Canning Bananas

• First mash your bananas.  Bananas are a very dense food so it is necessary to mash them and make certain that they are heated through.  I use a blender to mash mine, but a potato masher or a food processor would work as well.  Just be certain that the bananas are well mashed and there are not many large clumps left.

• Pour the mashed bananas into a large pot along with citric acid or lemon juice.  I put 1 tablespoon of citric acid or lemon juice per quart to prevent browning and to add acidity.

• Heat the mixture on medium high heat and stir frequently. You’re going to want to heat them to the point just before the mixture starts to boil. (Since it’s a dense mixture, you’ll have some “popping” of the mixture. This is the time that you really want to be sure to stir the mixture so that you distribute the heat equally throughout the mix. 

• Pour the mixture into unquestionably clean, sterilized, hot jars. Fill the jars of choice leaving a half inch head on them from the top of the jar. Top them with clean, sterilized lids and screw the rings on to “fingertip tight”. 

• Water bathe quart jars for 15 minutes and pints for 10 minutes. (I prefer to use pints as that amount is more realistic for my other recipes in which I would use the bananas.)

I have had no problems using the canned bananas.  The only issue that I have had is that the longer they are kept, some browning does occur at the top of the jar.  I usually take off the really brown portion off of the top of the jar and discard it just like I would a brown spot on a banana.  Also, when the jars have been stored for a couple of years, some separation does occur with liquid forming on the bottom of the jar.  I simply stir the mixture together and use as normal.
  

Happy Canning!

How can you use canned bananas? Lots of great ways. Pancakes, banana syrup, cakes, muffins, bread, smoothie sweetener and flavors, and it also makes a delicious frozen treat if you’ve got access to that in a crisis scenario.

(Excerpt from article on PreparednessPro.com)

Canning Hamburger

A Mennonite friend of mine taught me how she learned to pressure can hamburger by some ladies in her church.  It's a tried and proven method in many circles... so thought I'd give it a try.  Here's what I did:

• Simmer inserts on stove while building jars.
• Cut up onions and add to raw hamburger (optional)
• Pack pint or quart jars tightly with hamburger/onion mixture to 1" from the top.  
• Indent a finger in the center of the hamburger because it tends to rise up in the middle and pop the inserts if you don't.
• Add inserts and rings
• Pressure can according to your altitude.  I live at 0-1000 ft so I can quarts 90 min/10#   or     pints 75 min/10#

 

 

 

Finished product

 To get the hamburger out...  I simply put jar in microwave just long enough to melt some of the fat that had solidified as it cooled and drain it off.  Then just use a fork or knife to remove.

Another option:  Fry your hamburger as you normally would when preparing a dish.  Drain grease.  Then add to jars with 2 tablespoons water in the bottom and process as above.

Both options turn out wonderful.  I've done it both ways, but prefer putting it in the jar raw when I have lots to do because it's too time consuming to cook it first.  Besides, the pressure canner will cook it thoroughly anyhow.

I'm still using hamburger I canned two years ago and it's still good!

Canning Cheese

Please note right at the start that canning cheese is purely experimental on my part because I haven't found it in any canning books as of yet.  I have read of others out there having tremendous success so I've patterned my processes after theirs.  I've used cheese that I canned 2+ years ago and it's still perfectly good!!  The taste is somewhat sharper though.

I believe it's fairly safe to experiment with the harder cheeses because they are high in lactic acid making them a safe bet in the world of canning.  If cheese goes bad it will simply get moldy and you shouldn't suffer food poisoning.

Personally, I've canned cheddar and mozzarella with great results.  Others have done pepper jack as well.  I've read never to can soft cheeses so stay away from those.

Here's what my cheddar cheese looks like finished:

Here's how I did it:

• Place lids in simmering water on stove.
• Cut cheese into 1" squares and fill wide mouthed pint jars.
• Place jars in pan of water on stove...  make sure water never gets into jars though. 
• Cheese will melt as it heats up so I stir a little and add more cheese.  Continue until melted cheese is about 1/2 " from top of jar.  Do NOT let cheese get on rims because the grease will keep your lids from sealing.  
• Wipe rims with hot wash cloth and add lids and rings firmly.
• Cover jars with 2" water in a water bath canner and process jars 25 minutes.  NOTE:  Begin timer after water comes to full rolling boil.
• After cooling, label and put in a cool, dark, dry place for storage.

To remove cheese from the jar:  Run a little hot water over the outside of the jar, or place it in a sink of hot water for just a few moments.  Then run a knife around the inside edges and pry it out onto a plate.  Be careful not expose it to too much heat as the cheese will begin to melt again and you'll have a gooey mess.

Refrigerate after opening!

Gardening Video

I just watched the most amazing video on gardening I've ever seen.  My garden is composed of large sections covered with plastic as you can see in my initial blog post, but won't be after harvesting this year.  I've already informed my husband that when this garden is pulled...  the plastic is going with it.  I'm switching over to this method for next year!   Truly amazing!  To see how God has provided everything we need already in nature for a healthy garden is mind boggling.   The video itself is 1 hr 45 min ...  so carve out a chunk of time to watch it.    All aspects of gardening are covered....   watering, weeding, fertilizing, pests, etc.     I believe you will find it worth your time to watch if you're an avid gardener.

http://backtoedenfilm.com/

If the video freezes up while you are watching it...  simply mouse over the bottom of the screen to bring up the status bar.   Click on the  "HD" (High Definition) at the bottom right of the player to turn it off and allow the video to playback in SD (Standard Definition).

Canning Butter

Ok, you might be wondering why a person would can butter?   My personal motivation is saving money.  If I find a good quality butter on sale I purchase 12 lbs and can up two cases of the 8 oz jars and put them in my basement.  It lasts up to 3 years at room temperature this way as opposed to only a few months in the freezer.


Isn't the end product beautiful!  The creamy, buttery yellow color is amazing!  

Ok, so how do you can butter? Here's what you do.......  

• Purchase high quality salted butter.  Cheaper brands tend to separate, but go ahead and experiment with your favorite and see what happens.  I found Kroger brand did just fine.
• Sterilize jars by putting them in a 225 degree oven for 20 min.  I just do this step first and let them heat up while I continue on.
• Melt butter in saucepan and bring to a very gentle boil.  While it boils skim the foam off the top and discard. Don't take longer than 5 min skimming. 
• Fill hot jars with hot butter.  Wipe rims and put on hot inserts and rings.  Jars seal as they cool.
• After jars have cooled a couple hours, gently swirl or shake the butter to keep it from separating.  NOTE:  I put pressure on the insert with my fingers so butter doesn't creep up under it while doing this step and prevent the jar from sealing.  
• When cooled...  label and put into the pantry. 

6 lbs butter will yield 12 - 8 oz jars.

Dry Canning Nuts

Nuts are a little more involved ...  but very doable.   Due to their moisture content, they must be dried out in the oven prior to processing.  Here's how it's done:

1. Remove nuts from shells.
2. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and put into a 250 degree (F) oven stirring occasionally.  Do NOT allow the nuts to scorch or turn brown!
3. Pour hot nuts into pint jars allowing for a 1/2" headspace.  Do NOT add any liquid.
4. Wipe rims and add lids.
5. Process in a Boiling Water Canner with the water levels 1-2" below the top of the jars.
6. Do not begin the timer until the water is boiling.  Below is a chart of process times for differing altitudes:                        

• Altitudes          0 - 1,000 ft     ...     Process 30 min
• Altitudes  1,001 - 3,000 ft     ...     Process 35 min
• Altitudes  3,001 - 6,000 ft     ...     Process 40 min
• Altitudes  over 6,000 ft          ...     Process 45 min                                   

What a wonderful way to preserve nuts!!     My favorite  to do this way is almonds!                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Dry Pack Canning

So what is it?  Dry Pack Canning (cold) is just another method of storing foods for significantly longer periods.    As the name suggests, however, the items you preserve must contain little or no moisture to begin with.   A few examples would include unsweetened cereals like Cheerios,  pasta, powdered milk, sugar, wheat, rice, and nuts.   This is not an exhaustive list, but these generally work very well and will provide much longer shelf life than normal. Storage times vary depending on which food type you are canning, room temperature, etc.

Here's a few things I did over the winter...

 

I simply put the dry goods into a canning jar, added an oxygen packet (can be purchased on the internet in several places), and screwed on the heated insert and ring.  Inserts heated in water must be dried with a towel before putting them onto a jar containing dry goods.  Some prefer not to heat the inserts...  that is okay too, but your lids might take awhile longer to seal, and my experience is I get more lids that don't seal.  Another thing to be aware of with this method is that the lids seal over time.  Mine took anywhere from 1/2 hr to as much as 10+ hrs. to seal.  Once sealed, store your jars in a dark, cool place.  Cooler temperatures yield longer shelf life.

                                                                            

                                                                

Canning Chicken

Hi All...   

I've had a full weekend.  Spent time Saturday at a birthday party for 2 of my grandkids, turned 2 and 5...  how time flies!  Then got to see our small town's parade and fireworks that cap off the annual town fair.  What fun we had!   

Today, I spent the day pressure canning chicken.    I typically can meats/soups/stews in the off-season while waiting for fresh produce from my garden.  I ordered fresh, boneless, skinless breasts bulk from our local GFS (Gordon Food Service).  Paid approx. $1.63/lb.  ($65/40lbs).  I get approx. 2lbs chicken/quart.   Turned out great!

  < < < Finished Product

Oh ...  so tender!  > > >

 Don't be intimidated by pressure canning...  here's how I did it...

(No need to sterilize jars when pressure canning)

• Cut raw chicken into 1" strips and fill the clean jars to about 1" headspace (space from top of food to top rim of jar)  Adding 1 tsp salt is optional.  I do NOT add any for health benefits.
• Adding liquid such as boiling water or broth is optional...  I do NOT add any liquid because you can see in the picture above that the chicken will cook in its own juices very nicely.
• While loading your jars, have your lid inserts boiling in water on the stove.
• Once the jars are loaded, wipe the rims of the jars with a wet rag.  Anything left on the rim may keep the jars from sealing properly.  Don't take any chances!
• Add an insert and a ring to each jar, only finger tightening.  Do NOT crank them down hard as that can cause lids to buckle under pressure.  Load up the canner.
• Place lid on the pressure canner and turn up the heat on your stove. Allow steam to vent out for ten minutes before placing on the pressure regulator.
• Bring the pressure up to the correct amount for your elevation** (mine was 10 pounds pressure). Process for 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts.
• Turn off heat and allow pressure to come down naturally. This can take awhile so be prepared to wait. Remove the pressure regulator from the vent pipe to make sure all pressure is out.
• Using a jar lifter, remove jars and allow to cool.  Check seals, label and date them.

** If you don't know your proper altitude adjustments for pressure, please get a copy of a BALL canning guide or other appropriate canning book... or there are charts on the internet as well.   This is very important when canning!

Enjoy!                  

Introduction

Time for canning and preserving our favorite garden and orchard produce is fast approaching!   My garden is coming on nicely even though drought is ravaging this entire area this year!!

Because canning is a large part of my kitchen repertoire, I begin early making sure I have enough supplies (canning jars, lids, etc) on hand because these are seasonal items and tend to run out quickly at the local stores. 

Now is the time to make sure you have all the necessary equipment and recipes on hand.  I started buying one case of new Ball canning jars each week to build up my supply.  May I recommend to anyone out there who even thinks they might be interested in preserving food to do the same?  There is initial upfront expenses when canning and preserving, but the savings in the long run far outweigh it!!  I can buy in bulk when produce or meats are on sale and preserve it for use all year long.  It really helps stretch the budget further!

A list of canning basics includes the following:

Pressure Canner  and/or  Water Bath Canner (depends on what you're preserving)

Canning Jars/lids/inserts

Canning Funnel

Magnetic Lid Lifter

Jar Lifter

Skinny Spatula to free bubbles

Recipes

Try looking at garage sales, Goodwill Stores or even flea markets for these items.  

For a good recipe book, one of my favorites can be found HERE
 

Will be back soon with tips, recipes, and how-to's.