An Introduction to Pressure Canning

 

As my regular readers (do I have any?) know, I am a huge supporter of homemade broth. It was one of my first proactive steps into being more eco-friendly. I love that it helps save money in multiple ways. By using the parts of the vegetable that is not normally cooked, I squeeze every penny out of my produce purchases. Then whenever I want to make soup, I do not have to pick up store bought (aka processed) broth. I usually always have some on hand. Since I started making my own broth, I have come to make total use of my freezer. Lately, I have been eating much healthier which means my veggie scrap bags were filling up faster than I could make and store broth. The last batch of broth needed to be used up almost completely before I could even think about adding more jars to the collection. My freezer wound up being so packed with jars and veggie scrap bags that I had to buy small bins to organize everything else. Before I put the bins in place, things were falling out every time I opened the door. Pretty soon, investing in a second freezer began sounding like the best next move. Purchasing a new major appliance would have been too much of a burden on my already tight budget. Luckily my mother, offered up the freezer she has kept in her basement since I was a little girl. This seemed to be my solution. With all my new frigid storage space, I could jump into storing more soup, making homemade tomato sauce, make more broth, and who knows what else! All while leaving my kitchen freezer free to use for more daily functions. Great plan!

...Until I thought about the spike this might cause in my electric bill. The spike in the electric bill would be due to a large amount of added energy my household would start using. I make my own broth to be more green. Adding a major appliance seemed to be going backward. Back to the drawing board...

I really don't remember how I stumbled upon the idea of canning. It had nothing to do with storing my broth though. Somehow I managed to get interested and ordered a canning recipe book from Amazon. Funny - I can remember so many tiny little details of my life, but I can't remember how I got interested in my newest culinary adventure. So I bought this book and I have had a nice collection of mason jars for a while now, but I still was not completely sold. The idea of preserving fruits and veggies while they are in season (aka CHEAP) was majorly appealing. The whole process just seemed like a crap load of work though. Plus the risk of botulism seemed pretty scary. I could spend my time, energy, and money canning all this stuff that could make us sick? Oh No! Still, I kept doing my research on the process. Apparently using a boiling water bath is the dangerous method, but pressure canners are more safe. Problem is, pressure canners are a bit costly. The cheapest one I found was $80. For a few weeks, I debated whether it would be worth making the investment. Then, I stumbled upon someones blog post discussing canning homemade broth and I was sold! A one time payment of $80 is much cheaper than the monthly costs of a raised electric bill. The smaller environmental impact is also a huge bonus. Now I sound like an infomercial. 

She is a monster!

The canner is now mine! I have big plans for the summer of canning. "Putting up" all those in season veggies can get me through the the winter months; when the prices of fruits and veggies seem to always skyrocket. I can maximize my consumption of local fresh veggies and minimize my carbon footprint. Buying vegetables in the winter often means they had to be shipped long distances to get to you. They are definately not as fresh as they could be and just think about the amount of fuel it took to get that food to your kitchen. The distance and amount of fuel used to ship food is known as food miles. Focusing on eating local will cut down the food miles needed and also help your local economy. What's not to love? Maybe the extra work that is needed. Ill have to set aside some hours specifically for my canning activities. Last night sure was an adventure while I tried out the canner for the first time! Sometimes it is probably better that I live with just my child. As I make my way through any recipe, I tend to make loud sound effects and talk to myself. Throwing in a large heavy duty piece of kitchen artillery to the mix made for some interesting scenes.

Canning is kind of a long process. Once I get the hang of it, hopefully I will become a bit more efficient than I was last night. The freezing method is much faster. Since I started with broth, I am going to share the directions for canning broth. I have only done this once, so I am not sure if the directions would be the same for any other recipe. Actually, I am pretty sure the amount of pressure length of cooking time needed will vary depending on specific ingredients. I don't know much, but I am learning and I promise to share whatever I learn with you.

Here is the directions I found that convinced me to get started with canning: http://www.culinate.com/mix/dinner_guest/how_to_pressure_can_stock Since this is not a subject I know much about and it seems to be an exact science, I am going to share her directions with you along with my notations and experiences.
**I learned a long time ago to always site your sources. No plagiarism, kids!

1. Place your stock in a large pot and bring it to a simmer.If you make your stock in the crock pot, like I do, I don't think this step is necessary. I did do this last night, but read that this extra heating process can make the stock cloudy and effect the taste. I think you can drain the veggies from the broth and keep it in the crock pot on either the low or warm setting until you are ready to fill your jars.
2. Put the necessary number of jars (either pints or quarts) in the pressure canner. Fill the pot with three to four inches of water and put enough water in the jars to keep them from floating. Put the lid on the canner (you don’t need to lock it into place at this point) and bring it to a boil.
3. Put the canning lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and place the pan over very low heat, in order to soften the sealing compound.
4. When the jars are hot and the stock is simmering, remove one jar from the pot. Empty the water into the sink and carefully fill it with stock, leaving a generous inch of space between the surface of the stock and the top of the jar. Do this carefully!! If you are serious about canning, you may want to buy a set of jar tongs. I do not have my jar tongs yet, so it was very awkward with my regular tongs and oven mitt trying to get the hot jars out of boiling water and then pouring them out.
5. Wipe the rim of the jar with a cloth dipped in white vinegar (to help cut any grease), apply a warm lid, and screw on a ring band. I read a tip somewhere that it helps to pour 2 Tbsp of vinegar into the pot water to cut down on the water marks left on the jar. I did this. My jars still have water marks and now I have to scrub the smell of vinegar out of my canner. Great tip :(
6. Place the filled jar into the pressure canner and repeat the process until all your jars are filled and the stock gone.
7. Put the lid on the pressure canner and lock it into place.
8. Bring the heat up and let the canner run with an open vent for 10 minutes. You want to get as much air out of the canner as possible.
9. When the stream of steam coming out of the vent lessens, put the vent weight on the port. If you’re using a weighted pressure canner, choose the 10 pounds of pressure side of the weight.I waited 20 or so minutes and the steam stream only lessened slightly. Be careful putting the weight on the port!!! That steam is hot and we do not need any burns! I looked lovely trying to get my weight on my pot. I had my hands covered in oven mitts and used a long set of tongs.I dropped the damn thing 3 times before I managed to get it on the pot!
10. If you’re using a gauged pressure canner, watch your gauge. You need it to reach 11 pounds of pressure.
11. Once the weight is jiggling the appropriate number of times per minute, or the gauge has reached 11 pounds of pressure, set a timer for 25 minutes.
12. Keep tabs on your pot to ensure that the jiggles or gauge number don’t drop below their prescribed levels. You may need to reduce the heat to keep the pot where it should be, pressure-wise. If it goes higher than 11, lower your heat. If it goes lower than 11, raise your heat. Simple enough.
13. When the time is up, turn the heat off under the pot and let it cool completely before touching. I tend to do my pressure canning right before I go to bed, so that I can leave it to cool all night long.I waited a few hours and got antsy. The pressure was all the way down and the jars were warm, yet not too hot to handle.
14. When the pressure is totally down and the jars are cool enough to handle, remove the jars from the pot. Wash them (the stock often leaks a tiny bit during processing, which can make the jars a little grungy) and remove the rings.
15. Label with the contents and date and store in a cool, dark place. Masking tape!
16. Pressure-canned stock will keep up to a year on the shelf.

So I tried to can 3 quarts of broth. Two of my jars sealed perfectly, while the third (on the right) was kind of questionable. The rubber seal around the lid seemed completely sealed, but the center of the lid bubbled up a little. The two jars that sealed properly were very smooth and almost seemed sunken in a little. Canning recipes say if you do not get a proper seal, you can refrigerated the product and use it within a week usually. I left my jars out on the counter overnight. I am almost positive now the third jar did not have a proper seal. The color turned much darker than the other two jars. Leaving it out without the proper seal must have done something to the broth so I dumped that one. It is a shame I left it out instead of putting it right in the fridge, but it was all a learning experience. At least now I know some signs to recognize an improperly sealed jar.

For my first canning experience, I think a success rate of 2 out of 3 is pretty good!