There are plenty of canning-related threads on LC, but not a discusssion thread, so I thought I’d start one.
I grew up eating a lot of home-grown food, so I watched the women in my family preserve a lot, but that’s a long time ago. No one has been preservering in my family for 20 years. My family used to water bath can only, as pressure canning is virtually unknown in Europe. Recently I bought a pressure canner from a shop that imports them from the US.
We are members of a starting food coop, so from next year I expect to eat a lot more homegrown food. We’ll want to preserve some of that food, too, so this year it’s on my goal list to experiment with canning a bit more.
I’d love to talk to others here who are also into canning, considering how many recipes there are on LC, I’m sure I’m not the only one who is interested in it: Topics tagged canning !
And a little bit more about what kind of things I’m thinking of canning:
I’m particularly interested in “meal in a jar” type of recipes, I haven’t found a lot of them yet. Due to chronic illness, sometimes I can get super tired, and my fatigue doesn’t always come when I expect it, so I’m not always prepared for it. We try to eat fresh food, but on those days I’m suddenly too tired to prepare it. We only have a very small freezer so not much space to freeze meals. This is why I always have an emergency stash of stuff like canned soups in the pantry, but that kind of food is obviously not really healthy. I’d like to replace them with home canned versions.
I’m also a bit worried about the situation in the world right now. I’m not a real “prepper” but I’m interested in being a bit more prepared for supply chain issues, being without power temporarily etc.
My first question here by the way - it’s a bit hard to find pressure canning recipes in my country. The shop I bought the canner from has a limited amount of recipes available. The Ball book comes highly recommended, does anyone own it? Is it as good as the Internet says? It’s fairly expensive here (45 euro / 50+ USD). If it’s a book you’re going to use constantly for years it’s an investment but it’s a waste to let it sit on the shelf. I’ve not been able to find it used yet.
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AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
4
I like that you can pick the item you want to can and it gives pretty detailed information.
My dad did a lot of canning, especially tomatoes, but he never mastered canning corn. Apparently, canning acidic foods is pretty easy and safe. We had a pressure cooker when I was growing up so I do remember him canning pork barbecue and lots of beans.
I gave away all of my canning supplies and jars when I moved. After we moved in, the woman next door brought us a jar of her canned applesauce…it was so delicious that I sort of regret that decision now.
Tomatoes are surprisingly not acidic enough to can without additional acid!
I am on the lookout for a pressure canner. I’ve done lots of traditional water-bath canning & dehydrating as well as fermenting & really want to try salting & smoking methods (maybe this topic could be about more types of food preservation?)
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AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
6
I am pretty sure he added some citric acid to a lot of things he canned. I found bags of the stuff when we helped my mom clear out her kitchen.
I gave both of my dehydrators away as well. Food preservation is a lot of work, but having turkey jerky was a nice perk!
It’s called canning and preservation, so I would definitely love to hear more about other methods than water bath / pressure canning. I have no personal experience with salting or smoking and only a little dehydrating or fermenting experience.
@AIMR my family used to can a ton of applesauce, but I always make it fresh now. You can easily make small portions and apples are cheap year round.
I’m a big fan of food preservation. I do water bath canning, pressure canning, dehydrating, fermenting, freezing, and smoking. My favorite reference books are:
The Beginner’s Guide to Preserving Food at Home by Janet Chadwick
A Guide to Canning, Freezing, Curing & Smoking Meat, Fish & Game by Wilbur Eastman
And to a lesser degree
The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen
I do a lot of fruit related things and now fish related. I do veggies sometimes, but I can’t grow a plant to save my life, so I’m not someone with a garden to keep up with. But totally down to chat!
I love this thread and look forward to seeing all the preserves made!
I’ve done canning, dehydrating, and freeze drying. My dad gave me his electric smoker last year and I’d like to give that a go once the snow melts and the garage can be accessed. I also have some supplies to begin fermentation but have only made saurkraut so far!
Thanks! I’m going to check whether I can get those where I live.
I have inherited a vintage copy of the Weck water bath canning book, as famous here as the Ball book over there, but honestly I don’t really trust the recipes for safety. A lot of them are also so sweet it’s no wonder back in the days people in my family had dentures before 30!
Oh I love this thread. I’ve not done a lot of canning so far but my mom canned a lot of fruit from our garden when I was a kid. Same issue here: living in Europe water bath canning was basically the only method available.
I heard that you can use a large pressure cooker for canning and I have one of those.
I also would like to try pickling vegetables some time
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AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
13
My mom was Japanese so she made a lot of pickled things. I mostly make cucumber pickles and kimchee. I found one of her recipe books that has now been translated into English so I hope to make more things like that this summer.
I want to try radish (daikon) and burdock (if I can find it!).
Of course, my husband wants me to do pickled beets and eggs (not for me!).
I had a pressure canner for a bit but never got around to using it and sold it. I will probably get another one though after we finish building the house.
I still have quite a stash of jams and marmalades and yummy canned things…
Like many people, I got into canning when I had a giant surplus of a particular food I couldn’t possibly get through. In my case, it was due to giant plum tree in our yard. One year I stopped tracking our haul after 300 lbs. Unsurprisingly, it eventually cracked under the weight of its own fruit. But those years definitely taught me how to process quickly.
Pickled beets are nice! A few years ago we had beets in the garden and we had so many I decided to pickle them. I’m afraid those pickles never saw the inside of the pantry. Do Japanese pickled beets have different ingredients?
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AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
17
My husband’s family is Pennsylvania Dutch…German ancestry. I use the recipe from his grandma, which is basically vinegar, sugar, water and onion and some spices. I add hard boiled eggs as well. I like roasted beets but not these. Too sweet for my taste.
Beets aren’t really eaten much in Japan, although I think things are changing. I saw a beet recipe using miso paste, which I use a lot for eggplant and other vegetables. I will give it a try this summer.
I still haven’t gotten around to playing with my pressure canner, but we’ve got a long weekend coming up. I’m thinking of doing a few small batches first.
@MamaRhi since you own the Ball book, are there a lot of recipes for “meal in a jar” type recipes like pressure canned soups and stews? I think I see a few of those on the cover.
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AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
19
I just saw a post about dehydrating cans of chicken meat. Has anyone done this? Does it taste the same after rehydration and what does it do to the texture? I am not sure why or how dehydrating canned meat saves anytime or space compared to dehydrating it. Just curious.
In the meantime, I will be making more pickled onions, cucumber pickles and daikon this week. Pickled foods just feel like spring foods to me. Light, tangy and fresh.
have something to show that I’ve completed.
