Dry Canning

[Chic Rustler]

We dry can and do steel cut oats, pasta, white rice, beans, and such. I was reading and wanted to share an off grid tip: Harbor freight makes a Brake Bleeder and Vacuum Pump Kit for 25 dollars, if you search for a coupon you should be able to leave the store for it for $20. You can use the same large mouth FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer FCARWJAH-000 Wide-Mouth Jar Kit with Regular Sealer and Accessory Hose, White. We get the jars at Tractor Supply Co. the costs of the Ball Wide Mouth Half-Gallon Jar, Pack of 6. If someone knows of a cheaper $ let me know. We buy bulk.. and we buy at dollar general and get the $5 coupon if we buy $25.00. We get the white rice there as an example, and then FREEZE it for 4 days, then let thaw, and then dry-can with two Oxy-Sorb 60-300cc. With a brake bleeder your lids do not come off! Freezing the rice kills some larvae eggs if they were to exist and is simply recommended for some grains. But between bulk and bargain coupon hunting, getting the 5 off for $25.. well the jars of course can be used for like real cooking and real foods and is a fraction of the costs of "prepper food". In a basement in the dark with an average temp of 54-60 you are looking 20 year life shelf for the rice. Glass keeps off rodents, water, humidity.. etc.. I highly recommend keeping couple gallons of rice on hand. When we see Mason jars at yard sales, etc.. we know the prices, we also keep a lid and ring in the kitchen and use other jars that also have the same threads.. oysters as an example in the mid Atlantic have that thread count. blah.. blah.. blah.. blah, I'm new.. but I have had to literally pry off the lids when you put 20lbs of vacuum on a new lid, if you got rubber.. you get a seal.. we use new lids out of habit, but.. keep the old ones in the garage. We are very careful shoppers and cost conscientious, you can get into a genuine long-term prep for very inexpensive and certainly allot less than pre packaged prepper food which if you read the bucket can all be dry-canned.

We use alot of mhlar bags are o2 absorbers at my place. We buy in bulk too and it really saves in the long run. Speaking of that we need to make a trip to sams and get 50 lbs of pintos pretty soon.

 

[Mini Horses]

What a beautiful job! You do good work. I doubt they will be there too very long before you move them to their assigned spot, otherwise your gonna be in trouble with the "other half", right?

You just reminded me that I need to order the lid sealer for my Food saver unit. Thanks.

 

[baymule]

They will stay there until you have company coming over for dinner.......I have had jars of chicken meat, chicken broth, tomatoes and soup sitting on the bar because I had no where to put them. Wish I had a basement..... Anyway, we're having Thanksgiving dinner here with DD and family, plus a couple more families with no family here, expecting 15-18 people in our little doublewide. So I have been real industrious finding places to store my jars. Still have some on the bar--wish me luck!

Your jars look good and I like the jar attachment-I have a Foodsaver-I need to order one of those!

 

[MoonShadows]

I doubt they will be there too very long before you move them to their assigned spot, otherwise your gonna be in trouble with the "other half", right?

Sooooo right!

 

[MoonShadows]

They will stay there until you have company coming over for dinner.......I have had jars of chicken meat, chicken broth, tomatoes and soup sitting on the bar because I had no where to put them. Wish I had a basement..... Anyway, we're having Thanksgiving dinner here with DD and family, plus a couple more families with no family here, expecting 15-18 people in our little doublewide. So I have been real industrious finding places to store my jars. Still have some on the bar--wish me luck!

Your jars look good and I like the jar attachment-I have a Foodsaver-I need to order one of those!

So funny! It is amazing how long something can remain where it doesn't belong until it gets put away. Our Christmas tree stand is still sitting under the table at the top of the stairs. It never made it to the attic last year. No point in moving it up there now. And, that's just one thing.

 

[lcertuche]

Unless you plan to grow it yourself you find very little choice as far as organic and what you do find is pretty miserable choices. Wilted, overripe, scrawny, so I buy what is cheapest and looks best most of the time. I could probably order organic over the internet but cost really is important. When you have little funds you do the best you can to spread them out. I frequently have less than $150 per month to feed at least 6 people and often more people than that if I have family drop in for a few days. Every penny matters. Someone told me the other day I could probably get commodities so I will be checking on that. Our church helps us out so much and we have good friends that give us stuff they don't end up using. I cried at the food stamp office when they told us we make $30 too much to draw $390. Why couldn't they give us $360. It doesn't make any sense to me and it doesn't matter what our rent or car payment is. Organic is nice if you have the funds. We buy as much as we can from local farmers because it helps them and it helps us. I will buy the oxygen absorbers as soon as I can but truthfully we are lucky to have a few months of food put up.

 

[Mini Horses]

Cute comic, MoonShadows.

Most people have no clue how to grow food

You know, there are so many who really don't even think, want or try to grow anything. Shame that their kids will be some who are amazed that milk comes from a COW not WalMart. In my current location, not really the case as we do have a LOT of backyard gardens in the neighborhood areas. Often small but the most liked & easy to grow things. Those people may freeze some but, many are not into heavy canning, etc. The perimeter areas have residents with serious gardens!! Then, only 50 miles out, almost entirely reidentual areas -- back to multi unit complexes, etc. I have watched many farms sell out to developers over the last 50 years.

I have seen a good amount of a return to more natural food in the last 15 years with some "groups" that form a club like contingent of urban farmers. They have some sharing & bartering of "natural" food, soaps, milks, seeds, clothes, where to shop, etc. It's a good thing. There are also a few well utilized stores that sell such items exclusively. Both health & the economy seem to play a part in all of it. Canning is expensive to begin but once equipment assembled the reuse saves huge.

Just my thoughts.

 

[SustainableAg]

Fascinating! That seems to make more sense as far as portion size is concerned. Mylar bags are great for large quantities, but having them portioned into more easily usable and accessible jars seems economical. Now I feel the need to buy a Foodsaver!

 

[MoonShadows]

What a beautiful job! You do good work. I doubt they will be there too very long before you move them to their assigned spot, otherwise your gonna be in trouble with the "other half", right?

You just reminded me that I need to order the lid sealer for my Food saver unit. Thanks.

Well, it took me 9 days, but I made room for these 4 cases of jars and moved them downstairs. I figured if I want a good Thanksgiving meal tomorrow, I had better get it done!

I also am cleaning the entire downstairs...finally got my 12-5 gallon water jugs and my empty 5 gallon plastic buckets out of the dining room, to.

I'm on my best behavior!

 

[Britesea]

I got most of my jars from yard sales and estate sales. You need to figure out the price for new jars to make sure the used jars are priced fairly. I also passed the word around to church members and other friends. Several of them knew of an elderly person that didn't want to, or couldn't can anymore and was getting rid of everything.