Need canning help

[thumper]

Hopefully my garden is going to be full of veggies for the pickins real soon. We've already had a load of cucumbers and the rest looks like it will be coming along soon. I've made a batch of pickles with some of the extra cucumbers and I've given a bit away.

When I made the pickles (8 qts) I did not can them in a hot water bath I've left them in the fridge as directed. I want to can them so I can put them in the pantry, the way it's "suppose" to be done. I looked at Walmart and Target for some canning equipment however there's not much for canning here in our stores. I have visited a site canningpantry.com that has many choices, too many really. I'm not sure which one to buy. I'm sure I want a pressure cooker that can double as a hot water bath canner. I'm just not sure on the size, brand or other things I may not even be thinking of. I'm pretty sure you guys willpoint me in the right direction. I'd be grateful for your suggestions.


Thanks

 

[RSKY]

Go to Wal-Mart and get a jar of MrsWages Pickling Lime. The instructions are on the back. These are the best pickles, in my humble opinion, that can be made. My wife, with my help, has put up fifty quarts this summer from our four cucumber vines. Most will be given away. She tired of canning and wanted to pull up the vines but I wanted to experiment so I am on my second batch. I am putting mine in pints to give away. After tomorrow I will have around thirty to thirty five pints. So we have put up around sixty quarts from the four vines. Uhhh..., I forgot she did buy about five pounds and probably had another five given to her.

Anyway, it is easy to do and can be done in one day if you get an early start but I think the pickles are better if left soaking overnight for the first step.

I am trying one modification of the recipe this time. I asked some Mexicans at Wal-Mart which peppers were the hottest. Our county is now over 20% illegals so that was not hard to do. They showed me which ones and I pickled them in a seperate container and added varying amounts to three pints of pickles. Just to see how they tasted.

You need no special equipment for this recipe other than a large enameled pot that can hold about three gallons. We have never used step #5 in the instruction which is to use the 'boiling water canner'. We put the pickles and juice in the jars when it is nearly boiling and by the time we finish all the jars in a 'canning' the first jars are 'popping' sealed.

Just run the jars thru the dishwasher. Then right before filling with pickles fill them with hot water from the tap and pour it right out. Also boil the lids for a few seconds before placing them on the jar. Wifey found a little plastic stick with a magnet on it that is the best thing for getting the lids out of the hot water. Also, and this is very important, just before placing the lid on the jar wipe the rim with a damp cloth to remove any pickle juice there. If there is any juice what so ever on the rim the pickles will spoil. We are about out of the 2005 crop and did not put up many last year. We average eating about a quart ever week or so.

Hope this helps you.

RSKY

 

[thumper]

RSKY,

My daughter would be in heaven there. She is a pickle fan. Last time I used the Ball brand pickling spices they were good but next time I'll pick up a pakage of the MrsWages and give it a try.

What you described pretty much sounds like what we did and the lids are all popped sealed also. I think it's fine for pickled items but I wanted to be able to can other things once they are ready. We have other fruits and veggies that I could make jams and sauces with. I've read that with some items you need a pressure canner or you will not be able to kill the bacteria in the food which will cause it to spoil. That would be a shame to go through all that trouble and waste such good food like that plus I have no interest in getting sick.

Thanks for your advice. I might have you beat on the illegals, we live in Fern Country. These are not official numbers but a good guess would be 50/50 or better, least for our town not the entire county. The mexi's have a fruit/veggie stand up in town and they apparently eat a particular type of cactus, not sure on the details. I always wanted to ask but there is "supposedly" a language issue. So I won't be cooking up the cactus anytime soon.

 

[DocHeb]

I've read that with some items you need a pressure canner or you will not be able to kill the bacteria in the food which will cause it to spoil. That would be a shame to go through all that trouble and waste such good food like that plus I have no interest in getting sick.

You're right. It is very important to follow canning directions exactly, even though people take shortcuts and "don't get sick." Popping of the lids is not a guarantee of sterilization, but is just an indication that the fluid has cooled within the jar. The really worrisome problem is not a bacteria (which are easily killed by boiling), but spores. The spores of Clostridium Botulinum are not killed by boiling, and will survive in improperly canned foods. They will "hatch" into new germs after canning, and produce the toxin that causes Botulism.

 

[oliver28472]

Thumper, In addition to the pot, you will need a jar lifter and a canning funnel. My wife uses the blue speckled canning pot that has the wire lifter that will hold seven quarts at a time and lift them all up. She makes salsa. I make dill pickles and use a large pressure cooker pot as a water bath canner, not a pressure cooker. I usually put it on a gas burner outside and that keeps some of the heat out of the house. I made 46 quarts of dill pickles several weeks ago. I don't grow cukes, I just bought a bushel to get it over with. Had two burners going. A good hardware store will have the supplies you need.

 

[RSKY]

Another reason my wife makes this particular type of pickle is that she uses them in her chicken salad recipe. She gives the recipe to all who try her salad but they say it does not turn out the same. There are several ladies who have started making these pickles for that reason alone.

The recipe is simple. Boil a large pot of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Get out the food processor and chop them up very fine. Place in a bowl and use the processor to chop up several pickles. Add manonaise or salad dressing, add chopped up pickles, add some of the pickle juice, enjoy the best chicken salad sandwhiches you have ever ate.

One particular male school teacher she worked with could, and would, eat six to eight sandwhiches at one setting.

If you go to the local Wal Mart during the week it is full of young white kids who are unemployed. Most are not looking for a job. The Mexicans don't appear until Sunday. They all have jobs during the week.

I do not begrudge anybody the chance to come to this country to work to better themselves as long as they do it legally. The illegals should be deported and if caught here illegally should NEVER be granted legal status or citizenship.