Need help learning to can and preseve

[dddct]

hi Kristen I have seen you on BYC as well. I have read some much on canning and everyone says just jump in. I think this weekend I will do just that. I have abouot 3 dozen eggs that i haven't sold yet and I think I will try pickling them. I'll let my MIL try them. What's the worst that could happen right. My MIL get sick awww. OH that's mean I don't mean that...or do I?

I thought i'd call Lyman Orchards to see what classes they may know about as well. As for the bread, same thing. I guess I'll just jump in. I just sorta wanted a lifeguard you know.

 

[Iceblink]

I made pickled eggs for the first time a couple months ago, I looked up a recipe on All Recipes.com and 'adjusted' it by what I had on hand. (I am really bad at following recipes)

Here is basically what I did:

Boil the eggs

Peel the eggs

Prep your brine (I put vinegar, salt, onions, garlic, dill, tumeric and mustard and maybe some other things)

Plunk your eggs in the jars, pour the brine over and leave them in the fridge for a couple weeks.

Eat and enjoy.

Just my opinion - I tried a recipe that used beet juice for color, the eggs were pretty, but not all that great tasting.

Oh, and don't worry about anyone getting sick- MY M-I-L told me "eggs have God's special blessing of protection!"

As far as bread goes, I like sourdough best as far as ease and reliability. I find it very 'forgiving.'

 

[freemotion]

I guess I'll just jump in. I just sorta wanted a lifeguard you know.

We'll gladly be your lifeguards! Isn't it funny how "afraid" we can be of something new.....then we try it, and wonder at how easy it was!

I circled my new canner nervously for a week, wringing my hands, reading, researching online, and finally, watching videos on youtube.....wow, it was just about taking certain steps, all that were simple and easy, the steps just have to be done. So we've all been there. We understand.

Now I am a canning maniac. I wanted to can meat, so I got a pressure canner. After a few batches, I have shaved off at least an hour or even two from the time it takes me to get 20 pints through the canner and onto my kitchen counter. It is a great feeling, looking at those rows of gleaming jars, cooling on a towel, that YOU made!

Go for it, we'll catch ya!

 

[love blrw]

hi Kristen I have seen you on BYC as well. I have read some much on canning and everyone says just jump in. I think this weekend I will do just that. I have abouot 3 dozen eggs that i haven't sold yet and I think I will try pickling them. I'll let my MIL try them. What's the worst that could happen right. My MIL get sick awww. OH that's mean I don't mean that...or do I?

I thought i'd call Lyman Orchards to see what classes they may know about as well. As for the bread, same thing. I guess I'll just jump in. I just sorta wanted a lifeguard you know.

If you are making pickled eggs remember to wash and sterilize your instruments, jars, rims and lids. Lids are not reusable. Keep everything as sterile as you can. Have your kitchen clean before you start. I boil my instruments and put my jars upside down in a bath of water in an metal pan on the stove. I use a bleach solution to clean the area where I will be working. Canning can be a lot of work, but it is worth it, you might as well do it right so you don't waste food or get anyone sick.
Something like pickled eggs you will refrigerate and use fairly quickly, so they are not as risky.
Lin

 

[dddct]

Thanks everyone. It is amazing how weird this is making me. Something that all our great grandmothers just did everyday without thinking and it gives me the sweats lol. I need to run and get a few more items but intent to try the eggs tomorrow morning while hubby is out cleaning the animal coops and such. It'll be quieter then. I'll let ya'll know how I make out.

 

[Beekissed]

I think people are so scared because they read too much about all the dangers of everything. Like germaphobia type stuff.....mustn't do this or you could salmonella, mustn't do that~danger of ptomaine poisoning....blah, blah, blah.

Back in the days when canning was commonplace, people didn't read about it, they just did it and used common sense about the probable dangers. My grandmothers, my mothers, extended females of the family, etc. have never even heard of anyone getting sick or dying over eating home-canned goods. If it were a common occurence, I think someone would have a good, gruesome tale about it along the years somewhere. I'm sure it happens, but statistically speaking, I can't imagine it happens enough to be the cautionary tale that it has become in recent years.

There is always someone, when you post or talk about your canning practices, who blows some alarm about what you are doing or going to do.....they've never personally experienced it, but they read about someone who knew someone who was related to someone who knew someone else who got sick or died when they did that......

If you lived in fear of dying or getting ill all the time, I would say those kinds of tales would petrify you. If you are pretty well grounded in reality, you can realize that literally generations of generations have lived off of home-canned meals without a mishap. You have more danger getting in your car and driving down to the local store. Its all about how much you let fear rule your life.

 

[poppycat]

I agree with Beekissed. I also think some of the "food fears" are fed by someone who wants to sell you something.

Granted my SIL brought some home canned tomatoes on vacation that I refused to eat on the grounds that the lid was completely rusted through, and the whole thing looked filthy. But I wouldn't buy bulging cans from the store either.

However I WOULD buy peanut butter crackers, and it turns out those may be tainted with salmonella, so there you go!

If you buy (or check out from the library) the Ball Blue book they will spell out all of the best practices and precautions. Pretty soon you will be a pro!

 

[freemotion]

I know someone who slipped while washing her kitchen floor and broke her neck. So I don't think it is safe for anyone to be washing their kitchen floors....

 

[Beekissed]

Which is why I refrain from this very dangerous activity.....



Free, you are too much!

 

[onebuggirl]

Here is a great website to help you learn to can and preserve as well as find farms near you to pick the produce you will need or want.
http://www.pickyourown.org/index.htm