[quote="coastal Carol"]I am about to go help a friend do pressure canning for the first time this evening
>>> What awesome timing!!!!!
<<< It IS heavy and that does make the heat up/cool down take longer. My friend tonight is using a Presto so I can compare after tonight.
>>> sigh That could be a deal breaker for me. I always think I'm going to get stronger but... I don't. I might sometime but can I count on that for canning season? I doubt it. And not perpetually. I have an 84yo friend that is stronger than I am. She's all stooped over now but she is still strong. But then, I do have my dh that says he'll help. Hmmmm
<<< people look at me like I have 3 heads about doing dried beans but we LOVE them being ready to eat and perfectly cooked.
>>> What? Why?! We buy canned beans all the time because it takes too much planning ahead to cook them when wanted. Why *wouldn't* you can dried beans? I think of all the canned items I buy and figure I could can them, too, if I found good recipes. Home canned corned beef hash? Hmmm.
>>>(remember I am in the hot south).
<<<One of the reasons I am preserving stuff (like in the freezer) is so I don't have to heat the house up when it's warm out. I live in the NW but I get too hot easily. It was 66 in the house this morning and I had to open the window when I was cooking cuz I got so hot.
I KNOW that some soups might can well and others will not. And, knowing me, I will have to experiment with it. The first thing I ever canned was milk! I knew it could be done and tho't how great it would be to have milk stocked up! bleh!
>>> As for large amounts of meat, I buy chicken breasts from Zaycon foods and it comes 40 pounds per order.
<<< Is this fresh or frozen chicken? A minimum amount of meat to can might be 10 lb?
Canning venison sounds like a good plan. Ours usually gets freezer burned.
>>> Even a cheap cut of meat will be tender after canning.
<<<
>>>You can do a jar of this, a jar of that, just a few jars, etc. Just watch that the jars won't turn over if you do fewer jars. Process for the time needed for whatever item or ingredient needs the longest time. I have never had a problem with the food quality been lesser if it processed a little longer because a pint jar was done with quart jars for example.
<<< AHA! Great!
>>>There are also lids that are reusable. Tattler lids. Love them too. These are also great to use with mason jars for storing dry goods in the jars.
<<< I just ran across these while looking at pressure canners. I wondered if they were good.
>>> If you have a vacuum sealer, like a Food Saver, they have an attachment to suck the air out of the jar of dry goods and seal it to keep fresh longer. Obviously this is for things like rice or pancake mix and not anything that needs processing time in a canner.
<<< I almost got one of those for the salad-in-a-jar things. Sucking the air out of those helps them stay fresher longer, too.
Awesome info. Can't wait til you're done using the Presto tonight for your review!