? I'm currently canning potatoes & beans. Would love to hear what you're doing to get ideas!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Tomorrow I'll be canning the ham broth that is chilling overnight for easy fat removal. :) I am a fairly new convert to pressure canning. I recently did a batch of homemade chicken soup- what a THRILL to have that on the pantry shelves to pull out for a quick lunch. On my agenda is a large batch of baked beans, ham and bean soup, and I really want to can chili. The chili will be the kind that is all meat and sauce with the express purpose of being used as a condiment- chili dogs and burgers and the like. The baked beans I have done before- it's the recipe in the Ball Blue Book. They are delicious and very similar in taste to Bush's baked beans. The last time I made it I made a double batch. I baked it in the oven, and it barely fit my roaster at the time. I also canned it in quarts. This time I want to make a triple batch, but I plan to cook it in my large Nesco instead of the oven. Then, I plan to can it in pints instead of quarts. I found that a quart is a bit much for my family at one time. I have my eye on a few other soups in the Ball Blue Book. I would eat soup every day for lunch if I could, and pressure canning makes it so much more convenient than freezing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Oh, also, not pressure canning, but I have a ton of fruit in the freezer and plan to make blueberry jam and cranberry chutney in the next few weeks. I may make some whole berry cranberry sauce as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 www.sbcanning.com is a wonderful site with great recipes. I need to can up chick peas and I also did the cranberry orange marmalade for Christmas gifts, it was yummy. (it's on the sbcanning website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 AMDG I usually spend January canning beans. In fact, I just wrote in my goals for January and my preserving goal was 4 kinds of beans. I dont have to can beans b/c I can cook them all day just fine but havjng canned beans on hand is a saving grace on days I forgot, they burned, I'm sick and somekne else cooks. Et c. I always do quite a few and always use them by the year's end. Also, we just can't live without canned ck peas b/c it makes hummus a quick convenience food. We also use it for a couple of stews. So, I make more of them than anything else. And fyi, home canned make a creamier hummus than cooked or commercially canned. And we like it that way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 AMDG So, now come find the What are You Freezing? spin off and let me know what you're up to in that department! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 Great ideas - thank you! I've never canned soup! That would be super yummy, so I'll have to try that. I usually freeze my soup because I hate the way chicken taste canned. Do you find it is okay in soups though?? I'm off to check out the website now. And thanks for the tip on hummus. Do you have a recipe? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Yes, it is okay in soups. I also don't care for the taste/texture of canned chicken, but canned in homemade broth with some carrots, celery and veggies? Delicious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Just before Christmas I finally got busy and canned (water bathed, not pressure) the last of the apples into applesauce. I got a chuckle, remembering the thread on here about someone bringing or not bringing home canned applesauce to Thanksgiving dinner. We do a Christmas Day brunch here and in addition to all the typical breakfast foods, I served some of my applesauce in honor of that thread! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SABE Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I have leftover Christmas turkey in the canner right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashfern Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 What pressure canning system would you recommend for a novice? I did water bath canning for the first time this past fall. I have $100 in Amazon gift cards to spend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 I have leftover Christmas turkey in the canner right now.How does that taste? Just curious. I've canned chicken and only care for it in chicken chili. I do can ground chuck sometimes & that taste great - no difference at all in recipes. Wondering about turkey :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 What pressure canning system would you recommend for a novice? I did water bath canning for the first time this past fall. I have $100 in Amazon gift cards to spend.I have a 23 quart presto pressure canner (that I bought off amazon). I love it! The 16 quart would work too - I just wanted the big one. All American is quite popular, but was out of my price range. I would recommend a canning kit, ball jars (I find the cheaper jars lacking), canning salt and citric acid (all online in the canning section). You can buy a book, but there are so many recipes online -- I just would be sure they're actual recipes from Ball or somewhere -- certain things shouldn't be canned. You will love it! YouTube was a great resource for me in learning to use my canner. I'm doing more potatoes today and beans tomorrow :) Here is the one I own - http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01781-23-Quart-Pressure-Canner/dp/B0000BYCFU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388500420&sr=8-1&keywords=Presto+canner. If you notice, it can be purchased new for $59 with $10 shipping. That's a good deal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 What pressure canning system would you recommend for a novice? I did water bath canning for the first time this past fall. I have $100 in Amazon gift cards to spend. I would recommend the presto, I don't have it, but have heard great things about it. Also Mirro is a good brand (that's what I use) Yes, All American is great, but it's expensive and the others work just fine. Are you a novice at Canning? or a novice at Pressure canning? It's super fun to be able to put up food for your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 What pressure canning system would you recommend for a novice? I did water bath canning for the first time this past fall. I have $100 in Amazon gift cards to spend. Are you looking to stay within the $100? If money were no factor in the decision, I would buy an All-American pressure canner. I drool over those! I have this Mirro pressure canner. It's worked very well for me, and I didn't find it difficult to learn to use it at all. The directions were fairly clear, and once I got going with the dry run, it made complete sense to me. I chose this one because it was in my price range and I wanted a weighted gauge. It works great! I especially love that if I can in pints I can stack them and do two layers of jars. That comes in very handy with a large batch of soup or stock! The only issue I've had with it is that I need to use more water in the canner than the directions state. I actually ran it dry the second time I canned, so instead of using Mirro's suggested measurement of water, I follow the canning gurus who say to put 3 inches of water in the bottom of the pot, and I've never had a problem since. It's big and sturdy, and I love it. Some day I'd like an All-American, but this was a great intro to pressure canning and so far it's holding up great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I don't can this time of year because I primarily can from our garden and local you-pick-ums, but I love my All-American canner. I have the 15 1/2 quart one, and it is fine for my needs. It fits my basement storage area, and I can handle that size myself. My last run was applesauce in November in the water canner. I probably should can potatoes in the future because we tend to lose some in cold storage, but my harvest was a little less this year and is almost out anyway. I've never done soup, but that's an idea I might explore too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I typically just can stock at this time of year but ended up freezing it instead... now wishing I hadn't because I'm more likely to use it when it's canned versus frozen. I need to make soup too but keep procrastinating because I don't want to thaw the stock, silly of course. :) I need to can some beans though to have some on hand. I would love to roast some chick peas but they need soaked first. The pressure cooker would make it an easy taste but I do prefer soaking them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I typically just can stock at this time of year but ended up freezing it instead... now wishing I hadn't because I'm more likely to use it when it's canned versus frozen. I need to make soup too but keep procrastinating because I don't want to thaw the stock, silly of course. :) I need to can some beans though to have some on hand. I would love to roast some chick peas but they need soaked first. The pressure cooker would make it an easy taste but I do prefer soaking them. I sometimes throw it in the freezer if it's just a bit, just thaw it in the fridge. Little more planning, but you can do it! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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