Canning?...who does it anymore?

[yogitunes]

hey, I spelled it right, this time....lol

and yes I have to ask, what is caning?, I've done a lot of things, but this one I have never heard, don't hold out on me, could be something new I could get into, always willing to learn and experiment.....

 

[charbee]

We're waiting on our latest FleaBay purchase to get here, namely a 21.5 quart "All-American" pressure cooker/canner...the no-gasket clamp-down kind, made proudly in Wisconsin! We are about to dive into canning big-time due to the bounty of heirloom tomatoes we have growing. Can't wait to reach into the pantry and get out a quart jar of OUR OWN tomatoes! At over $3/can, the organic ones at the store are more than outrageously priced.

We always had a huge garden when I was growing up; my parents always put up tomatoes, pickles, sourkraut (this was done in a big crock), jam and jellies. One of my favorite things for snacks as a kid was always a jar full of mixed pickled veggies (string beans, sliced green tomato, okra, onion, garlic, carrot, etc.)

It's really good to see people getting back to the wonderful experience of having a veggie garden!!! It really is heartening to see...one good thing to come out of this latest economic mess!

 

[frigilux]

Charbee---I've heard that the All-American is the Lexus of pressure canners. I looked at one last summer, but it was late in the season and most of my canning was finished. I'd love to know what you think of it when you've had some time to put it through its paces.

 

[twintubdexter]

yogitunes...

caning, like punishment in an old English boarding school with a cane instead of a paddle...then you say the same thing that you do to a waiter holding a tray of H'orderve at an elegant dinner party..."please Sir, may I have another?"

 

[yogitunes]

Thank's Joe....

lapse in memory...rode the short bus today...call me slow...need the bolts in my neck tightened...

would that be todays version of a "B-SLAP"?....I could get into that, there's so many people I could line up, don't know about them, but I would feel better....lol

 

[charbee]

Frigilux, will do. Should have it in a day or two. When we decided to get a pressure cooker, we researched which one to get, and the All American was just *it* as far as mechanical design. No gasket to worry about is the main thing. As far as the size goes, we wanted something that would handle both quarts and half-gallon jars, and by the measurements this 21.5 qt. would probably be the smallest that will do that. We were able to get this one for a fairly reasonable price for the size ($140). Some sellers want upwards of $300 for this size new. Just looks like it will need a good cleaning when it gets here, otherwise I don't think there's much you can do to mess one of these up.

 

[frigilux]

For anyone not familiar with the All-American Pressure Canner, here's some info from their website. To say their canners are Sherman tanks would not be overstating the case. This is the sort of durable good you pass down from one generation to the next.

User reviews on them are almost universally positive at canning sites.

 

[bigbubbacain]

KIMCHEE

It's actually more nutritious for you if allowed to ferment, rather than if it's processed with heat. My mother got me started a few years ago on "The Body Ecology Diet", the cornerstone of which is fermented foods. I went to a health food store and bought a bottle of Jarrow brand acidolphilus capsules that also has other pro-biotics added in the mix. Just empty the powder out of about 6 capsules when you make your next batch of Kimchee or sauerkraut. In about 5 days you'll have a naturally cultured food the way our ancestors made it before there was such thing as canning.

 

[twintubdexter]

see, I even have an ad for this thread

There are so many great recipes on this site I think someone should gather them all up and create the AutomaticWasher.org cookbook, first edition.

this is from 1925

 

[brisnat81]

We used to Bottle, Tomatoes, Plums, Peaches, Cherries, Apricots and the such.

All greens were frozen and Jams went into Wax sealed jars.

We used Fowlers Vacola bottles and had an electric kit that we'd set up on the verandah and keep the heat out of the house.

We'd use a saccarin syrup for the fruits and just add 1tb of lemon juice in with the quartered tomatos.

We dont have the space anymore and having moved north, the choice of bottling fruit isnt as good or as cheap as it was at home.

Dad's mum has a 30x15 room at the back of the garage. Its full of shelves with bottled fruit and has an 800L chest freezer that is full as well.

She could never shop again and they'd have more food than they could eat before they die. When we were down there a couple of months ago, we popped the top on a 15yo bottle of cherries and they were still as good as the day they went in.

http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=CLqaS_-w6SqWaBtSAkQXJ4dCLCuWdjUq9tq68BpH7g-MMCAAQAVDW4vG3-f____8BYKWYn4CkAcgBAakCWTDraXK2qj6qBBlP0MJD-FOZ_f8yflJeEzUL5MRK3CZkFnZv&sig=AGiWqtxIlHv3YjOG6B2XpYD_ve18V0nJaQ&q=rover.ebay.com/rover/1/705-43719-5960-0/2%3Fmpre%

 

[sudsmaster]

The only heat involved in making Kimchee might be if one uses fresh or contaminated fish products in it. It's easy enough to tell from the strong odor of a fish poweder if it should be heated to boiling temp before adding to the spice mix (or the entire spice mix could be boiled briefly). Other than that, kimchee shouldn't be canned - although I have seen jars of it at room temp on market shelves. I've only bought the stuff that is fresh and in the refrigerated section, but I really prefer the stuff I make at home.

 

[sudsmaster]

Also, kimchee goes through two distinctly different phases of fermentation. The fermentation at room temperature is from one sort of bacteria, and is usually followed by a longer fermentation at refrigeration temperature. The lactic acid is produced mostly at the refrigerated fermentation step. I forget which bacteria are predominant in each step, and of course it can vary with ingredients, ambient temps, etc.

The traditional way of making Kimchee was to coat whole sections of a cabbage head (as if you were to cut the cabbage head lenghwise into four or more sections), and then put that in a clay pot and bury it for several weeks. The even ground temp would control the fermentation. It's still done that way, but there are now available special Kimchee refrigerators with two sections - one for higher temp fermentation and another for longer term fermentation. People think that it's also to keep the aroma of the kimchee from affecting foods in a mixed refrigerator. However I haven't found this to be a problem with the stuff I make. Then again, I don't add raw oysters to it ;-).

I've have perfectly good luck making it at home without adding any store-bought "starter". I do save a bit of liquid from the previous batch to add to the next batch - that's the "starter", I guess. It's sort of like composting - you can buy "starter" at the garden centers but really there's no reason to need it - compost just happens!