How do YOU can meat/broth/soups and other non-acid foods?

[NurseNettie]

I know what the books say-- pressure can for horrendously long periods of time. It's what I'm doing. It takes forever, and I'll probably keep doing it like this, because "they" say so.

However, in the area where I now live, there are a LOT of people who have always canned and preserved food- it's been a way of life forever-- them, their parents, grandparents, etc. For me, it's new to me at the ripe old age of Forty-something ( we always made pickles with my Gram, but that was it).
My new friends and neighbors say that "they" are just being overly cautious and there's no need to pressure can forever as long as things are clean, cooked and well sealed. Most of them don't even own a pressure canner and everything gets water-bath canned-- and even then, only "if" the jars don't seal by themselves after putting in the hot ingredients.

I can't say I would go as far as not processing them at all, but I'm wondering how all of you out there do it yourselves-- how many really follow all the directions to the letter...

So-- how do you process/can what foods? What have the results been? Any spoiled foods? Anyone ever get sick? Horror Stories???

Please share-- I'm just trying to get an idea of what "real" people do Thanks!

 

[Ldychef2k]

I pressure can meats and other low acid foods. I am thinking of trying some veggies in a BWB, but am nervous about it. I love the flavor of pressure canned meats, and the tenderness. I cook the meat first so it is very tender when pressure canned.

I do think the food police get a little nuts, so that's why I am thinking of using BWB for some of the non meat items. I have been following the letter of the law up to now and it has worked. This year I put canned close to 1000 jars and have only lost one seal, due to siphoning. None have broken either. I have had maybe five or six that didn't seal at all. So maybe there IS something to the rules. I just hate that long monitoring time of the pressure canner.

In order to kill bacteria with BWB on veggies and low acid fruits, I wonder if you have to boil them longer to get the temperature up.

 

[SKR8PN]

We own and USE two water bath canners AND two pressure canners.
We use the ball canning book as a guide for 99.9% of what we preserve. If it says to pressure can something for an hour, then we do an hour and 5 minutes.
Better safe than sorry.
Dieing from botulism is a very painful way to go......

 

[SKR8PN]

In order to kill bacteria with BWB on veggies and low acid fruits, I wonder if you have to boil them longer to get the temperature up.

Water boils at 212 degrees. if you raise the pressure then you raise the boiling point as well. The whole idea behind pressure canning is to get the TEMPERATURE high enough to kill the bacteria. Without pressure you can never get stuff hot enough to accomplish that.

 

[NurseNettie]

Thanks! As I said, I'll probably just keep doing it by the book.. Still want to see how everyone else's experiences have been!


( my turkey smells divine ! I've canned 6 quarts of turkey meat today, and still making soup to can tomorrow! My house smells like thanksgiving!)

We own and USE two water bath canners AND two pressure canners.
We use the ball canning book as a guide for 99.9% of what we preserve. If it says to pressure can something for an hour, then we do an hour and 5 minutes.
Better safe than sorry.
Dieing from botulism is a very painful way to go......

 

[unclejoe]

We have a friend who uses a BWB for everything. She has done it this way her whole life as did her mother. So I thought, OK why not try?
I tried to can some leftover beef stew and chicken corn soup this past summer in a BWB. I did 3 pints of each. I had the food boiling before I put it in the canner. Everything sealed initially but within about a month all three of the chicken jars had popped the seal and you could smell that it was bad. One of the three beef stew developed mold in the jar with the seal still intact. I ended up throwing it all away just to be safe.
On the other hand, I also did some leftover spaghetti and that still looks good after 2 months. I'm thinking that the acid in the tomato sauce kept the bacteria at bay.
So for me, I'll use the pressure canner for anything low acid.

 

[NurseNettie]

Thanks for the post! It's exactly what I want to see/hear!!

We have a friend who uses a BWB for everything. She has done it this way her whole life as did her mother. So I thought, OK why not try?
I tried to can some leftover beef stew and chicken corn soup this past summer in a BWB. I did 3 pints of each. I had the food boiling before I put it in the canner. Everything sealed initially but within about a month all three of the chicken jars had popped the seal and you could smell that it was bad. One of the three beef stew developed mold in the jar with the seal still intact. I ended up throwing it all away just to be safe.
On the other hand, I also did some leftover spaghetti and that still looks good after 2 months. I'm thinking that the acid in the tomato sauce kept the bacteria at bay.
So for me, I'll use the pressure canner for anything low acid.

 

[freemotion]

Well, I drink raw milk and eat raw cheese and leave things out on the counter all the time, so in that way I am a rebel. But as for canning, I am very cautious, and pressure can according to the recommended numbers. I have had no problems at all.

I do share my canned goods with my parents, and would not be able to live with myself if I made anyone else ill by not following precautions. I will take calculated risks with my own health at times, but not with others' health. Botulism is oderless and has no taste, and scares the *@%# out of me! So for canning, I go "by the book."

 

[unclejoe]

Well, I drink raw milk and eat raw cheese and leave things out on the counter all the time, so in that way I am a rebel.

I'm the same way. I figure if I eat something that was left on the counter or the stove all day or overnight, and it started to develop a little bacteria, that gives my body a way to recognize it in small amounts and fight it off quicker if I get a large dose without realizing it. A lot of people tell me I'm flirting with death, but I've never succumbed to food poisoning.
DW is waiting to find me doubled over on the floor some day.

 

[Ldychef2k]

Should I have said "internal temperature"? Because that is what I meant. It is the internal temperature of the food that we are concerned with, right? Sitting a jar of corn in 212 degrees for 20 minutes will not raise the internal temperature of the food as much as letting it remain another 20 minutes. That is what I am hoping to learn -- the details of internal temperature.

In order to kill bacteria with BWB on veggies and low acid fruits, I wonder if you have to boil them longer to get the temperature up.

Water boils at 212 degrees. if you raise the pressure then you raise the boiling point as well. The whole idea behind pressure canning is to get the TEMPERATURE high enough to kill the bacteria. Without pressure you can never get stuff hot enough to accomplish that.