My All American 21qt Pressure Canner arrived today! I feel like a kid with a new toy at Christmas!
So what to bottle first? I know - Rhubarb! Plenty more if I get it wrong!
Sadly I've too much marking to do tonight - I'll have to wait 'til tomorrow to play.
Pressure Canning
Moderator: Peak Moderation
Thanks for asking maryb. Today is the day. Last night my husband offered to help collect another trailer load of manure for the polytunnel - so that was yesterday evening taken.
& This morning I've to help a friend move house..... so this evening I can try out the new toy .....
I'm getting better at "patience" as I get older.
& This morning I've to help a friend move house..... so this evening I can try out the new toy .....
I'm getting better at "patience" as I get older.
Duty? Yes ?30 which I wasn't expecting! (I thought second hand didn't attract duty... how wrong I was.)
However I think of the canner as an investment/insurance. Another item that may help make things easier for the future and for now it's a way of storing gluts from the garden etc.
And I've always thought that rows of jars of preserved food look fab.
However I think of the canner as an investment/insurance. Another item that may help make things easier for the future and for now it's a way of storing gluts from the garden etc.
And I've always thought that rows of jars of preserved food look fab.
Yup - that was one of my reasons for paying the extra for this type of canner.
Although of course the difficulty will be the need for seals on the jars. I've got Le Parfait jars now and they use rubber seals which are supposed to be "once-ers" but I've heard you can re-use them. Guess I'll buy a few extra seals too.
I saw this style of jar: http://www.ascott.biz/acatalog/Preservi ... DP264.html at at good price. I assume they can be used for canning. Do you know anything about them?
Le Parfait seem heavy duty - do you think these would be as good? They are cheaper.
Although of course the difficulty will be the need for seals on the jars. I've got Le Parfait jars now and they use rubber seals which are supposed to be "once-ers" but I've heard you can re-use them. Guess I'll buy a few extra seals too.
I saw this style of jar: http://www.ascott.biz/acatalog/Preservi ... DP264.html at at good price. I assume they can be used for canning. Do you know anything about them?
Le Parfait seem heavy duty - do you think these would be as good? They are cheaper.
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hardworkinghippy
- Posts: 568
- Joined: 16 Aug 2007, 02:03
- Location: Bergerac France
- Contact:
I think it's worth investing in good strong jars.
All the jars I've had that have even burst or broken have been other makes. I prefer the reusable top kind - the same lids can be used for years and the inside tops (seen on the jar in the front in the photo below) take up a lot less space than rubber rings - which tend to perish if you keep them too long.
All the jars I've had that have even burst or broken have been other makes. I prefer the reusable top kind - the same lids can be used for years and the inside tops (seen on the jar in the front in the photo below) take up a lot less space than rubber rings - which tend to perish if you keep them too long.
Our blah blah blah blog is HERE
HWH are the reusable tops easy to get hold of in France? We go to Southern Brittany every year and all the supermarkets sell preserving jars and rubber rings but I don't remember seeing the metal lids to use with screwbands. Jars and rubber rings seem pretty cheap to me compared with over here but I did wonder how long the rings would last without perishing.
Sally, Le Parfait seems to be the most common brand name in France. I love browsing in French cookware shops and they mostly sell the better brands and that is what they have.
They also sell a lot of German cookware. One of my browses resulted in me buying this
http://www.beka-cookware.com/cookware/p ... ce-steamer
DH was not amused at having to lug it back with us but I remember using one of these when I worked as an au pair in Germany rather a long time ago. The mother used this constantly in the summer to extract and bottle fruit juices and made fruit jellies from the juice. I've made mint jelly and redcurrant jelly using this and it sure beats a pillowcase slung over an upturned chair
I love seeing jars of home preserved food as well!
Sally, Le Parfait seems to be the most common brand name in France. I love browsing in French cookware shops and they mostly sell the better brands and that is what they have.
They also sell a lot of German cookware. One of my browses resulted in me buying this
http://www.beka-cookware.com/cookware/p ... ce-steamer
DH was not amused at having to lug it back with us but I remember using one of these when I worked as an au pair in Germany rather a long time ago. The mother used this constantly in the summer to extract and bottle fruit juices and made fruit jellies from the juice. I've made mint jelly and redcurrant jelly using this and it sure beats a pillowcase slung over an upturned chair
I love seeing jars of home preserved food as well!
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hardworkinghippy
- Posts: 568
- Joined: 16 Aug 2007, 02:03
- Location: Bergerac France
- Contact:
Mary,
When you buy a new pack of jars, you get the lids to go with them. You don't need a lot, just enough to do three or four sterilising batches, then take them off when the jars have cooled down and use them for the next lot. I've never seen them for sale separately either. If you ever go to any vide greniers (sort of car boot sales) in Brittany, you always get people selling them by the barrow-load.
You should find the tops in the same section as all the other stuff, they come in packs of twelve in sizes to fit all jars. They are much cheaper here !
When you buy a new pack of jars, you get the lids to go with them. You don't need a lot, just enough to do three or four sterilising batches, then take them off when the jars have cooled down and use them for the next lot. I've never seen them for sale separately either. If you ever go to any vide greniers (sort of car boot sales) in Brittany, you always get people selling them by the barrow-load.
You should find the tops in the same section as all the other stuff, they come in packs of twelve in sizes to fit all jars. They are much cheaper here !
Our blah blah blah blog is HERE
Thanks very much HWH, I'll stock up when we go to France.
Another thing I've seen them selling is paraffin wax to put on top of jams to seal it from the air. I've never bothered and my jam usually seems fine with just waxed paper circles. I do use old jam jar lids on top of that however rather than cellophane circles.
Do you use it?
Another thing I've seen them selling is paraffin wax to put on top of jams to seal it from the air. I've never bothered and my jam usually seems fine with just waxed paper circles. I do use old jam jar lids on top of that however rather than cellophane circles.
Do you use it?
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peakprepper
- Posts: 70
- Joined: 28 Jun 2006, 21:30
We took delivery of one of these a month or so ago. I got a friend in the US to buy it and ship it USPS (slow and cheap).
We had scoured the UK for one, and eventually gave up, and just bought directly from the US - about GBP 80.00 inc. delivery to my friends's place and then shipping to the UK.
You will often find that items shipped USPS will not only be cheaper, but tend to fly under the radar of HMC&E, whereas an item shipped by courier will always attract VAT and duty.
We bought stack of the jars and lids and spare rubbers in France last year - my mum was French, and I have fond memories of her using these all year round. I think she even made pate once and canned it.
"Popping" the pressure seal was a favourite hobby as a kid...
We had scoured the UK for one, and eventually gave up, and just bought directly from the US - about GBP 80.00 inc. delivery to my friends's place and then shipping to the UK.
You will often find that items shipped USPS will not only be cheaper, but tend to fly under the radar of HMC&E, whereas an item shipped by courier will always attract VAT and duty.
We bought stack of the jars and lids and spare rubbers in France last year - my mum was French, and I have fond memories of her using these all year round. I think she even made pate once and canned it.
"Popping" the pressure seal was a favourite hobby as a kid...
Ahhh! "The future is here - it's just not evenly distributed yet" Look at ourselves - we are discussing the smuggling of pressure canning equipment!peakprepper wrote:We took delivery of one of these a month or so ago. I got a friend in the US to buy it and ship it USPS (slow and cheap).
We had scoured the UK for one, and eventually gave up, and just bought directly from the US - about GBP 80.00 inc. delivery to my friends's place and then shipping to the UK.
You will often find that items shipped USPS will not only be cheaper, but tend to fly under the radar of HMC&E, whereas an item shipped by courier will always attract VAT and duty.
We bought stack of the jars and lids and spare rubbers in France last year - my mum was French, and I have fond memories of her using these all year round. I think she even made pate once and canned it.
"Popping" the pressure seal was a favourite hobby as a kid...
Good tip about USPS. I have a nephew in the States who might be able to cope with such a commission
I don't do much preserving at the moment apart from jam (and a few bottled tomatoes) but seems to me it has to be a better bet in the long term than tinned food which requires lots of energy to process and transport or frozen food which could all spoil the first time the power goes off for more than a few hours.
I also really like the idea of "preserving" old skills which might otherwise be lost. I am hoping that I will still be around and able to pass on useful information and skills to my daughters (who roll their eyes when I talk about Peak Oil) when they need it in years to come - they certainly aren't receptive at the moment. For instance I have taught myself to knit socks and they are just so comfortable, I could not believe it - and turning a heel is not at all hard. (Gloves are much more difficult - I always get a gap at the base of each finger). I like the piece Sharon Astyk wrote on this
http://casaubonsbook.blogspot.com/2007/ ... lypse.html
I don't do much preserving at the moment apart from jam (and a few bottled tomatoes) but seems to me it has to be a better bet in the long term than tinned food which requires lots of energy to process and transport or frozen food which could all spoil the first time the power goes off for more than a few hours.
I also really like the idea of "preserving" old skills which might otherwise be lost. I am hoping that I will still be around and able to pass on useful information and skills to my daughters (who roll their eyes when I talk about Peak Oil) when they need it in years to come - they certainly aren't receptive at the moment. For instance I have taught myself to knit socks and they are just so comfortable, I could not believe it - and turning a heel is not at all hard. (Gloves are much more difficult - I always get a gap at the base of each finger). I like the piece Sharon Astyk wrote on this
http://casaubonsbook.blogspot.com/2007/ ... lypse.html
This morning I finally used the canner.
I packed the jars with hot but not cooked rhubarb
15 min to bring canner up to hissing temperature.
10 min venting with petcock open to remove air
10 min to bring up to 10psi once petcock shut
10 min cook time
15 min cool time as pressure dropped slowly
Then out came the 5 x 1 litre Le Parfait jars - looking good!
Opened one jar a few hours later (just to see how tight the seal was - satisfying suuuckk noise) and it seems good.
Well pleased.
Will try meat next.
And try to get some more jars and seals.
I packed the jars with hot but not cooked rhubarb
15 min to bring canner up to hissing temperature.
10 min venting with petcock open to remove air
10 min to bring up to 10psi once petcock shut
10 min cook time
15 min cool time as pressure dropped slowly
Then out came the 5 x 1 litre Le Parfait jars - looking good!
Opened one jar a few hours later (just to see how tight the seal was - satisfying suuuckk noise) and it seems good.
Well pleased.
Will try meat next.
And try to get some more jars and seals.