HOME CANNING
© 2006 RogueTurtle.com
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Rogue Turtle is always on the lookout for the biggest bang for his bucks. But there are times when you just have to spend a little, to get a lot. Canning and preserving your own food is one of those cases.
In the USA, the Ball Manufacturing Company, is probably the biggest supplier of these mason jars and lids. Kerr also makes a good product and the prices are almost the same depending on the store where you buy them. Always buy extra lids and seals.
Home canning allows you to pre-package and prepare food that YOU like - in the style and manner in which you like to eat it. The shelf life of properly sanitized and sealed food varies, but it is usually a lot longer than the "recommended" shelf life. As long as the glass jars don't freeze, you can keep most foods up to a year - perhaps more.
There are a LOT of books on the market to teach you how to do canning without poisoning yourself with some dreaded bug you can't pronounce. Suffice to say, I'm not intimidated and if my little article conflicts with the directions of your own personal canning equipment, follow the manufacturers' directions and ignore me. Once you get the hang of home canning, you will never again want to eat the processed and preserved stuff sold in most chain grocery stores.
The biggest advantage of home canning is that it allows you to purchase fresh food at "large lot" prices. The cost of food goes way down that way. Picking your own fresh fruit and veggies in the field is another way to save a LOT of money. In Florida, the strawberry growers have many fields open to "Pick Your Own" berries. Your only limit is the strength of your back.
I won't try to fool you. Canning is and always will be a lot of work. It needs a lot of supplies and equipment. It can be hot, boring work if you let it. The canning supplies and the canner will cost money if you don't already have one. But the one biggest advantage to home canning is that the glass jars can be re-used over and over again. All you have to do is purchase new lid seals, and they are very cheap.
HOME CANNING IS ONE OF THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLES OF:
PROPER PRIOR PLANNING PREVENTS POOR PERFORMANCE.
The following sections are from my original book written for my family in 2004. Nothing has changed except that finding local suppliers of pressure canners and canning supplies is getting harder to find. In the USA, we are getting spoiled at the ease of buying pre-canned and pre-cooked packaged food. You select the food, you clean it, can it, and eat it when you feel like it.
Invite the neighbors over to dinner. Serve them only the food you canned yourself - a year ago. Don't tell them it's a year old until after dinner. Watch their faces.
WARNING: Improperly prepared home canned foods may contain toxins that are fatal to humans. Infants and the elderly are particularly susceptible to these toxins. Always examine all home canned food prior to use. If an odor is detected that is NOT from the food - or if the color and texture of the food has changed considerably - DO NOT EAT THE FOOD. In other words, do it right the first time.
CANNING FOOD SAFELY
This chapter will be the "quick and dirty" version of canning food. I won't go into all the details about canning, but leave the majority of the homework up to you. If you purchase and pre-position the type canning equipment I recommend, then the canning instructions inside the carton of the new canner will tell you all you need to know. There are, however, a few basics we need to discuss:
We will, technically, not be "canning" food at all. We will be using hot water or steam to seal vegetables into glass mason jars using metal lids. However, the term "jarring food" is never used.
Since the three vegetables I recommend to plant (first) in a survival situation are potatoes, beans and carrots, I will only tell you how to can these. Potatoes, if stored correctly, don't really need canning. Beans and carrots do. There are hundreds of other options, including meats such as chicken, beef, fish, and pork, plus prepared foods such as chili and spaghetti sauces. In order to start thinking of home-canning, you need to know up front just what equipment you will probably need.
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT:
Pressure Canner:
Seen on the right, the newer versions of these canners have thin walls and air-tight lids for rapid heating and rapid cooling. Both are time and money saving changes. The older, heavy metal pressure cookers took a long time to heat up (costing more fuel) and took a long time to cool down to safely take off the lid. This canner will be used for canning all 3 of my recommended vegetables. Yahoo Store
Easy to grow, easy to store and very nutritious:
The big 3 are POTATOES, CARROTS and BEANS
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Boiling Water Canner:
This large pot (and the pressure canner) holds 7 quart jars for home canning. They are relatively inexpensive and both will usually come with a wire rack for the bottom to make sure the hot water flows under and around all the jars packed into the canner. This canner is great for other chores around the house, in addition to canning. Whenever you need to cook up something "large", use this pot. Many (other) food items are best canned using this canner, and not the pressure canner.
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Canning Tools:
These include a jar lifter, a wide mouth funnel, tongs, a temperature gauge, and a pair of rubberized pliers for jar tops. All these items are needed during one or more stages of the canning process. They can be purchased individually or in kit form. Add to this a pair of good quality gloves for working around hot water. All these tools allow you to safely work with food that is heated well above 200° F. (2006: I found this set at a Dollar Store for $1.00..a steal.)
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PRINCIPLES OF CANNING
Disregarding the value of your own labor, canning homegrown food may save you half the cost of buying commercially grown food. If you cannot get access to the local grocery store, home canning is the ONLY way to have relatively fresh vegetables all year around. I won't kid you, canning can be hot, hard work. It's a job that, once started, needs to be finished before the vegetables go bad.
Many vegetables begin losing some of their vitamins when harvested. Nearly half the vitamins may be lost within a few days unless the fresh produce is cooled or preserved. Unless you live in Alaska, cooling will require electrical refrigeration which you may, or may not, have. Preserving food is the solution to all your problems. The heating process during canning destroys from one-third to one-half of vitamins A and C, thiamin, and riboflavin. Once canned, these losses of sensitive vitamins are from 5 to 20% each year.
But these vitamins are fragile even with fresh vegetables, and there are still a bunch of vitamins and minerals that will NOT be lost or severely degraded during canning. If vegetables are handled properly and canned promptly after harvest, they can be more nutritious than some of the so-called "fresh" vegetables sold in local stores. You can't tell me that a shipload of vegetables grown in Colombia or Venezuela is a "fresh" vegetable. I know how much time is lost in shipping, delivery to warehouses and subsequent delivery to retail stores. "Fresh" seems to be a much misused term.
Why did you say "disregarding your own labor"? In a survival situation, labor costs go out the window. Everything you do or make you do yourself. Even if there are people around who claim they will work, do you really want them around? Keep it to yourself. Assuming you already have the 6-P's covered, then your shelter should be (almost) built or completely finished. It takes several weeks for a crop of veggies to grow, so during all this time you should have been working on your shelter. Now that you're done, you can harvest the crop, can it and store it...at your leisure. Leisure time is "free time".
Canning requires heat. Heat means you will burn some type of fuel to make a fire. If you have electricity available, use that first since you need electricity anyway. If you have propane fueled stoves, the canning process will use a lot of gas but the cost is worth the effort. If you have only firewood for fires, make sure that the canner you purchase is sufficiently sturdy to be used over an open flame. If it has plastic knobs or catches on the top, they may burn off in an overheated fire. Gauges on top of the canner should be of metal construction, not plastic (which melts).
Most crops come to their best maturity at or after the time of the first frost. That means you need heat in the shelter anyway. Canning is another way of heating the house and at the same time getting another benefit from the heat.
SELECTING VEGETABLES FOR CANNING
Not every vegetable you harvest will be suitable for canning. The vegetables you select should be the best quality, freshest food you can get. Many county extension services will tell you exactly what type vegetable will do best for the region you are sheltered in. However, you have to know this BEFORE the emergency, not after it's too late. Discard diseased and moldy food. Trim small diseased lesions or spots off of all food for canning. Quality vegetables will result in quality canned food. Poor quality vegetables will not be improved by canning...you just get to keep poor quality food for a longer time.
Bulk buying vegetables from road-side stands and farmer's markets is another option if you haven't managed to grow enough of your own food. Trading your excess crops for another crop is the oldest form of trade, and should be considered in a survival situation.
It is important to remember that most vegetables (except those that need curing), will be at their peak for canning purposes within 6 hours after harvest. After that, the vitamin and mineral content goes steadily down hill. It would seem to be a very good idea to have some of your crew (family) out picking vegetables while another group starts canning right away.
Always make sure that the vegetables you harvest are cooled as quickly as possible. Those vegetables, such as the potato, will need extra time to harden in a cool, DARK spot.
ENSURING SAFE CANNED FOOD
Canned food has, in the past, fallen victim to poor canning techniques by home canners that caused their food to go bad. Very ugly "science projects" were found to be living in the jars that were improperly sealed. Today's pressure canners (almost) make that a thing of the past.
Growth of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum in canned food may cause botulism - a deadly form of food poisoning. These bacteria exist either as spores or as vegetative cells. The spores, which are comparable to plant seeds, can survive harmlessly in soil and water for many years. When ideal conditions exist for growth, the spores produce vegetative cells which multiply rapidly and produce a deadly toxin within 3 to 4 days growth in an environment that consists of:
- A moist, low-acid food
- A temperature between 40° and 120° F
- Less than 2 percent oxygen
This pretty well describes a lot of canned foods. Botulinum spores are on most fresh food surfaces. Because they grow only in the absence of air, they are harmless on fresh foods.
Most bacteria, yeasts, and molds are difficult to remove from food surfaces. Washing fresh food reduces their numbers only slightly. Peeling root crops, (underground stem crops), and tomatoes reduce their numbers greatly. Blanching also helps. (Blanching is dipping the fresh food into boiling hot water for about 2 to 3 minutes.) However, the vital method of controlling these growths are the proper methods of canning and making sure the process times, found in this article, are followed to the letter. (The majority of this article came from the US Department of Agriculture Extension Service and Utah State University.) These processing times have been time-tested and approved for safe home-canning equipment. The processing times ensure destruction of the largest expected number of heat-resistant microorganisms in home-canned foods. Properly sterilized canned food will be free of spoilage if lids seal and jars are stored below 95° F. Storing jars at 40° to 70° F enhances retention of quality.
Botulinum spores are very hard to destroy at (only) boiling-water temperature (212° F at sea level). The higher the canner temperature, the more easily they are destroyed. Low-acid foods are extremely susceptable to the growth of the Botulinum spores.
FOOD ACIDITY AND PROCESSING METHODS
Acidity (or pH as it is referred to) is on a scale of 0 (totally acid) to 14 (totally alkaline). Low acidity is one of the three requirements for the growth of the Botulinum toxins.
Note that the cut-off for cooking purposes (the difference between high-acid and low-acid) is only a pH of 4.6. For canning purposes, a neutral pH of 7 is considered to be LOW. In high-acid foods, the natural acidity of the food prevents the growth of the Botulinum spores. You only need to heat the food and the container to maintain an air-tight seal and the food keeps itself. However, for low-acid foods, you must artificially kill off the Botulinum spores by using a higher heat that is only available using a pressure canning system. Adding extra salt (an acid) will also raise the pH of the canned veggies, slowing Botulinum spore growth.)
DON'T DO IT: Years ago, using melted paraffin wax to seal jars of jams and jellies was considered sufficient to stop the growth of harmful bacterium. It has now been found that it is UNSAFE to do this because of the growth of new strains of bacteria and molds that are more virile than past strains. DO NOT USE MELTED PARAFFIN WAX TO SEAL JARS.
STORAGE TEMPERATURES
Since Botulinum spores like to grow between 40° and 120° F, it would be best to store canned foods cooler than 40° F. But, this would require you to have a warehouse-sized cooler to keep your cans in, and is not practical. So, to be practical, do not store the jars in temperatures above 95° F (where Botulinum spores really take off.) Keep the jars away from hot pipes, a range, a furnace, in uninsulated spaces such as attics, or in direct sunlight. It is also a good idea that the storage area be a dry space (NOT a damp root cellar). The dryness will slow down or stop rust from growing on the lids, potentially rusting through and opening the jar to the warm air. However, an underground root cellar with a concrete floor (drier than dirt) will keep most jars safe for up to one year.
REMOVING OXYGEN FROM JARS
Realistically, you cannot remove ALL the oxygen from the jar. In fact, most of the oxygen doesn't come from the air inside the can, but from the inside of the food itself. The goal in canning is to remove the oxygen from the food, not the jar. A small 1" airspace is mandatory above the top level of the food, but below the lid to the jar. We need this space.
When food is pressurized and heated in a pressure canner, the temperature of the boiling water raises up much higher than is possible with just a boiling water canner. It is not the pressure that kills the spores, but the high temperature. It causes the oxygen inside the food to expand. This expanded air will escape into the trapped air between the top of the liquid in the jar and the jar lid. When this pressure is great enough, some of the air leaks out (under pressure from the heated food) under the seal of the jar. This is good. The more oxygen that is bubbled out, the less oxygen is in the food to grow Botulinum spores.
When the pressure-heated jars are removed from the pressure canner, they cool down to room temperature slowly. Emphasize SLOWLY. The food inside will actually look smaller than when you put it in. That's because it IS smaller, all the Oxygen has been removed. The cooled air will contract inside the can forming a vacuum under the seal of the jar. As soon as the vacuum is formed, the jar is sealed. Once the seal is tested, you can take off the screw-on lid and put it away for another use. The gasket seal around the edge of the jar is all you need. NEVER RE-TIGHTEN THE SCREW-ON LID AFTER THE JAR COMES OUT OF THE HOT WATER. RE-TIGHTENING THE LID MAY SPLIT THE ELASTIC SEAL CAUSING AN AIR LEAK AND YOUR FOOD WILL SPOIL.
Botulinum spores are not the only "critter" that can ruin your food, it's just the most deadly. Ugly molds, bacterial growths, or pure fungi can ruin it also. TREAT ALL SPOILED AND BADLY DISCOLORED JARS AS CONTAMINATED WITH BOTULISM. Avoid spilling the contents anywhere. Do NOT open them. If you do spill some, clean and disinfect the areas immediately or it will spread all over your shelter. I'll cover decontamination steps later on.
ALTITUDE AFFECTS ON CANNING
At sea level, a pressure canner is at its most efficient when the gauge pressure is at 10.5 lbs. of pure steam, free of all air. Under these conditions the internal temperature of the canned goods will be 240° F. By holding this temperature for the recommended time, all bacterial spores, including Botulinum, are destroyed. So, what's the problem?
If you don't live or shelter at sea level, the affects of altitude may drastically change the effectiveness of your canning. Using the "recommended times at sea level", when you are really sheltering in the mountains at 4,000 feet altitude, means you will be using too low a pressure, for too short a time. As altitude increases (1,000' increments), so does the pressure and cooking time.
The USDA has many charts and graphs available to show you just what times and pressures you MUST have to ensure a safe food product sealed in mason jars. The air at higher altitudes is less dense than at sea level. That's why you may feel "light-headed" at high altitudes...you're not breathing the amount of oxygen you are used to. Many athletes train at high altitudes to get their bodies used to working with low levels of oxygen. Then, at sea level, they perform even better with the higher oxygen levels. In canning, the water (at high altitudes) boils at a lower temperature than at sea level. So, you start off in the hole, temperature-wise. Without adding more pressure to the canner, the temperature will never reach the optimum 240° F. Read the instructions that come with your own individual canner carefully to make these critical pressure and time adjustments for higher altitudes.
Lost your owner's manual? Rule of thumb: Some canner pressures listed for home canners are in increments of 5, 10, and 15 psi. Above 1,000 feet altitude, if the sea level pressure is listed as 5 psi, use 10 psi. If it's listed as 10, use 15. Do not exceed the pressure limits of your pressure canner. They have safety features built in, but I hate to push my luck too far. Poo Poo happens.
You also need to increase your processing times by at least 5 additional minutes. For example, see the chart below:
Recommended process time for Tomatoes with Okra or Zucchini in a WEIGHTED-GAUGE pressure canner.
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Canner Pressure Gauge
0 to 1,000 ft | Canner Pressure Gauge
Altitude above 1,000 ft |
| Hot Pack | Pint | 30 Min | 10 lb. | 15 lb. |
| Hot Pack | Quart | 35 Min | 10 lb | 15 lb. |
TWO TYPES OF PRESSURE CANNERS
WEIGHTED-GAUGE PRESSURE CANNER:
This type canner uses the same principles as the old-time pressure cookers. The sealed lid of the cooker has a built-in vent tube. As the water comes to a boil, steam and water vapor escape. After 10 minutes of venting (to remove all air and ensure the only thing inside is steam), a weighted gauge is placed on top of the tube. The weight of this gauge determines how much steam pressure is inside the cooker. Excess steam will lift the weight off the tube and escape into the air. It cleverly maintains internal pressures and will not allow over-pressures to build up. While this canner is working, the weighted gauge will rock back and forth, making a slight noise that tells you that it's still working. You don't have to monitor this type canner as closely as the dial-gauge type. If the weighted gauge starts really jumping and excessive steam is escaping, turn down the heat. If the gauge stops "dancing", turn up the heat. My kind of gauge.
DIAL-GAUGE PRESSURE CANNER:
This type canner is very similar to the above canner except it has a dial gauge with pressure indicated in pounds per square inch (psi) on the read-out. It also has a relief valve to prevent over-heating and a vent to let out air prior to pressurizing the canner. It gives a much greater degree of accuracy to the canning pressures, in that it can be read in one-pound increments. The counter-weight system above usually is in 5 pound increments. While this type is not my favorite, it will work better on an electric or gas range due to its higher degree of accuracy. It must, however, be closely monitored to maintain the correct internal pressures. I like the other type because I can walk away from it and still hear it cooking by the sound of the counter-weight clacking. I like to do more than one thing at a time. Watching a dial for hours and hours is not my idea of fun.
You must maintain the PRESSURE on the jars to insure the INTERNAL TEMPERATURE is high enough to kill the "bugs" that can grow on the food.
You must PROCESS (continue to heat the jars under the above pressure) for the CORRECT TIME to ensure ALL the "bugs" are destroyed.
Failure to maintain the correct PRESSURE or the correct PROCESSING TIME will result in SPOILED FOOD.
PROCESSING DATA FOR TURTLE'S "BIG-3" VEGGIES
POTATOES, WHITE — CUBED OR WHOLE
Quantity: An average of 35 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 22 ½ pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bag weighs 50 pounds and yields 8 to 12 quarts; an average of 5 pounds per quart.
Quality: Select small to medium-size mature potatoes of ideal cooking quality. Tubers stored below 45° F may discolor when canned. Choose potatoes 1 to 2" in diameter if they are to be cooked whole.
Procedure: Wash and peel potatoes. Place in ascorbic acid solution (vitamin-C or lemon juice added) to prevent darkening. If desired, cut into ½" cubes. Drain. Cook 2 minutes in boiling water and drain again. For whole potatoes, boil 10 minutes and drain. Add 1 teaspoon of canning salt per quart to the jar, if desired. Fill with hot potatoes (hot pack), and fresh (boiling) water, leaving 1" of headspace. Adjust lids and process as below: DO NOT USE A BOILING WATER CANNER FOR POTATOES!
Recommended process time for White Potatoes in a Dial-Gauge pressure canner
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Pressure Gauge
0 to 2,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
2,001 - 4,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
4,001 - 6,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
6,001 - 8,000 ft |
| Hot Pack | Pint | 35 Min | 11 lb. | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. |
| Hot Pack | Quart | 40 Min | 11 lb. | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. |
Recommended process time for Potatoes in a Weighted-Gauge pressure canner
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Canner Pressure Gauge
0 to 1,000 ft | Canner Pressure Gauge
Altitude above 1,000 ft |
| Hot Pack | Pint | 35 Min | 10 lb. | 15 lb. |
| Hot Pack | Quart | 40 Min | 10 lb | 15 lb. |
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BEANS, SNAP, AND ITALIAN - PIECES (Green and waxed types)
Quantity: An average of 14 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; and average of 9 pounds per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 30 pounds and yields 12 to 20 quarts — an average of 2 pounds per quart.
Quality: Select filled but tender, crisp pods. Remove and discard diseased and rusty pods.
Procedure: Wash beans and trim ends. Leave whole or cut or snap into 1-inch pieces
Hot Pack - Cover with boiling water; boil 5 minutes. Fill jars loosely, leaving 1-inch headspace.
Raw Pack - Fill jars tightly with raw beans, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 1 teaspoon of canning salt per quart, if desired. Add boiling water to jar, leaving 1 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process.
Recommended process time for Snap and Italian Beans in a DIAL-GAUGE pressure canner
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Pressure Gauge
0 to 2,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
2,001 - 4,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
4,001 - 6,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
6,001 - 8,000 ft |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack | Pint | 20 Min | 11 lb. | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack | Quart | 25 Min | 11 lb. | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. |
Recommended process time for Snap and Italian Beans in a WEIGHTED-GAUGE pressure canner
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Canner Pressure Gauge
0 to 1,000 ft | Canner Pressure Gauge
Altitude above 1,000 ft |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack | Pint | 20 Min | 10 lb. | 15 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack | Quart | 25 Min | 10 lb | 15 lb. |
CARROTS - SLICED OR DICED
Quantity: An average of 17 ½ pounds (without tops) is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; and average of 11 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel (without tops) weighs 50 pounds and yields 17 to 25 quarts - an average of 2½ pounds per quart.
Quality: Select small carrots, preferably 1 to 1-¼ inches in diameter. Larger carrots are often too fibrous for quality canning.
Procedure: Wash, peel, and rewash carrots. Slice or dice.
Hot Pack - Cover with boiling water; bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Fill jars, leaving 1" headspace.
Raw Pack - Fill jars tightly with raw carrots; leaving 1" headspace. Add 1 teaspoon of canning salt per quart to jar, if desired. Add hot cooking liquid or water, leaving 1" headspace. Adjust lids and process.
Recommended process time for Carrots in a DIAL-GAUGE pressure canner
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Pressure Gauge
0 to 2,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
2,001 - 4,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
4,001 - 6,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
6,001 - 8,000 ft |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack | Pint | 25 Min | 11 lb. | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack | Quart | 30 Min | 11 lb. | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. |
Recommended process time for Carrots in a WEIGHTED-GAUGE pressure canner
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Canner Pressure Gauge
0 to 1,000 ft | Canner Pressure Gauge
Altitude above 1,000 ft |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack | Pint | 25 Min | 10 lb. | 15 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack | Quart | 30 Min | 10 lb | 15 lb. |
CHICKEN OR RABBIT
Yes, you may can chickens! Follow the directions to the letter! Canned chickens are easier to transport than live chickens.
Procedure: Choose freshly killed and dressed, healthy animals. Large chickens are more flavorful than fryers. Dressed chicken should be chilled for 6 to 12 hours before canning. Dressed rabbits should be soaked for 1 hour in water containing 1 tablespoon of salt per quart, and then rinsed. Remove excess fat. Cut the animal into suitable sizes for canning. Can with or without bones.
Hot Pack — Boil, steam, or bake meat until about two-thirds done. Add 1 teaspoon canning salt per quart to the jar. Fill with pieces and hot broth, leaving a 1-1/4" headspace.
Raw Pack — Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart. Fill jars loosely with raw meat pieces, leaving 1-1/4" headspace. Do not add liquid.
Adjust lids and process.
Recommended process time for Chicken or Rabbit in a DIAL-GAUGE pressure canner
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Pressure Gauge
0 to 2,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
2,001 - 4,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
4,001 - 6,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
6,001 - 8,000 ft |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
Without Bones | Pint | 75 Min | 11 lb. | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
Without Bones | Quart | 90 Min | 11 lb. | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
With Bones | Pint | 65 Min | 11 lb. | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
With Bones | Quart | 75 Min | 11 lb. | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. |
Recommended process time for Chicken or Rabbit in a WEIGHTED-GAUGE pressure canner
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Canner Pressure Gauge
0 to 1,000 ft | Canner Pressure Gauge
Altitude above 1,000 ft |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
Without Bones | Pint | 75 Min | 10 lb. | 15 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
Without Bones | Quart | 90 Min | 10 lb | 15 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
With Bones | Pint | 65 Min | 10 lb. | 15 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
With Bones | Quart | 75 Min | 10 lb | 15 lb. |
Either of the above mentioned methods of canning is supposed to be entirely edible after 1 year of storage under optimal conditions. I don't know if I would completely trust myself to eat this chicken or rabbit right out of the jar without at least heating it up first. I personally would want to make sure that any microscopic parasites that might be in the flesh of the meat were COMPLETELY KILLED OFF. Bringing the meat back up to cooking temperature would insure that.
I grant you that freezing chicken and rabbits would be preferable to canning. But freezing takes electricity, or a cold room at the arctic circle. Eskimos freeze fish in large ice caves. Unless your name is Nanook, you need a freezer made by Sears or Amana….
Canning meat has been around for centuries. Do NOT try to can meat without using a pressure canner. Boiling water canners cannot get the internal temperatures high enough to be safe to eat.
I, again, personally, would serve this canned meat as part of a casserole or soup, but you can use whatever recipe you want. It would probably NOT be a good idea to try to serve 1-year old (home-canned) chicken to someone who has not been prepared for the experience. There's just some kind of funny and weird reactions people have to home-canning anything, let alone poultry or rabbits. Telling them the next morning, after they wake up alive and not dead, is recommended. Old prejudices die hard.
CATFISH, BASS, CRAPPIE, AND OTHER FISH
From the University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture
Procedure: Eviscerate all fish within 2 hours after they are caught. Keep cleaned fish on ice until they are ready to can. **
** Note from Univ. of Ky.: The quality of home-canning fish may be disappointing. Can a few jars to see if you like the product before canning large quantities.
Remove the head, tail, fin and scales. Catfish may be skinned. Wash and remove all blood. Split fish lengthwise, if desired. Cut cleaned fish into 3-1/2-inch lengths. Fill PINT jars, skin side next to the glass, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Add 1 teaspoon of canning salt, if desired.
Do NOT add liquids. Adjust lids and process.
Recommended process time for Fish in a DIAL-GAUGE pressure canner
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Pressure Gauge
0 to 2,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
2,001 - 4,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
4,001 - 6,000 ft | Pressure Gauge
6,001 - 8,000 ft |
Raw Pack
Without Bones
3-1/2" Pieces | Pint | 75 Min | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. | 15 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
Without Bones
Loose Pack
Small Pieces | Pint | 90 Min | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. | 15 lb. |
Raw Pack
With Bones
Loose Pack
Small Pieces | Pint | 75 Min | 12 lb. | 13 lb. | 14 lb. | 15 lb. |
Recommended process time for Fish in a WEIGHTED-GAUGE pressure canner
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | Process time | Canner Pressure Gauge
0 to 1,000 ft | Canner Pressure Gauge
Altitude above 1,000 ft |
Raw Pack
Without Bones
3-1/2" Pieces | Pint | 100 Min | 15 lb. | 15 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
Without Bones
Loose Pack
Small Pieces | Pint | 75 Min | 15 lb | 15 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
Without Bones
Loose Pack
Small Pieces | Quart | 90 Min | 15 lb | 15 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
With Bones
Loose Pack
Small Pieces | Pint | 65 Min | 15 lb. | 15 lb. |
Hot Pack
or Raw Pack
With Bones
Loose Pack
Small Pieces | Quart | 75 Min | 15 lb. | 15 lb. |
Unless you're starving, avoid fish caught in polluted lakes and streams. Always assume that fresh-water fish has at least some parasite or disease/fungus that can hurt you. By processing or cooking food thoroughly, all water-borne parasites will be destroyed.
Only fish caught in sea water can (relatively safely) be eaten raw. Never serve fresh water bass sushi.
Almost any fresh fish or animal meat can be canned safely. Most complaints are of over-cooking due to the high temperatures required for safe canning. The physical appearance of canned meat can also be a little disconcerting as it may change color slightly while in storage. However, no matter what the "look" of it is, it will be safe and nutritious to eat.
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MASON JARS
While there is a whole assortment of Mason Jars on the market, the most used sizes are the quart and pint sizes. Some of the sizes available are shown on the left.
On the right, a company called Rural Root Mercantile sells a two-pack of wide-mouth quart jars (lids included) for $34.95. Each case contains 12, 32 ounce jars and the lids. Shipping is included in this price.
On the lower right, Rural Root Mercantile also sells a two-pack of pint jars (lids included) for $31.95, shipping included. Each case contains 12 - 16 ounce jars.
Shop around your local grocery stores in the canning or baking section. Most stores have limited quantity now-a-days so you may have to go to more than one store to get enough to do the job. WALLMART does carry them also.
Use the above pricing as a guide to buy jars and lids. Most stores also sell new lids and screw caps, sold separately. If you think you need them, get a couple of extra sets in case you have to re-pack one or more jars that for some reason fail to seal.
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USING JARS & LIDS
It is always a good practice to thoroughly wash all the jars in water as hot as your hands can stand. Automatic dishwashers usually have a "very hot" rinse/wash cycle. If you have one still working, use it. Prior to canning any produce, sterilize the pre-washed jars by setting them in a Boiling Water Canner, with the water at a rolling boil, for about 10 minutes. This same water can also be used to fill up jars that need water added. The water is now sterilized also.
Fill the jars with whatever you are canning, and top them off (if it applies to the food) to the recommended "headroom" mark. This is usually about 1" to 1-¼" below the bottom of the seal; but, above the level of the canned food.
Before you put the seal on, take a spotlessly clean, sterile rag and wipe off any spilled liquid or food. This could interfere with the sealing surfaces and cause a leak that will ruin your canned food. Once the lip of the jar is clean, set a NEW seal on top of the rim of the jar. Then add the screw on lid. Tighten it firmly, but NOT TOO TIGHT. Air has to escape from under the lid. If you crank it down too tight, air can't get out. Once you have firmly tightened the lid down, NEVER TIGHTEN IT AGAIN!!!!!!
Process the food in accordance to the directions of your particular canner. When the canner is cool enough to open, take a pair of jar tongs and carefully lift each jar out of the boiling hot water and set it onto a strong, flat surface to cool. If you have counter tops that need protection, buy wire racks large enough to hold the jars, or use towels to protect the counter tops. Don't move them around. The seals on the jar are still cooling. Sloshing liquid can cause uneven cooling on the seal, causing later failure.
The surface you set the jars on should not be too cold. The shock of hot glass onto icy cold marble may be enough to shatter the glass, ruining what (up to this point) was a perfectly good canning job.
All home-processed jars must cool down S-L-O-W-L-Y. It should take from 12 to 24 hours before they can be safely moved with a bare hand.
Take OFF the screw down lids and test the seals. Tap lightly on the lids with a spoon. It should sound "tight", or make a ringing, high-pitched sound if it is sealed correctly. If the sound is dull, or "hollow", it must be either re-processed with a new seal, or placed in a refrigerator and eaten in a few days. Another test method is to press down on the lid top with your finger. If the lid springs back up when you release your finger, the seal is bad. The seal should appear concave, with the curved surface of the center of the lid down towards the canned food. If the lid is still flat, the seal did not work.
Label and date all the jars you just completed. Rotate your stocks so you always eat the "oldest" food first. Wash off the screw on bands and store them in a dry place to be used again. If there is any rust on them, discard them and get new screw on lids. Always wash off all opened jars when you are done serving their contents. Don't let food cake on the sides and assume you will get them clean "later on". You won't.
DECONTAMINATING SPOILED FOOD & JARS
If you eventually can enough food for a long enough time, you will probably get one jar that turns into a science project. Poo Poo happens. Always examine every jar you can, prior to opening the jar. If you find a bad one, DO NOT LET IT GO INTO CONTACT WITH OTHER JARS OR THE FOOD PREPARATION AREA. It has to be handled as if it is full of BOTULISM.
Detoxification Process: Carefully place the suspect containers and lids on their sides in an 8-quart volume or larger stock pot, pan, or boiling water canner. Wash your hands thoroughly. Wear disposable rubber gloves, if available. Carefully add water to the pot. The water should completely cover the containers with a minimum of 1-inch above the containers. Avoid splashing the water. Place a lid on the pot and heat the water to boiling. Boil 30 minutes to ensure detoxifying the food and all container components. Cool and discard the contents, their lids, and food into the trash or bury it in the soil.
Thoroughly scrub all counters, containers, and equipment including the can opener, clothing, and hands that may have been in contact with the food or containers. This includes the shelf, and all the shelving under the suspected jar, that the jar was stored on. Discard any sponges or wash cloths that are used in the cleanup. Place them in a plastic bag and place them in the trash, or burn them.
NEVER BURY THE SPOILED FOOD OR CONTAINER WITHOUT FIRST DETOXIFYING THE FOOD FIRST. Burying the food without boiling will make a "hot-spot" of Botulinum spores in your own yard. These spores take years to die off, and they may never die off completely. In some states, on every 5th Sunday, it is permitted to serve this food to Mother-in-Laws. (sic)
FINAL WORDS ON CANNING
Canning may be the only method available to you for the preservation of food. It is necessary, under these circumstances, to can as much food as you can, as fast as you can. Take advantage of sales of food from roadside stands, farmer's markets, and grocery stores. Neighborhood "farmers" many times plant way more food than they can ever use, and may sell or give it away. In one neighborhood I once lived in, people came to ME because I always over-planted the number of tomatoes I grew. I gave them away because I didn't want to pick them myself.
The next challenge, however, is really a difficult one. How much do you can? One month's supply? 6 Months? A year? 2 Years?
Regardless of what you think you need, you need to sit down and calmly make out a dietary menu for (at least) a one month period. Then, if you are going to store a year's worth, multiply by 12. Add a little pad in there for breakage and spoilage too.
The following list of foods and amounts per serving are based on the amounts served to Inmates at the County Jail I work in. These are the Minimum Daily Amounts served to incarcerated people who don't get much exercise. At least it's a starting point to compute the amounts needed for storage for one month. The list is by no means complete, and you can feel free to add whatever foods you plan to grow and store yourself, or to adjust the amounts served per person. Always assume children eat as much as adults to ensure there is enough food for the allotted time period. If you have to err, err UP.
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Food
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Serving
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Food
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Serving
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Food
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Serving
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Beans
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6 Oz
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Rice
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6 Oz
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Salad Greens
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4 Oz
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Tossed Salad
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4 Oz
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Salad Dressing
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1 Oz (packet)
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Donuts
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2 each
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Peas
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6 Oz
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Soup
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8 Oz
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Bread
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2 Slices
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Chili
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6 Oz
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Corn
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4 Oz
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Cole Slaw
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4 Oz
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Small Meatballs
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4 each
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Noodles
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6 Oz
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Broccoli
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4 Oz
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Chicken Tenders
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6 Oz
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Potatoes
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6 Oz
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Cabbage
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4 Oz
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Meat Sauce
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6 Oz
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Spaghetti
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6 Oz.
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Meats
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6 Oz
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Remember: 1 Cup = 8 Fluid Ounces. 1 Quart = 32 Ounces. 1 Pint = 16 Ounces.
Determine the number of ounces of each type food to be stored. Divide by 32 for quart jars, or by 16 for pint jars. This is the number of jars, seals, and lids you need to prepare and store for your own shelter and for your own selected time period. Measure food carefully. Just because the jar HOLDS 32 ounces, it does NOT mean you have 32 ounces of food inside.
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ROGUE TURTLE'S LITTLE CANNER
On March 11, 2004, I bought a Presto 8-quart Pressure Cooker and Canner at Sears on sale for $39.99. It only cans pint or 1/2 pint jars. It cans everything at 15 PSI, and cannot be used at altitudes over 3,000 feet. More expensive models are much larger, cost a lot more, and have more altitude flexibility. But, for $39.99, how could I go wrong? It still cans food to store and eat. Below, you see the operating instructions for my little canner. By limiting the altitude, they can set one time for everything you see below.
Note the processing time for "Fruits" and "Tomatoes" is ZERO. These should be used in the boiling water canner, not a pressure canner. Like I said earlier, read the instructions for your OWN canner and follow them closely.
My new canner is all aluminum, and is VERY light weight. I distinctly remember canning foods as a kid and trying to lift that heavy, aluminum monster off of the stove to empty out the jars. I believe the term "hernia" came from this experience.
CAUTION: BE RESPECTFUL OF PRESSURE CANNERS.
An episode of "Junk Yard Wars" (2004) had the two teams make Air Cannons to shoot BOWLING BALLS at targets. Even at 15 pounds of pressure, the bowling balls were hurled out of the cannons over 30 yards down range. The winning team's ball shattered a piece of plywood like it was made of paper. Smaller objects (like quart jars) would also be propelled at lethal speeds inside a confined kitchen. And the water is scalding hot. Enough said?
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