Any unconventional canners out there?

[old fashioned]

By unconventional, I mean those that...
1. only use a water bath canner even for veggies, meats, mushrooms, dry beans, etc.
2. use other kinds of jars NOT manufactured by Kerr, Ball, Atlas, etc.
3. can foods without processing in a canner. Ma called it a "soft" seal.

I only can with a water bath canner, this was how I was taught. But then only did tomatoes, fruits, green beans and carrots in the canner. I've since learned about doing corn, but haven't tried it or peas yet cause it takes so many to fill the jars.
A few years ago, I met someone that did speghetti sauce with meat and was suprised it was possible in a water bath. As she explained, since it's been cooking for several hours, everything is pretty much dead even bacteria. By using that mind frame, I ventured to can chicken and beef broth.
Also, I've done jams and pickles with the soft seal method.

I'm always looking for new ways and new things to can and am interested in hearing about yours.

 

[patandchickens]

3. can foods without processing in a canner.

I do that for jams/jellies/etc type thing sometimes, and a few high-acid pickles, as all you're risking is losing a jar or two to (noticeable) spoilage, and I don't find that happens all that often. (I was raised on paraffin-sealed strawberry preserves, and just spooning off and chucking any moldy bits).

Not terribly interested in either a) steaming up the kitchen for three (!) hours, or b) even a *small* risk of giving family members botulism, so I do not do the other two things. I might if it was just me, dunno. Probably not though, just cuz the steaming-up-kitchen-for-so-long thing

Pat

 

[freemotion]

Yeah, me too, the time for the pressure canner is long enough as it is.

But not what you asked....Bee will be along eventually. She is our most unconventional canner, I think!

Oh, Beee-eee!

 

[Beekissed]

You rang?

I use the water bath canner for all things but am planning on buying a steam bath canner this spring. Three pints of water it takes.....I can change the water out each time, if I want, and not have to worry about a jar bursting from hitting hot water. Less heat time, etc.

I have canned chicken and deer so far in the water bath and it worked great...the meat isn't cooked until brown and stringy or white and mushy....still pink and tender. We likes!

We also recycle different kinds of jars, as you mentioned. We can hot pepper butter in old barley green jars and also in recycled apple butter jars from some Amish store. They work fine! Odd sizes and all, but they work out just fine.

 

[old fashioned]

Oh Beekissed, I was hoping you'd post here-if ya don't mind my pickin yer brain?

1. why would your jars burst when putting them into the canner? Unless you use cold jars and/or food? I'm a little confused by this so maybe I've read it wrong.
The only time I've (or Ma) lost any jars were using glass mayo jars but would break during canning process or when lifted out of canner (hot food and jar hitting cooler air). I've since stopped using them because of that (and jars are now plastic) assuming they weren't heat treated glass like Ball or Kerr.
We've always parboiled the food and kept the jars hot so we put hot food into hot jars that went into boiling hot canner. What is your process?

2. RAW MEAT? Now I'm really curious how ya do that.

3. We've reused jars with lids that have the rubber seal inside and the "pop" up top lids, usually used pickle and jam jars and sometimes other stuff. These I've done my own jam and pickles in, and this year did some tomatoes in these. I was always told they are only good for one more turn, then have to be tossed. It's helped save money on flat lids.

I've never heard of a steam bath canner and probably wouldn't use it myself only because I'm too chicken to mess with the process. You're braver than I am, and I hope it works great for you.

Have you or anyone else here tried to water bath button mushrooms? I'd like to know since the prices around here for small 6.5 oz canned mushrooms are $1+ per can and fresh shrooms are $3.50+ per lb (depending where ya go can be $4). My fav store for meats and produce usually has some great prices if ya buy 10lbs or more. We like shrooms, but couldn't possibly use 10lbs before going bad.

 

[Beekissed]

1. why would your jars burst when putting them into the canner? Unless you use cold jars and/or food? I'm a little confused by this so maybe I've read it wrong.
The only time I've (or Ma) lost any jars were using glass mayo jars but would break during canning process or when lifted out of canner (hot food and jar hitting cooler air). I've since stopped using them because of that (and jars are now plastic) assuming they weren't heat treated glass like Ball or Kerr.
We've always parboiled the food and kept the jars hot so we put hot food into hot jars that went into boiling hot canner. What is your process?

I've had a few jars burst when I got in a hurry or was not diligent in keeping the jars hot before adding the hot liquids and such, or was canning something that wasn't quite as hot as the water in the canner, etc. It's always a mess and an aggravation!

Raw meat inserted into jars: If chicken, I add a little water, salt and other spices before canning. If deer meat, I let some of it make it's own juices and some I add a little water, just to have some extra meat "juice".

The steam canner can be found in Lehman's catalog and it's basically a boiling bath canner without the boiling part....uses steam to heat the jars instead of all that water. It doesn't require any messing with gauges or such....looks very basic and simple and if a jar bursts you don't have to dump a huge pot of boiling hot liquids and start over!

 

[abifae]

*

 

[Sunny]

Im sorry.

But I think the FDA just says you have to use a pressure canner so the companies can make more money selling stuff.

My family has always in the past used only the water bath for every thing we canned. We never got sick from any thing. All you had to do was use common sense to know if food went bad..

I have a water bath canner. I was going to buy the pressure canner. Until a local lady got burned badly by using a pressure canner. The lady was a local who helped with canning glass's, so she knew what she was doing. The canner blew up on her, and it did alot of damage.

Because of that my husband wont let me buy one. So now I am just left with the waterbath canner. But I dont have insturctions on how to do any thing but jams. All the canning books only give you time for the pressure canner. Does any one know where to find the times for meat and other today non-water bath foods.

 

[old fashioned]

Im sorry.

But I think the FDA just says you have to use a pressure canner so the companies can make more money selling stuff.

My family has always in the past used only the water bath for every thing we canned. We never got sick from any thing. All you had to do was use common sense to know if food went bad..

I have a water bath canner. I was going to buy the pressure canner. Until a local lady got burned badly by using a pressure canner. The lady was a local who helped with canning glass's, so she knew what she was doing. The canner blew up on her, and it did alot of damage.

Because of that my husband wont let me buy one. So now I am just left with the waterbath canner. But I dont have insturctions on how to do any thing but jams. All the canning books only give you time for the pressure canner. Does any one know where to find the times for meat and other today non-water bath foods.

Actually, I think the FDA recommends the pressure canner more as an "extra safety precaution", but the whole "blow up" possibilities aren't so safe either and that's why my mom and aunt taught me with water bath, but then we never did meat or other certain foods like corn (Auntie did but not Ma) potatoes, mushrooms, squash, cooked dry beans, etc. I'm not sure why they didn't, maybe they didn't know or because of high starches, density etc
Ball and/or Kerr have canning books for sale that give directions for fruits, pickles & pickled veggies, fruit butters, saurkraut, tomatoes, including sauce, ketchup, salsa, stewed, anything with high acid content for water bath canning.
I've always precooked most everything (except pickled stuff) by boiling maybe 5 min then put in the hot jars, wipe the rim, put on a hot flat lid, screw tight, put in the boiling water canner rack. When full, lower rack and jars into canner making sure there is atleast 1+ inch of water covering tops of jars, put on lid return to boil and leave for atleast 30-45 min for pints, 45-60 min for quarts. Using the lesser times for higher acid foods and longer times for less acid foods. I've only done chicken and beef broth and speghetti sauce with meat and those are cooked for hours before ever toughing a jar. In fact, the broth takes 2 days. I cook it all day the first day, let it cool, stick it in the fridge overnight. Day 2-skim off solid fats, bring to a boil, lower heat, simmer for atleast an hour then pour into jars.
Also when putting foods into the jars, making sure there are no, and I mean NO trapped air bubbles. We've always used a knife inserted into the side of the jar and pressing lightly into the foods to let any air bubbles escape. This is really important because that extra trapped air can be the difference of spoiled foods and/or bacteria hiding places. Just make sure you don't fill the jars with too much foods and not enough liquids and always leave some head space-not to the very top of jar. Usually 1/2 to 1 inch space is needed depending on what is canned. I usually go by the "neck" of the jar=1 inch, etc.
Anyway this is how I do it, but others have their own ways that are probably different from mine. Good Luck!!

 

[Up-the-Creek]

We all know what everyone thinks about the FDA,....see other thread about the FDA closing down your kitchen.

I myself like boiling water bath,..pressure canners scare me. I have one, but don't like using it and I don't usually, not unless DH is home and I let him man it.