Canning Chat - Answering Your Questions

Hello everyone and welcome to Sutton's Days and this week's

canning

chat

. I'm very excited to be here this week. I hope you do too. We've got a lot of good

questions

in just over six pages, so let's jump in and get started. Pam Chappelle asks. Can? Can you sauerkraut salad? If so, can you bathe her in water? I'm not sure I know what sauerkraut salad is. You can make sauerkraut and I'll put the link below from the national home food preservation center and I hope that answers that. her question, otherwise let me know what sauerkraut salad is.

We have Elizabeth saying: has she used Lehman

canning

lids? I brought some. I bought some last year and haven't tried them yet. I hate having an unsealed batch, so a few things. You know, sometimes things don't seal, that will happen with almost any can lid you use. Layman's has always had a great reputation and I think they are a very good lid, they have been sold and used for a long time so jump on. in, trust the process, you got this one, the next one, actually, it's a similar question from three different people, so girl georgia from mary spurlock pawpaw and uh adrian adrian 107. yeah, everyone asks a question about the space of head and it's important, okay, so the simple answer is that leaving the specified amount of free space in a jar is important to ensure a vacuum seal.

If too little head space is left, the food can expand and bubble out when air is expelled from under the lid during the process if we see the food bubbling. can leave a deposit on the rim of the jar or on the seal of the lid and prevent the jar from sealing properly if too much headspace is left, the food on top is likely to become discolored and the jar may also not seal correctly because there will not be enough processing time to get all the air out of the jar. Headspace, sorry, is super important, so use the recommended headspace in all the different canning processes you do, whether it's water bath or pressure canning.

Thank you and Sometimes you will start with the right headspace and it may diminish. Sometimes if you're doing something like filling it with a cake, it will rise because you know it expands, so there's a little finesse with a couple of things, but for the most part. part,

your

head space must be true and must remain true, in fact we will discuss something similar in one of the

questions

that come up, so that's a great question, I hope I answered that for you, Brad Clark asks: can you can some potatoes white and parboil them? for two minutes, but they are too soft for me after canning, they can be stubborn, but can I skip the parboiling and shake them after cutting, still add the boiling water and process for 40 minutes?

Also, the bulb ball book says two to three pounds of potatoes per quart (not even close I had 20 pounds and ended up with 14 quarts, so the simple answer regarding blanching potatoes is that blanching releases some of the starch and also potatoes, by their nature, will absorb some of the water in the canning process, so if they are not blanched they will absorb more water into the jar, which will mess up

your

headspace. Well, can you know that blanching them reduces the cloudiness and that's the starch and you know that's just one? Of the things that are made, starch is not a big problem and it depends on what type of potato you are talking about.

I specifically like canning with yellow gold potatoes, gold potatoes, not yellow gold potatoes, um, because now they produce less starch. It's stubborn, okay, but I don't usually parboil my potatoes for two minutes because especially with the golden ones, I found that it doesn't, you know, it doesn't affect the starch as much if you use idahos, so yeah, that's it. That's going to be a big difference when you're canning and you're going to notice a lot more starch, I mean they're going to cloud up, it's not going to be translucent by any means, so that's something to consider and the water in the jar is something to consider, don't mess with your headspace. assuming it's going to absorb more water because again you know, keep your head spaced as is.

I just said I don't bleach them so maybe I know, try it and see if you like it. I don't think it affects the validity of the food that's in the jar by not doing this, it just changes the way it looks afterwards, so I hope that answers your question. Sorry, country roads. I don't know if you've answered this question before I need to can some ground beef. I also have some stock for canning. Is it okay to do them together? So I have a canner full. I will process them for 90 minutes absolutely. okay go ahead and do it mackenzie shelley lee johnson question greetings from western canada hi um the vent time is 10 minutes and starts immediately after steam comes out of the spout or once the safety valve opens, okay, the safety valve has nothing to do with it, nothing. to do with that and there will be someone you know will argue this point with me, but I mentioned it in a couple of my videos that, uh, what you're looking for is a constant flow of vapor, okay, so put that lid on.

You turn it on and you light it, you know, you turn the heat on and let it go until you see that steady flow of steam and then you start the timer. You're not paying attention to that padlock opening at all because some canners do. They will appear and some canners won't until you put the regulator there. Okay, so you should wait for a steady flow of steam and then start the timer for 10 minutes. At 10 minutes you want to put the regulator in there, either the regulator or the jiggler and then make sure it reaches the pressure or the jiggler, then start the timer for the time needed to process whatever you are canning if the jiggler is not on at the time. end of those 10 minutes or I'm Sorry, if the pop lock is not activated at the end of those 10 minutes, it will appear once you put the regulator on.

I promise you. If it doesn't, then you're stuck, so you have to know how to do your thing. Pick it up, but I hope that answers your question. Victor's agricultural adventures. I've been playing water bath for about five years. Tomorrow I will start pressure canning. I don't really have a question. I have some concerns about pressure canning. I really don't want to blow up my nice stove and kitchen so, okay, then the kitchen can work lol, and I'm here to tell you that it wasn't actually a question, but trust the process, you got it, you really do it and once. you're doing it you're going to leave oh i wish i hadn't waited so long newbystetters question uh i'm new to canning and making jams and jellies.

I have seen some YouTubers put a little butter when making jam. and gelatin to avoid foam, is it okay to do this? Would you recommend it? I do not recommend it. In fact, I've mentioned it in a lot of my jam and jelly videos because it's one of those things that uh ball or the national center for home food preservation. I recommend it because it is supposed to eliminate the foam that is created. What I've found is that the foam dissipates anyway, so you know, I've made all kinds of jams and jellies. I don't add any kind of butter to it and You know, it just keeps stirring and it creates a foam, it's a natural thing and then when I go to stir it, the foam just dissipates and it just disappears.

A lot of people have great memories of removing that foam and putting it on a plate and it's a gift for the kids or the family or something, you know, it's just jam and if it dissipates it's all just jam, so I don't think it's necessary. , not really, it depends on how demanding you are. Your jams and jellies in the jar. I have never had foam be a problem. I hope that answers your question. Have you tried the Nesco electric pressure canner? My electric stove has that safety feature and I have a hard time using my pressure canner on so I'm thinking about doing this.

I cannot in good conscience endorse or recommend any type of electric pressure canner. I don't think they have been adequately tested. I don't think they are safe long term, so Yes, I just can't, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Shannon's reader asks. I have a question about storage. I don't have many open shelves. Can I store canning jars on an extra dresser or buffet? Nothing lying on its side. We absolutely have Carol who is a member of our Facebook group and she uses the dresser drawers to put her jars anywhere you can put them again. I wouldn't put them on their side, but anywhere you can put them wherever you want.

You won't forget about them, great dark place, it's perfect, go ahead and do what you want, congratulations Susan Smith, how are you Susan? So the husband was watching one of your videos and said: Wow, that looks good, so buy what you need. I always do it. Do what he says not to, but this time I did it. I got the extra ring cap from the presto 23 quart canner, the red scoop, the funnel with the headspace marking 20 with the headspace marking usda green book 2020 uh and of course the jiggler so The question is: I am disappointed with the booklet that comes with the canner because all the recipes are for the jiggler, not the jiggler.

I'm below a thousand feet here in Finger, in the Finger Lakes region of New York, and I want to use the jiggler. So if for the ground beef it says to use 11, can I use 10 or do I go up to 15? I will contact state representatives to change things. Okay, then I'll recommend you to the national center for home food preservation. Susan, okay, go over there and look, and they actually have different charts, they have it for the regulator and they have it for the weighted regulator. Okay, and you want to use the one from the regular regulator for the weighted regulator.

Thank you, um, and a diamond. Dollar says it's going to say use 10 pounds of pressure, that's fine, but you want to be sure of that because some of them change and if you know, some of them change and it says use 15. So just to be sure , use what it is. on the national center for home food preservation site and you will be ready. You will love doing this whole journey. My husband, a nice and pleasant diamond gardener, asks. I love pink grapefruit juice. Grapefruits are generally on sale when they are in season. I think you can can citrus juices in November anyway.

I haven't found anything that has a safe recommended recipe for canning citrus juice. Sorry yoda 63. The USDA recipes for canned baked beans and pork and beans say to add ham or bacon, so there is precedent for adding a small amount of cured meat as a seasoning great point and honestly , it's not one I've paid attention to, so I'll put a link below. I reviewed it and read it. The national center for home food preservation has a baked bean. recipe that actually uses bacon, they are very specific, very specific about how much, what size, you know all that and that's because that's exactly what they've tested, so definitely check out that link if you're interested in an approved recipe that uses ham or bacon. on your baked beans, thanks, great find, really great find, Ethel Tilton says these

chat

s are valuable.

I'm very happy. I have a two year old 22 quart marrow canner with a jiggle weight instead of a pressure gauge. The problem in the At the bottom of the interior several places have formed with irregularly shaped holes, it is quite pitted, you can dig your nails into the holes, I don't know why they formed, we have city water, a water softener and I usually remember the two tablespoons of vinegar, maybe. I forgot it two or three times. Do you think it's a manufacturer's defect or did I do something? These newer canners are not as thick as the older ones and I'm afraid they will corrode completely otherwise I really like it um having a pitted bottom is not a good thing okay that means it's structurally compromised so it's not something I would continue to use, especially if they are as deep as you say, right, I don't use vinegar in my canning process a lot of people do, probably a lot of people comment and say they always do, I don't, the recommendation to put vinegar in there is for keep the jars from turning cloudy, this is especially problematic when you have well water, we have well water and a water softener and sometimes my jars come out cloudy from time to time.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it, but what I've noticed when using vinegar is that it oxidizes my rings, which shortens the time. Over the entire life of my rings, I have found no benefit to adding vinegar to my canner. With the thinner metal the vinegar may have compromised it a bit, so I would eliminate the vinegar, but I would consider replacing the canner because with the bones The size you are talking about is compromised in the future, especially since you are using water from the canner. city, you don't need to add vinegar, it's really not a problem, I wash my jars every canning session, you know, I let them sit. one day and then I put them in warm soapy water, wash them, rinse them, dry them, label them, put them on the shelf and someone informed me that this is something that is very rarely seen. on youtube you know the subsequent process, so oneThese days I will, but you have to wash the jars anyway, so for me the vinegar doesn't really add any benefit and in fact compromises the use.

Future use of my rings and possibly my canner, so I don't use it. Many people will say yes. You know they have to have it. It's a must, so it's kind of up to you, but I would definitely do it. Looking at a different type of canner, I hope it helped you. Question from Kim Stanley. Can you make double batches of jams and jellies with safe gel? No, unless they specify that it is a recipe you can double. Without really getting into a lot. There are reasons with the formulas as to why you're not supposed to double those types of recipes, pomona pectin you can double and triple those recipes, it's not a problem, but there's something about a chemical reaction with dry pectin like that that really it doesn't allow You have to do that, so I would go to a single batch and go from there or try the pomona pectin for real.

Is incredible. I'll put a link below. uh, Wilma Hughes, do I have to tighten the new tattler lids when they come out of the canner? I heard no, I'm not sure who you heard that from, from everything I've read so far, yes, you still do the same process as before. You know, when they come out, just settle them in and you'll be fine. to go carol smith lisa carol um, let's see that you have inspired me and I have become a canning maniac. I'm so glad, I'm so glad, and let's see, my question is: have you ever canned boneless russeteer chicken?

I've been freezing the meat and canning the most delicious broth, then I wondered how good it would be to can the two together for future use in casserole soups, etc. Do you think cooked meat would become too soft or tough? Excellent question and absolutely Can chicken be absolutely canon? It can be packed raw, which is ugly chicken, or it can be packed hot, which is cooked chicken. If you package the chicken raw, you don't add anything to it, you just put it in the jar and you can do it if you want. Hot-pack chicken, then add liquid or broth up to an inch of headspace, so check the national center for home food preservation.

Hot packed chicken. You can use that amazing broth you're creating with the chicken. up and done I mean it would be like the most beautiful instant gravy chicken or you know a lot of things so yeah you can absolutely do both and you'll love them. I love using those store bought chickens like that for bone broth and having that extra little piece of chicken is a huge bonus. I haven't eaten one in a long time. I'm going to have to buy one now. It makes my mouth water. Thank you Jennifer Spears. I have a 22 quart pressure pith.

I'm new to pressure canning, but now twice the top of the weight, the black knob, not the stainless steel weighted bit, has unscrewed during the process. Why might this happen? It is normal? I'm thinking that's not normal, so if you can buy a new regulator um, that would probably be advisable, okay, and you can find the ones you know, do a search, go to miro um, but I would probably buy a new one because that doesn't It should be happening and it's not normal Maggie Martin, can I turkey what do you have? Suggestions have been made in brine, raw or cooked.

Yes, you can, absolutely, you can brine the turkey. Yes, you can make it raw or you can make it hot, packed, with broth, either way should be fine, you're fine, do it, phyllis mccall, can I make potatoes for the first time. I must have had a siphon. ​​It was an inch. headspace before pressure canning my potatoes now have about an inch and a half to two inches of headspace, will they store or should I eat them first? I pressure canned them for the correct amount of time, but my canner started to rise after 20 minutes. and I got it down as much as I could, but it stayed at 14 pounds when they only needed 11 pounds, so part of that could be due to increased pressure, okay, because that's pretty significant, part of it, and you didn't address it.

Here I don't know if you bleached them. We mentioned before that if you don't bleach them, they tend to absorb water and even if you bleach them, they still tend to absorb some water, but your headspace shouldn't have changed that drastically, so you may have had siphoning due to the higher pressure and they may have absorbed some of the water. Yes, they are still safe. They are still absolutely safe, but they will discolor on top of the water. the ones with potatoes on them, I would eat them sooner rather than later, okay Nikki, I have a question about the ventilation.

I have the Presto 23 quart pressure canner. I bought it secondhand, so there is no manual, but I downloaded the digital version. when venting, the stop lock on the back should appear before starting the 10 minute timer, um, and I didn't realize I had a double question here, no, no, all gallops have their own personalities, each one I have eight. Canners and they all have different personalities. Some of them have automatic locking. You know, while I'm venting, some of them don't go up until I turn on the regulator. It really depends, so you want 10 minutes consistently. steam stream so once you get to that steady stream of steam start the timer for 10 minutes and then once those 10 minutes hit you'll want to turn on the regulator and then at some point the auto lock will kick in because it doesn't really work.

Turn up the pressure until the blockage goes up, so there's no need to worry about that part. If it doesn't come up after about 10 minutes, it may be stuck, so you'll need to take a look at it. but you're ready it doesn't have to be active um when you're doing your 10 minute vent good question rhonda pagan um our state extension centers would have up to date information or even a county extension office with up to date information not necessarily and it really depends on the state in the one you live. I live in the wonderful state of Michigan and for the most part I love the wonderful state of Michigan, but I can't stay at the extension office.

They don't have any updated information, so you really do. to look for it, there are some extension offices in Oregon, Washington, California, just to name a few in Minnesota that are more active in this, okay, so you know it's worth looking around and I'll try to find them all, probably the Next month I will do it. Try to find them and create a library that everyone can go to, but then it's a matter of doing your due diligence to check them regularly because they don't notify you when changes happen, but yes, it's an option, let's see, Karen Cowley.

Cowley, yes, can you vent for long? I don't remember how long I let my gallop vent, but I know it had to be more than 10 minutes, help, yes you can vent for a long time, like you know, half an hour or so, but if you're talking about 15 minutes in instead of 10, no, but by venting it you can heat the water creating that vapor, venting that vapor dissipating the water, okay, so you can ventilate to the point where you don't. have enough water in your canner for the process you need to can whatever's in the canner, that made sense, so you know 7 o'clock, but I mean, 10, you know, 10 minutes is what it should be. do if you do. 15 or 20, it's not a deal breaker, it's not ideal, but it's not a deal breaker, so go ahead, okay, rachel and hickory hill homestead, um, a couple of questions, okay, okay, I know that when They are canned in a water bath, you must turn off. heat remove lid wait five minutes I've heard conflicting information about pressure canning turn off heat bring to zero remove lid remove jars or turn off heat bring to zero wait five minutes remove lid remove jars um and so on I'm going to tell you what I do, okay, because what happened first, what I do is I let it depressurize itself, okay, and then I let it sit for another five ten minutes and then I unscrew the lid and then you know.

I take the jars out, that 5 to 10 minute period of time that you leave it in after you depressurize it before you take the lid off. What you're doing is letting it go down a little bit more because the reaction can be if the temperature is drastic enough between what's happening in the canner and what's happening in your kitchen, it can actually cause siphoning and you'll know when it happens because when remove the lid you'll hear those things you know I'll just make all kinds of noises so that's what I do. I let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, you know, after it depressurizes and then I take the lid off and then I take them out if you let it depressurize completely and then.

Immediately remove the lid, you risk siphoning due to the temperature change in the pot and outside the pot, so that's the safest way I've found to handle it. The other question is that her husband loves beef tongue. No, I joked with him. I'll put the whole tongue in a jar and a cannon. My question is: could you believe? And I dug, I dug a lot. There is no data available for process recommendations, but I will put a link below because it brings. Who data from 1966 and before, okay, and it actually mentions, I mean, you'll have to go down, you know, scroll down, it's pretty extensive, but it actually mentions a canned language and gives you recommendations, but they're very old. and they're not accurate anymore, uh, but for the most part there's no up-to-date information on whether it's safe or not, so I wouldn't do it, but it's worth a read.

Look at the link. Sarah Courtney asks me. I have another question about vinegar. It's great to know that it won't go bad since I buy two gallons almost every month because I use it for a lot of non-food things too, but my concern is being in plastic jars instead of glass for long term storage. I hadn't thought of anything. I hadn't thought anything about it until I saw a comment a while ago referring to plastic degrading over time, so that's my concern. What are your thoughts? When I buy vinegar in those, you know, plastic jugs. because like you said, that's what's coming now.

Those jugs are pretty sturdy, I mean, to me they're sturdier than milk jugs, definitely sturdier than water jugs, so unless you're looking at 10 years or more, I don't. I don't think it's a problem to have and it shouldn't degrade in the jars at all, you should be good to go that's my opinion ah the final question the final question brenda porter says lisa my last canning project after venting for 10 minutes I placed my regulator pressure when my pressure canner was reaching pressure. I heard a loud crack like a jar breaking. My question is: should I have turned off the stove?

I let the chamber pressure drop again and checked to see if everything was okay. I didn't know what to do and let the canner do her job after the canning session and time to remove the jars, everything was fine. I have been canning for two years and this was a new experience. Not like you. I would have just kept going, there's no point at that point going back because I would have risked the other jars being able to seal properly, so I wouldn't have risked looking, I would have just said, "Oh great, I lost a jar." um, I saw in some of the comments to her question that other people had also experienced this and had the same results as you. um I've had my jars break, but I've never had anything that sounded so distinctive where there wasn't a problem, so I'm not sure exactly what it is, it's intriguing, but if everything went well, you're fine, it wouldn't start, you know, no.

I'd stop and start again, I'd just go if it's a loss, it's a loss, let's move on because by then you'll have everything up to temperature and stuff and you'd probably have to change the caps if you stopped and restarted, you know, and no one can afford that kind of lidded repetition nowadays, great question, definitely something to pay attention to, not something I come across, but I don't come across everything so I'm glad people have chimed in on that, well guys, that's this week's canning talk, I hope. I will come to you later this week or weekend with additional discussion on canning meats.

Someone brought something to my attention. I have some questions and definitely keep an eye out for that because it's kind of mind-blowing. Done, remember if you like what we do, like, subscribe and share, visit us on Instagram and Facebook until next time, stay safe.