This is so easy!
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F.
Take whatever nuts you want to store. Shell them or just make sure there are no bits of shell or debris.
Place the nuts in whatever size jars you want and place new lids and rings on.
Place your jars on a baking tray (for stability), and bake for one hour. Remove and let cool.
As long as they are sealed, they will store almost forever.
Canning meat at home is one of the easiest canning you will ever do! The only special items you need are a pressure canner (not a pressure cooker), jars and pickling salt. If you want to keep canning after you try this, I would also suggest a tool set. I will be including links to these items on Amazon but, aside from the pressure canner, you can get most of these at a local store. This is the picture I took at Ace Hardware. LOOK AT ALL OF THESE GOODIES! I have never seen so many canning supplies in person! There were so many I ended up buying more than I intended (they had 1/2 gallon jars!!!!).
This is my pressure canner.
It’s a Presto 16-quart pressure canner and holds 7 quart jars (16 quarts is the total liquid the pot holds). There are times I wish I had a bigger one but it would make it too heavy to move around if I did have a bigger one (which means, maybe, I should get a second one). Now, even though mine isn’t the largest, it IS heavy. You cannot use canners on glass top stoves! If that’s what you have, you could use them on a stable/secured turkey fryer base (you don’t want it tipping over), a propane grill, or a tabletop electric burner (as long as it can handle the weight). You need your heat source to be easily adjustable, so wood or charcoal would be much more difficult.
Pickling salt: why do you need this? Well, table salt has iodine and anti-caking agents (which can change the color of the foods and leave liquids cloudy), whereas pickling salt is just that: salt. Officially, this is the only salt you can use for canning. Unofficially, I have used kosher salt and never had any issues.
Now, you will need jars. For meats, I like to use pint or 12-ounce jelly jars. They are perfect for a meal (or adding just a little meat to a dish). Every grocery store I have been to in my area has canning jars but if your stores don’t, here’s a link to the best deal I found on Amazon. You don’t need anything fancy. How many jars will you need? It depends on how much meat you want to can. Roughly 1 pound of raw meat will fit in a pint jar.
Canning meats at home is simple once you have all of the right tools.
I can’t believe I didn’t post about this! I made homemade corned beef last year, leaving out the sugar and the pink salt, and it was fantastic! I thought, well, I could make this, then can it so I know exactly where it came from and what was in it. I haven’t gotten around to canning this because it usually doesn’t last that long!
Anyway, if you are interested (I wanted to see if I could and I did), here is how I did it:
It’s so much easier than I thought!
Mix all of the other ingredients, ensuring the salts dissolve.
Remove as much fat as you want, leaving a minimum of roughly 1/4 to 1/8 inch.
Place your meat and the brine in a container that will allow the meat to remain submerged. Submerging the meat is key to proper curing. Exposure to air introduces bacteria. I prefer plastic freezer bags. This allows me to actually remove all of the air and turn the meat with less mess.
Place the container in the refrigerator for a minimum of 5 days, with 7 being preferred. Turn once per day. Now, it’s ready to cook or freeze.
Place the meat in a large pot along with enough hot water to cover it by at least 1″ and put the lid on. Turn the heat to medium, bring to a low simmer and keep it simmering for 30 minutes. If you boil it, it will get tough and shrink. Beware that the meat is cold, so when it warms the water will slowly move from simmer to boil. Keep an eye on it and try not to let it boil.
After 30 minutes, dump out the water and cover 1″ over the meat with fresh hot water. Bring to a low simmer again, this time for 3 hours or until it is fork tender. Keep the meat submerged with a small plate.
For Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner, remove the meat and let it rest. Now add sliced carrots, potatoes, and cabbage to the cooking liquid. Simmer until the carrots are tender.
Slice the meat across the grain and serve.
And here is how to can it (ever since I canned that chicken, I prefer raw canning meats):
http://canninggranny.blogspot.com/2011/05/canning-corned-beef-brisket.html
There you go! Give it a shot (even if you only do one). It really wasn’t as difficult as my brain said it would be!
Look! I discovered an easy method to can milk at home. We never have straight-up milk, unless we plan on eating cereal or need it for some other “only milk will do” reason. So, I used this method on half and half. As a test, I let a pint jar sit for 3 years. It became solid as it sat but retained a seal and, when I opened it, there was no smell, no strange colors, it just looked like it had separated into curds and whey. Needless to say, I didn’t consume it but I don’t see why this will not keep for at least a year on the shelf.
Home canned evaporated milk
Fill your pressure canner with about 2 inches of room temperature water. Do not turn on your burner yet.
Fill your clean and sterilized room temperature jars with just about room temperature milk, leaving an inch of head space (usually just below the threads of the jar). Wipe the rim of the jars with vinegar (to eliminate any possible fats or liquids). Place your lid, then ring on the jar, hand tighten, then place in your pressure canner.
Once the canner is filled, put your lid on and turn the burner on medium-high to high. Once a steady stream of steam is shooting through the vent, set your timer for 10 minutes. Place your weight on the vent, then when it gets up to pressure (sea level is 10 pounds), turn off the burner (if you have an electric cook top, move the canner to a cold burner) and let the pressure canner sit until the pressure gauge reads zero.
Remove the weight, the lid, and place the jars on a towel covered rack to cool. After 24 hours, remove the rings, wash the jars, label and store in a cool, dark place. These should be good for 1 year.
Now is the time to learn techniques that have been safely used for decades before the USDA eliminates this knowledge altogether.
Disclaimer: I originally posted this 11 years ago but felt the need to update it and include more information.
Whether or not you have your food storage in place or are just beginning, there is so much to learn from Wendy Dewitt (Everything Under The Sun). I always thought Wendy Dewitt had a great food storage plan on her website but it’s even better because she has video taped a few seminars based on her plan. She does love her Sun Oven (I do not have one yet) and if you choose to purchase one or any other type of alternate cooking device, I suggest you use it NOW! There is a learning curve to alternate anything (whether that’s cooking or baking with sourdough) and you do not want to be learning (and failing) when you are operating from a place of scarcity.
Despite the fact that she is Mormon (and speaking to Mormons), she is not overly religious in her presentation. I am only mentioning her religion for those who may be offended by anything religious (or not of your religion).
I have found three (2 older ones and 1 updated version of her seminar) on YouTube and the quality of them shows (the oldest one was recorded in 2008). I downloaded them, did my best to adjust the quality (there is only so much I could do with the audio), and uploaded them to my channel.
Here are the download links for the handouts for the first two videos (in English and Spanish):
Filmed in 2005 in Gilbert, Arizona:
Filmed in November of 2008:
And this is her updated seminar (and handout), “Sensible Food Storage” from 2011
Yesterday, I canned my first batch of potatoes. I will be canning both red potatoes and sweet potatoes. I purchased two 10 pound bags of red potatoes (I figured this was the best choice, since the only other option was russet potatoes) and two 10 pound boxes of sweet potatoes.
This was one of the easiest things to do! I left the skins on, cut them in half or quarters (depending on their size), and followed the directions here: http://jordansfarm.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/canning-potatoes/. They all sealed beautifully and only two sucked up some of the water (the jars are about half full of water) so those will be used first (miss paranoid here).
The 20 pounds of red potatoes filled 19 quart jars (with a few left over so I could enjoy them with dinner) and 20 pounds of sweet potatoes filled 14 jars (actually 16 but I did not want to pressure can 2 jars so mashed sweet potatoes were for lunch and dinner the next day).
Further down on the web page above page is instructions for canning sweet potatoes. That is how I will be doing the sweet potatoes tonight:
Sweet Potatoes canned:
Boil first for about 5 min. so as the skins will rub off.
Leave small ones whole/ or cut,
Pack into jars
Fill with water or med. syrup (med. syrup: 3 1/4 cup sugar and 5 cups water= 7 cups syrup)
Leave 1 inch head space, remove air bubbles
Pressure can 10 pounds for:
Pints: 1 hour 5 minutes
Quarts: 1 hour and 30 minutes
I packed in syrup but a light syrup instead. I went looking around for light syrup recipes that would allow me to incorporate honey. I found this page (http://www.pickyourown.org/sugarsolution.htm), and it turns out you can replace half the sugar with honey! That’s what I did!
I love fresh sweet potatoes but after seeing how the red potatoes bleached out (no longer red) I am afraid of blah, bland sweet potatoes. I have not tried the sweet potatoes yet but last night we had corned beef hash with the canned red potatoes. I cubed them, put plenty of oil in the pan, let it brown without moving it around much, then removed them from the pan. We added them back right before the eggs were set. They tasted wonderful! They did not have that canned potato smell when we opened up the jar, and tasted just like boiled potatoes right out of the jar!
After 20 years of waiting, I have finally gotten a pressure canner! I am so excited I can hardly think straight. This was my Christmas present from my husband (in addition to loving me, I think it was mostly to get me to stop bugging him about it). It’s a Presto 16 quart.
The third day, I was re-canning some of my #10 cans of food. I never wanted to open the cans because I did not want to freeze the leftovers. I processed all foods for the recommended times/pressure settings and they all turned out really nice! All except my beets. They look bleached out but one thing I noticed as I was opening up the can of pickled beets. They use high fructose corn syrup! I’ll be making my own from now on.
My first big canning project is going to be chicken. Yeah, I know. Meat first? Yup. See, we buy a lot of whole chickens and load up the freezer. Canning most of the chicken will free up that freezer space for something else.
The majority of the time, we only use whole chickens for my husband’s tacos and enchiladas. Those recipes require us to boil, then de-bone the chicken so why not cut those steps out?
So I went searching around and found this great blog:
http://lovehugsandgiggles.blogspot.com/2008/11/canning-chicken.html
Then I’ll use the bones for chicken soup. Can you tell I’m excited?
I was gifted with approximately 10 pumpkins. A friend wasn’t expecting the vines to come up this year so we had plenty to give to co-workers, neighbors, and hold onto.
So, I was looking around online. I usually freeze my pumpkin puree but here’s a woman who cans it! I figure, using her recipe, I’ll end up with pumpkin pie filling with one quart being enough to make two pies. I am so excited!
http://www.theneitherworld.com/pumpkin/canning.htm
UPDATE: This was fantastic and lasted a LONG time! Next time, I will make it without spices.
I was gifted with a lot of lemons from my neighbor’s tree last week. I didn’t realize just how many I had until I washed them all! What the heck was I going to do with all those lemons?
So far, I have started Lemon Wine. I used this recipe:
Grate all lemons and put them aside. Halve the lemons and squeeze the juice into one gallon of boiling water.
When the water boils again, cut off the heat at once. Pour the hot liquid over the sugar and stir until all the sugar is dissolved.
Cut up the raisins and add these to the liquid. Then add the lemon rind and allow the brew to cool. Sprinkle the yeast on top and stir in. Cover and ferment for 14 days after which you strain and bottle. Leave it for one to three months and enjoy (in moderation… this has quite a kick).
I gave some to my sisters and they said it tastes like limoncello.
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The second thing I did was make Canned Lemon Curd.
I used the canning instructions from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (.pdf link below) but this recipe.
If you are using fresh squeezed lemon juice, taste it. If it is sweeter than store bought lemon juice, then add a little citric acid. Stir until the citric acid is dissolved, then taste again. If it is still too sweet, continue doing this step until you are satisfied.
Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl, stir to mix, and set aside about 30 minutes.
Heat water in the bottom pan of the double boiler until it boils gently. The water should not boil vigorously or touch the bottom of the top double boiler pan or bowl.
In the top of the double boiler, on the counter top or table, whisk the eggs. Slowly whisk in the sugar and zest, blending until well mixed and smooth. Blend in the lemon juice and then add the butter pieces to the mixture.
Place the top of the double boiler over boiling water in the bottom pan. Stir gently but continuously with a silicone spatula or spoon, to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the mixture reaches a temperature of 170 degrees F.
Remove the double boiler pan from the stove and place on a protected surface, such as a dish towel on the counter top. Continue to stir gently until the curd thickens (about 5 minutes). Strain curd through a mesh strainer into a glass or stainless steel bowl; discard collected zest.
Here is the .pdf with the detailed instructions to water bath can this recipe. To download it, right-click, then choose “Save As.” Lemon_Curd .pdf
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Right now, I have some Bitter Orange Marmalade (Orange-Lemon Marmalade) going in my crock pot (because my stock pot has the wine in it). Not sure if it will get hot enough to thicken, so I may have to separate and cook in batches. This recipe I got out of Stocking Up III by Carol Hupping and the staff of the Rodale Food Center. I used Mandarin Oranges, since I had a lot of those that needed to be used.
An aromatic and delicious variation of the classic.
Place oranges, lemons, and water in an 8-quart stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 2 hours.
Remove fruit; seed and quarter. Chop fruit in food processor or by hand. Return to water.
Bring fruit mixture to a boil. Stir in honey and sugar. Return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly, until mixture resembles a thick syrup, 15 to 30 minutes. (Keep at a full rolling boil or it will take longer to reach the gel stage.)
Pour into hot, scalded half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace, and seal. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath.
Allow the marmalade to "age" for 2 weeks before tasting or it may be too bitter.
Based on the recipe from Stocking Up III by Carol Hupping and the staff of the Rodale Food Center
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The next (and I hopeful final) recipe I will be making is a Lemon Meringue Pie. I’ll be making this one tonight, using a recipe out of The Joy of Cooking (which is basically this recipe by Alton Brown):
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Whisk egg yolks in medium size mixing bowl and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, water, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine. Turn heat on medium and, stirring frequently, bring mixture to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually, 1 whisk-full at a time, add hot mixture to egg yolks and stir until you have added at least half of the mixture.
Return egg mixture to saucepan, turn heat down to low and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and gently stir in butter, lemon juice, and zest until well combined. Pour mixture into pie shell and top with meringue while filling is still hot.
Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and then gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Use to top lemon filling.
Make sure meringue completely covers filling and that it goes right up to the edge of the crust. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until meringue is golden. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Make sure pie is cooled completely before slicing.
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I was wrong! One more recipe, since there were just a few lemons left over. I made Lemon Extract! I remembered a wonderful Lemon Poppy-seed Bread recipe an online friend of mine gave me (I don’t have permission to post it here) and my lack of the necessary ingredient Lemon Extract. So, I made some!
Use a vegetable peeler, sharp knife, or cheese grater to remove the zest off the lemons (ensure there is no pith, or it will make this bitter).
Place in a sterilized pint mason jar, and pour vodka into jar.
Place the cap and ring on the jar and leave for two weeks (shaking occasionally).
Strain into a dark colored bottle.
This should keep for about a year or more if you store in a cool, dark place.
One of the biggest treasures I have found online is from Michigan State University. It’s a site called Feeding America and features over 70 American cookbooks from the late 18th to early 20th century. I really can’t begin to tell you how much computer space I have in old cookbooks. If only I could have physical copies of them ALL.
Here’s one of the first I found (and tried recipes from). Please consider investigating the old cookbooks that are out there still. They can be invaluable, especially since they teach us so many things we have lost over the generations.
Miss Parloa’s New Cookbook: A Guide to Marketing and Cooking. New York:
C.T. Dillingham, 1882, c. 1880.
Here are just some of the recipes, which are fantastic!
What I love about this recipe is, it easily allows you to adjust it simply based on the quantity of beets you have! This is rare!
Cut boiled beets in slices. Lay these in a large glass jar or earthen pot.
For every beet, put in one slice of onion, on tablespoonful of grated horseradish, six cloves, and vinegar enough to cover.
The beets will be ready to use in ten or twelve hours. They will not keep more than a week.
Nearly fill a jar with ripe berries, and fill up with good molasses. Cover, and set away. In a few weeks they will be ready to use.
Add all of the ingredients (except currants) to a large pot and bring to a boil. Stir until thickened.
Stir in the currants, and cook for 30 minutes.
Wash and wipe six hundred small cucumbers and two quarts of peppers. Put them In a tub with one and a half cupfuls of salt and a piece of alum as large as an egg.
Heat to the boiling point three gallons of cider vinegar and three pints of water. Add a quarter of a pound each of whole cloves, whole allspice and stick cinnamon, and two ounces of white mustard seed, and pour over pickles.
Cover with cabbage leaves.
The fish should be thoroughly washed, and soaked in cold water over night.
In the morning drain the fish and add fresh water. Turn on your burner to high, until it comes to a boil. As soon as the water comes to the boiling point, reduce to a simmer.
From four to six hours will cook a very dry, hard fish, and there are kinds which will cook in half an hour
Put milk on to boil, keeping half a cupful of it to mix the flour. Whisk in flour with 1/2 cup of milk. Once the milk boils, whisk in flour/milk mixture.
Add the fish, season with salt and pepper, and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
Heat water in a pot on medium high heat until it boils. Break each egg onto a small plate, then let the egg slide into the water. Poach all six eggs until desired doneness.
Place the toasted bread on a platter. Pour the fish cream over each slice, then top with a poached egg.
Garnish the dish with points of toast and parsley.
Pare the potatoes and boil half an hour; then drain off the water, and mash them light and fine. Add the salt, pepper, one tablespoonful of butter, and the cupful of milk, which has been allowed to come to a boil. Beat very thoroughly, and spread a thin layer of the potatoes on the center of a hot platter. Heap the remainder around the edge, making a wall to keep in the cream and fish.
Put the pint of milk on to boil with the onion. Mix flour and butter together, and when well mixed, add two tablespoonfuls of the hot milk. Stir all into the boiling milk, skim out the onion , add the fish and cook ten minutes. Season with pepper, and if not salt enough, with salt.
Pour into center of the potatoes, garnish the outer ring with parsley, and serve.
This is a nice dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Pare the potatoes and boil thirty minutes. Drain the water from them, and mash very fine; then mix thoroughly with the fish.
In a small saucepan, scald the milk or cream. Then add this, butter, salt, and pepper to the potato mixture.
Let mixture cool while you beat the two whole eggs. Add to potato mixture, spread in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, and bake for 10 minutes.
Separate the last two eggs, setting aside the yolks. Beat the yolks. In a very clean bowl, beat the egg whites to a stiff peak, then fold in 1/4 teaspoon salt and the yolks.
Remove baking dish from oven, spread egg white mixture over the top, then return to the oven to brown. Serve.
