Canning Basics

It recently occurred to me that I have not yet written up a post on the basics of canning.  So, since I'm preparing to teach a class tonight, as well as a few other things, I figure now is the perfect time.   Some of this is repeat information from other posts, some is new - so, forgive me if you've seen it before.

Why Canning?

There used to be a time, way back when, when canning was done for basic survival.  Families would bring in the harvest from their fields, and then using glass jars, food dehydration, freezing, and salt curing, they'd prepare the bounty so that it would last them through the long winter months.  With the more widely available commercially produced foods, and with the slow demise of the family substance farm, canning has become more of a memory of distant past.  In recent years with the shift in the diets of many Americans, canning has come back as an essential part of food preparation simply because of the health benefits associated with the removal of commercially processed foods from your diet. With home canning, you control the ingredients, therefore you control what you are eating to a much higher degree. In addition, canning can be a much more economical way to feed your family as you are able to purchase foods at the height of the season, typically on sale, and preserve them for use much later in the year.  For our family, we started canning for a combination of both reasons.

What can I can?

Almost every food available can be canned or preserved in some way, as long as you follow the proper methods. There are some exceptions to this rule, for example, butter, dairy and cheese based sauces should never be home-canned.  While these may be commercially available, the home canner simply cannot reach the temperatures needed for long enough periods of time to ensure that the bacteria growth is stopped inside the jar.  You simply do not want to take chances with these foods, especially when considering that you are canning to feed your family.

So, What Methods are Available?

There are three basic types of home food preservation and storage.  1) Canning in glass jars. 2) Dehydrating and storing in an air-tight container. and 3) Freezing.

Most Americans are very familiar with the third type, freezing.  In fact, I'm sure you have several pounds of meat, cheese, fruits,vegetables, and sometimes even milk stored in your freezer right now for safe keeping.  Freezing is a very common method of food preservation and storage, but it isn't fool proof.  Should you have a power outage, or should your freezer go bad, most of that food will not be salvageable.

That brings me to the second type of food preservation and storage - dehydration.  Commercially available food dehydrators can be purchased for home food dehydration.  Many people use this method to make banana chips, apple chips, fruit leather, and even beef jerky.  I personally had a very bad experience with a home food dehydrator and do not dehydrate any food at home anymore, but rather purchase it in #10 cans from a local distributor.  This is just my own preference, however, as I know many do have their own food dehydrators at home and love them.

So, finally, we are left with canning food in glass jars, which as you may suspect is my favorite method of canning. To can (or preserve) food in glass jars, you will need some equipment namely, the jars, two piece lid and ring assembly, jar lifters, a lid lifter (or fork), small sauce pan, and then either a boiling water bath canner fitted with a jar rack or a pressure canner fitted with a jar rack or a steam canner, kitchen timer, and a cooling rack.


Doesn't it Cost A lot to Do This?

I have to be honest, when you first start cannning there is an upfront investment of the supplies such as the canners themselves and the jars.  However, each subsequent time you use them, you start saving money because you are canning meats and produce you find on sale, and you never have to invest in purchasing the canner again.  Jars can be found relatively inexpensively at many grocery stores and big box discount stores such as Wal-mart and Target.  I do not recommend using jars you find at thrift stores or garage sales, however, because you want a jar that is free of chips and nicks, especially in the rim.  A jar that has chips or nicks in the glass should not ever be used again in canning for a few reasons: 1) the lid may not be able to get a firm seal and 2) with the integrity of the glass compromised if used in a pressure or steam situation it could burst (much like a cracked windshield in the summer).

So What is the Equipment Again?

• Jars
• Two Piece rings and lids
• Jar lifter
• Canner of choice
• Vacuum sealer (if you want to do dry pack canning)
• Oxygen Absorbers (if you want to do dry pack canning)
• Lid lifter
• small saucepan
• kitchen timer
• cooling rack

So What Method is Best for Me?

That all depends on what you want to preserve, and what you feel most comfortable with.

• Dry Vacuum Canning

• Good for dehydrated, freeze dried, or powdered foods such as flour and sugar.  
• Has a shelf life of typically 5 to 7 years, depending on what you have stored in your jar.
• Can be used to create just-add-water dinner mixes for food storage or emergency preparedness
• does NOT need to be done in a jar, but can be done using a Mylar bag or food-saver bag and the appropriate setting for powdered items. (not available on all food savers)

• Boiling Water Canning
• Good for fruits, salsa, pickles, jams and jellies, and applesauce.
• Has a shelf life of up to 2 years, if stored properly.
• Does not require a pressure regulator.
• Typically shorter processing times.

• Pressure Canning

• Good for meats, low acidic vegetables, soups, stews, and legumes.
• Has a shelf life of up to 2 years, if stored properly.
• Reaches very high temperatures for long periods of time to properly kill all bacteria.
• Can also double as a boiling water bath.
• You can stack smaller jars inside, doubling the capacity (in some canners, read the manufacturer's directions).

My Grandmother/Mother/Aunt Used To...

I often hear stories from people who are attending my classes that their "insert matriarch of importance to them here" used to "insert canning method" all the time without incident.  Unfortunately, canning methods that used to be considered safe are not considered so anymore.  While my mother and grandmother used to can their tomato based sauces in a boiling water bath when I was younger, the new recommendation is to use a pressure canner today.  

Why?

With advances in technology not only in the testing of preserved foods after time but also in the farming industry, science has taught us much about how to can and preserve foods to keep them safe for consumption.  One major difference in canning today and canning of the past is the introduction of genetically modified organic produce that has become the normal standard for fruits and vegetables produced in the United States.  Tomatoes, for example, have been genetically modified to contain less acid in them.  As a result, when canning tomatoes you need to either heighten the acidic content by adding acidic foods or additives (such as jalapenos when making salsa), or you must can them using a method that will kill all the bacteria formerly taken care of by the acid in the fruit.  It is for this reason that old, family tested recipes are not ideal for canning anymore.  The recipe hasn't changed, the ingredients have.

In order to stay on top of current canning best practices, I follow the following websites:

Utah State University Extension for Food Preservation

USDA Guidelines for Canning and Preservation


I will follow up this post with detailed instructions on each type of canning, but these are the basics, and enough to get you thinking about your next canning project, I'm sure!

Happy Canning!

Crock Pot Mac N Cheese

What's the easiest and quickest food in the world....well, mac-n-cheese, of course!  

Unless, that is, you want the baked,rich,filled with ham and onions and cheesy goodness kind ... in which case, you are stuck with at least an hour to prep and bake until you can serve, or at least, that's the time frame for our favorite recipe.  Until now.  

As you all know, I've been experimenting with my crock pot, finding ways to make my favorite oven meals in it.  The most recent adaptation is our baked macaroni and cheese...Enjoy!

Macaroni and Cheese (Baked, crock pot style)

1 16 oz package of cooked and drained macaroni noodles
2 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/4 cup milk (we use 2% but you can use whatever you like)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 cup cubed ham
1/2 cup diced onion (I use purple, in the picture here I used green. It's your preference.)
3.5 cups of shredded cheese, divided.
1 stick of butter, melted.

Grease the bottom and sides of the crock pot.

Beat the eggs, milk, evaporated milk, salt and pepper together in a mixing cup.

Place cooked noodles in the crock pot with the melted butter.  Toss to coat.  Add 3 cups of the cheese, the ham and onion to the noodles.  Pour the milk and egg mixture on top.   Stir gently.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top, cover, and cook for 3-4 hours on low.  I do not recommend cooking this on high, as the noodles on the outside rim become a bit crunchy if you do. 

Serves 8.

Terrible Tuesdays - Chicken Tacos

Tuesdays are THAT day in our house.  You know the one - everyone in the family running to a different event/sport/church assignment/homework/etc. night.  From the time everyone gets out of school, it is a constant flurry of activity until bedtime - leaving very little room (or time) for a well-balanced and nutritious dinner.

Nights like this we do typically end up with the old stand-by peanut butter and jelly on the run with a bottle of water and a pouch of fruit snacks - or if we are feeling adventurous (and generous) we'll grab a five dollar pizza from the local Little Caesars. However, since we have recently been made aware of a major health concern of one of the people in the family (me...cholesterol...dang genetics...) we've been trying to eat healthier, and not as many processed, on-the-go options (not that we're cutting them out all together, we are, after-all, not crazy.)

I, of course, have the zombie meals that I could fall back on as well as multiple jars of ready-to-eat beef stew that would only require being heated up - but doing that every Tuesday night would quickly deplete my supply of food storage items (a lot faster than the requisite year turnaround). In addition, I have six trays of Lasagna and frozen rolls in the freezer, but the cook time alone on those rules them out almost immediately for a busy Tuesday night.  With a little advanced planning, the Crock Pot is a good choice, but that doesn't always happen as expected.

So, what to cook on a busy Tuesday night?  What will be quick, easy, and yet still satisfy the stomachs of growing teenage and pre-teen athletes (and their father) while not causing them to be heavy or weighed down during athletic competitions or practice?

Here's one of our family favorites for Terrible Tuesdays:

Chicken Tacos with Re-fried Beans

3 cups shredded, cooked chicken
2 cans Ro-tel Tomatoes and green chili (un-drained)
        (or 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice and 1 6 oz can of green chili)
2 packages hard taco shells or 1 Package Burrito-style flour tortillas  (I like La-La's).
2 cups shredded cheese (we use Colby jack)
Sour cream, guacamole, salsa and shredded lettuce (as desired)

2 cans re-fried beans or 1 pint of pinto beans in broth mashed.
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese


In a sauce pan combine chicken, tomatoes and green chili and heat through until warm.
(I use my own home-canned chicken. You can substitute two large cans of chicken if you prefer - or you can cook and shred chicken on the stove-top, which would lengthen the time needed to prepare this meal).

In a second pan (or in the microwave) heat the re-fried beans until warm.  Add cheese to the top of the beans, and heat until melted (approximately 1 minute longer).

To Serve:
Put chicken mixture into a taco shell and garnish with sour cream, guacamole, salsa and lettuce, as desired.  Serve with a side of re-fried beans.  Can also be served burrito style rolled up in a flour tortilla.

Serves 8.


What's your favorite go-to meal on those busy nights?

72 Hour Kits/Bug Out Bags

I have got to admit something - I am most likely the LEAST prepared person on the planet when it comes to emergency evacuation plans. I never really wanted to think about the impossible, especially in terms of my family.  For me, it was more of a doomsday scenario, and not something I was willing to face - not yet anyway.  Despite the constant urging from church leaders I still was not in a place where I felt that would ever apply to me.  I live in a desert, sheltered from earth quakes, floods, ice and snow storms; despite the occasional heat wave, I am in a pretty safe place, right?  Of course I am, however, so were the people in Ireland in the 1860's when famine struck and they had to leave their homes...

Okay, so we aren't exactly in 1860 Ireland.  BUT, studying historical disasters has been to my detriment lately - that and the fact that the Relief Society thought it in their best interest to ask me to prepare and teach a class on 72 hour kits...(I'm the canning and food storage lady, remember?  You want me to teach....well, okay...)

So here I am, preparing a lesson on 72 hour kits, and we don't have a single 72 hour kit in the house. Well, not one that's put together anyway.

At least I didn't.

So why 72 hours?
Should a disaster strike, it could take emergency departments up to 72 hours to get to you and your family.  If you are in your own home, and it isn't compromised by flood or fire, being prepared means accounting for situations such as loss of power (is all your backup food storage in your freezer?), loss of clean water (do you know how to purify and use the water that is in your hot water heater's tank?), and loss of heat. If you cannot stay in your own home, you need to have a means to evacuate and take only what you need with you to survive.

After hours of research on the internet (By the way, blogs written in cold climate states like UTAH aren't the best place to start searching for information on what to put into your kits if you live in say, PHOENIX. Just an observation anyway.) I've come up with what I feel are some pretty darn good kits for my family of 7.

Here's a break down:

In EVERY Kit...

A means to carry the kit.  (I purchased these backpacks at Goodwill for $2.00 each. THREE of them still had the tags on them and had never been used.  I highly recommend looking at local thrift stores before purchasing brand new items.)
3 1 day packages of food amounting to 1000 calories each (yes, I know this isn't enough, keep reading.)
1 gallon of water per person (the recommendation varies, but generally speaking you should have 1 gallon per person, per day. keep reading, more info below.)
1 Personal Hygiene kit.
Rain Poncho
Powdered drink mix with electrolytes - such as Propel Zero
A water-tight bag with clothing in it

1 utensil kit (I bought these at Old Navy, but I'm sure they have them at Amazon.com and also at the Container Store.  They contain a fork, knife, spoon, and chopsticks (for that emergency dumpling craving, I guess :) and are fairly inexpensive.  In fact, my kids also carry them in their lunchboxes. Utensils are important to carry for those meals that require them, such as Ramen or pre-packaged dehydrated meals.)
Replacement meal bars (Why?  If you have food?  Read below.)
Glow sticks
Whistle


Items distributed between kits:

Metal Kettle for boiling water (I found these at Target, and they are amazing. Small and compact, and light weight!)
Camp stove (This is a similar one, found on Amazon.com )
Butane canisters (for the stove)
Coffee Filters (for cleaning water)
Water purification drops
Playing cards
First Aid Kit
Essential Oils (I include 8 essential oils in small 15 dram vials. We use these for everything from bug bites to nausea, and would be included as part of my first aid kit.)
Nail hygiene kit
Copies of important documents such as birth certificates  marriage license  shot records, passports, and recent photos of everyone in the family for identification purposes.  All of mine reside in a Life.doc folder which is easily accessible.
A solar charger for small electronics
A hand cranked flashlight and radio
Scriptures
Boy Scouts of America Handbook (contains a lot of valuable information about would care, first aid, living  in the wilderness, and other survival tips. They are available online, and at your local scout shop.)

How many calories per day?
Now, as far as the meals go, here's the skinny.  Every person should be consuming between 2400 and 3600 calories each day, especially when doing strenuous activity.  Commercially packaged 72 hour kits typically contain around 600 to 1200 calories each, but lay heavy on starch content to give you energy.  The kits I have prepared are meant for "bug out" purposes, should we have to LEAVE our home. That being said, food is heavy, difficult to pack into compact places, and when considering the little ones and what they can carry, all of this had to factor in.  It is for this reason that I purchased, in addition to the food that I'm putting into a menu below, meal replacement bars. They are light weight, contain enough calories per person per day, and can be used to supplement the meals we've placed in the kits, or alone should there not be a water source available for cooking.  They cost about $5.00 per person per 72 hours, and will last up to 7 years packaged away.  I bought mine at a local food storage store, but they are also available on the internet for minimal cost.

There are other options for food on the go such as MRE's (Meals ready to eat) and dehydrated packaged foods such as Mountain House, or even home made dehydrated kits.  These can be cost effective if you have a small family or if it is simply two people.  I've selected items that I can readily find at the grocery store that are inexpensive, and easily replaceable.

Here's our Menu:

Day One	Day Two	Day Three
Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
Individual Serve Cereal	Individual Serve Cereal	Mini Muffins
Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
Ramen Soup	Ramen Soup	Ramen Soup
Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
Chicken Salad on Crackers	Tuna Salad on Crackers	Chicken Soup
Snacks	Snacks	Snacks
Fruit Snacks	Almonds	Crackers with Cheese
Crackers with Peanut butter	Granola bars	Fruit Snacks
Assorted hard candy	Assorted hard candy	Assorted hard candy

One thing to keep in mind with your food supplies in your kits - they do NOT have an infinite shelf life.  Some MRE's can last up to 20 years, when stored properly and with dehydrated kits you should follow the manufacturer's recommendations (for Mountain House Pouches, it's 10 years IF stored properly.  Here in the desert, you can expect to cut that shelf life in half if stored in a garage or outdoor shed.)  Our plan is to cycle the food every six months during General Conference.   Anything that needs to be used or eaten, we will do so that weekend and then purchase new items for the kits.  (This also keeps mom from having to provide snacks every few minutes during conference, I think it's a win-win scenario.)

Our Hygiene kits contain the following:

1 Wash rag
1 Hand towel
1 travel shampoo
1 travel hand sanitizer
1 travel deodorant
1 toothbrush
1 travel toothpaste
1 comb
2 hair ties (obviously not for the boys)
1 bottle travel sunscreen
1 package wet wipes/antibacterial wipes

In the first aid kit:
Band aids of all sizes
Gauze squares (med and large)
1 ace bandage
2 finger splints
1 pair tweezers
10 pairs disposable gloves
10 packages alcohol wipes
5 antibacterial ointment
Antacid tablets
Acetaminophen tablets
Ibuprofen tablets
Safety scissors
Essential Oils (Frankincense, Lavender, Maleleuca, Lemon, Peppermint, OnGuard, DigestZen (fennel), Deep Blue) (I use doTERRA oils)

Nail Hygiene kit
Clippers
nail file
small scissors

Clothing Kit (ours are packaged in water tight bags.)
1 Pair of pants
2 pairs of socks
2 shirts
1 pair of underwear

A Note on Water:

The typical recommendation is 1 gallon of water, per person, per day.  Unfortunately, 1 gallon of water weighs in at about 8 pounds.  Giving my 5 year old 24 pounds of water (without the other supplies in her backpack!) to carry is not possible. I've included in the older children's pack a bit more water, keeping in mind the weight restriction, but this still will not give us the required 1 gallon per person, per day.  The other issue - we live in a desert, and the likelihood of finding clean water sources is minimal.  This is where we get creative.  We DO have here a series of man-made lakes (you know the ones, they are in the neighborhoods and look pretty when the fountains are on) - but I wouldn't say the water is clean enough to drink.  To overcome this issue, I've included in our packs coffee filters (to filter out sediment and other particulates), a means to boil water (portable camp stove and metal kettles), and water purification drops.  We hope to be able to evacuate by car.  If that is the possibility, then yes, indeed I do have enough water for our family, not a problem.  If we need to evacuate by bike, I can also carry more water by pulling a bike trailer behind me.  If we need to evacuate on foot, however, that's where we'll have to conserve our water, and plan on purifying what we can - even if that means we go to homes and take it out of their hot water tanks.



So, that's it.  Our kits are built and ready to go.  I do honestly hope we never have to use them, but I have to admit, just having them here and ready gives me enormous peace of mind.  We will store them near our back door inside the house in order to keep them from being pelted with heat (our garage reaches up to 130 degrees in the summer time).  These are, of course, a work in progress, and I'm sure there will be adding to them as I learn more.  For now, however, I feel confident that we would be able to exit quickly, safely, and survive until we reached shelter, and that is what is most important.



Additional 72 Hour Kit Resources:
Equipped.com
LDS.About.com

Crock Pot Peach Cobbler

Since I am fairly new to the whole "cooking-breakfast-in-the-crockpot" thing, I've been staying fairly conservative in the recipes I'm trying out.  I'm still trying to figure out a)what the oven to crock pot temperature conversion ratio is and b)I'm kind of low on things like eggs and sausage right now, and with it being 20 bagillion degrees cold outside I don't want to go to the store to get more. So, conservative we stay - plus, it's kind of great to be able to use some of the food storage items we have around that need to be rotated.

So today, we are making peach cobbler.

In the interest of full disclosure,
this is not my photo. I thought I
had taken one, but it turns out
my camera did not save the image. But,
this is pretty darn close.

1 large (28 oz) can of peaches - with juice.
1 white cake mix (or yellow, whichever you prefer. I think french vanilla might be good too...)
1 stick of butter cut into 8 to ten squares
1 cup brown sugar, divided
2 tsp cinnamon
pam (to spray the crock pot, of course)

1)Pour the can of peaches into the crock pot, including the juice (or syrup, whatever.)
2) Chop up the peaches.  I use a pampered chef food chopper right in the crock pot, you can use whatever you find easiest.
3) sprinkle 1/4 cup of the brown sugar over the peaches.
4) dump the entire cake mix (dry) on top of the peaches, spread it evenly.  DO NOT MIX.
5) Sprinkle remaining brown sugar over the cake mix.
6) sprinkle the cinnamon over the cake mix and brown sugar
7) Arrange the butter squares on top of the entire mixture.
8) Set the crock pot to cook on low for 6 hours at the required timer (I usually start mine at 11 PM to be done at 6.)
9) Go to bed, sleep, wake up - EAT!

I have to say, waking up each morning to a house that smells like freshly baked breakfast has taken me back to childhood.  I remember waking up each morning and mom having breakfast ready for us to enjoy before heading to school - in my very young formative years anyway.  I love that I can set the crock pot to do this for me - I only wish I had figured this whole thing out sooner.

Raw Pack Beef Stew (Pressure Canning)

I was perusing pinterest the other day and found a woman who had just canned about 20 quarts of beef stew.  Considering I had about 8 quarts in my crockpot at the time simmering for dinner, I figured beef stew would be an excellent day project...well, that and the fact that I recently purchased about 20 pounds of stew beef...

My recipe for beef stew is actually very simple. We don't like a lot of fluff in our food around here -meat, potatoes,carrot -simple.  It's great for a cold winter day (would you believe that as I type this post it is 23 degrees outside??? in PHOENIX? Yikes.) and of course, great for those emergency dinner nights - like Monday.

So, without further delay - here is my recipe for canned beef stew, and the directions which to do it.

Beef Stew (makes 4 quarts)

1 Package Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix
1 lb beef for stew
1 lb baby carrots cut into bite size pieces
1 lb russet potatoes cut into cubes
1 large onion diced
4 tsp. minced garlic (fresh or dried)
4 tsp salt
2-3  quarts boiling water

In 4 Quart sized jars layer:
salt, garlic, 3 tsp. beefy onion soup mix
1/4 pound beef
1/4 pound carrots
1/4 pound potato
1/4 diced onion

Add water leaving 1 inch headspace

Affix lids and rings tightly.

Place in PRESSURE canner and process at 10 lbs pressure for 90 minutes.
*10 pounds pressure up to 1000 ft sea level. Anything above 1000 feet process at 15 lbs.  If you are unsure of your altitude - this is a good place to start - http://www.daftlogic.com/sandbox-google-maps-find-altitude.htm) Also, if you are using a gauge canner, if under 1000 feet, use 10 lbs pressure.  If over 1000 feet, use this handy chart:
ALTITUDE CHART FOR CANNING MEAT AND POULTRY

ALTITUDE	DIAL GAUGE CANNER Pints and Quarts	WEIGHTED GAUGE CANNER Pints and Quarts
1,001 – 2,000 ft.	11 lbs.	15 lbs.
2,001 – 4,000 ft.	12 lbs.	15 lbs.
4,001 – 6,000 ft.	13 lbs.	15 lbs.
6,001 – 8,000 ft.	14 lbs.	15 lbs.

Processing time is the same at all altitudes.

Why do we pressure can?
Pressure canning is important for foods that are less acidic.  In a pressure canner, you can reach the temperatures needed to kill common bacteria and other organisms that can promote spoilage and mold growth.  I've heard people say that they oven can their stews etc. but that is simply not safe.  There is no way to tell, without opening and breaking the seal, whether the food on the inside has reached the appropriate temperature for the correct amount of time.  In addition, you risk the jars exploding in your oven (which is a mess you definitely do NOT want to clean up.)There are foods that are perfectly acceptable to preserve in a steam or boiling water bath. These are jams, jellies, pickles, most fruits, and some tomato based sauces like salsa.  The acidic content in these foods kills most bacteria.

I've had others tell me not to can the meat and the veggies together because the veggies get too soft.  I've not had this problem, and I like doing it this way, as the flavors meld together.  Also, you want to make sure you remove all the air bubbles in the jar when you fill with water, the meat will produce some liquid, but not enough to cover the veggies as well.  If the veggies don't stay covered, the potatoes especially can turn dark in the jar.

Remember to simmer your lids, not to boil them.  The point is to activate the  "glue" on the lid so you will get a proper seal.

1 inch headspace can be easily identified - it's the bottom of the ring.

I used to use a fork to assemble lids,then I found one of these things...LOVE!

Enjoy and Happy Canning!