Comments on: Preserving the Local Harvest: A General Introduction to Pressure Canning

By: Preserving strawberrys | EtravelChoice

Preserving strawberrys | EtravelChoice — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:05:34 +0000

[...] Tigers & Strawberries » Preserving the Local Harvest: A GeneralThis year’s Eat Local Challenge revolves around preserving the harvest, and like eating locally, this is something I do just as a natural course of events. … Well, in West Virginia, where we both grew up, yeah, a lot of folks know all about preserving food. That is because agriculture and self-sufficiency are still… [...]

By: Meg

Meg — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:49:03 +0000

Barbara, I don’t know if you check comments on old posts but I have two quick questions:

1. Can you use a normal pressure cooker or do you need one that is actually designed for canning?

2. Have you ever seen plastic disks that are somehow meant to be used for canning? I bought some a couple of years ago out of desperation when I couldn’t find proper canning jars – and then I finally did find the jars so the disks have been sitting in my cupboard ever since. I spoke with an elderly English lady about them briefly – but she seemed to think they were so basic I was embarrassed to ask for too many details. It seems like they are used by Europeans for re-using non-canning jars (yes, I know!). Anyway, just curious if you have ever come across them…?

By: Columbus Foodie » Blog Archive » September 2007 Roundup

Columbus Foodie » Blog Archive » September 2007 Roundup — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:22:45 +0000

[...] In informative posts, learn how to sweat onions and mushrooms at 101 Things Every Cook Should Cook, find out how to cook an artichoke at A Year at Oak Cottage, read top cooking tips from Ferran Adria over at Chez Pim, David Lebovitz provides 8 Tips for Using Olive Oil, learn how to season a wok at A Daily Obsession, learn how to pressure can and how to make Chinese chicken and pork stock from Tigers and Strawberries, and find out how to arrange a buffet table at Apartment Therapy. [...]

By: Tomato-Date Chutney » jugalbandi

Tomato-Date Chutney » jugalbandi — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 01:17:45 +0000

[...] Canning primer @ Tigers and Strawberries. [...]

By: Barbara

Barbara — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 05:08:10 +0000

Erika–it isn’t so hard. It will be easier now that I have my birthday gift from my in-laws–I just have to take the pressure gauge down to the county extension office to have it tested before I can start processing the tomatoes.

Christy–the usual water bath canning is great for high acid foods such as fruits and pickles and for jellies and jams. And it used to be the preferred method for tomatoes as well.

However, the USDA tested the pH of tomatoes in the 1990′s and found that they had started being less acidic than they had been, so they recommended pressure canning instead of hot water bath canning.

Now–you can still can tomatoes in a hot water bath canner–but you need to add acid to them.

However, if you use a pressure canner for them, not only do you not need to add acid, you cook it for a shorter time at a higher temperature, so that vitamins and minerals tend to be preserved better.

Grace–it could be the age of the jars. After being used over and over, some of them will just go splewy and shatter.

You might need new jars….

I find it fun to can–though I do different stuff than Grandma did. She never made salsas, though she did make her own spaghetti sauces and can them. I will be doing some of that–I already processed about seven quarts of homemade marinara for the freezer, but I will probably do some canned too–it is just so convenient and tastes better than store bought.