Where do I start

[leatherneckpa]

OK, all you canning gurus out there. What do you suggest for a first effort? Something safe, easy, and fool-proof.

I went out on the back porch and pulled out what I am hoping is a canner, not a cooker. Although I haven't yet looked up the difference on the internet. What we have is made by Mirro. It's got two black plastic handles and the lid twists to lock in place. There are about a dozen crenellations around the lip of the bottom and under the lid that will all lock the lid down nicely. On the lid there is a needle valve sticking up in the center and there's this metal wheel (kind of reminds me of the joints in a tinker-toy set) with three holes in it that seems to fit on top of it. Opposite each hole it is marked 5, 10, or 15. I'm guessing that when the 15 is at the bottom (facing right side up) that means it'll pressurize up to 15 psi. And there is also a little red plastic button. (Kind of like the pop-up button on a modern turkey) Oh yeah, it's a 12 qt according to the stamps on the bottom.

So, I'll be interested to hear what y'all think this rookie should start with, and maybe take a guess at the mystery thing too.

ETA: DOH!! It never occurred to me to save copies of the Valley after I had read them. I passed them on to others, who passed them on etc, etc, etc. Besides, I don't think I there for the early issues. So Jules, if you have you're early articles I'd love you to e-mail them to me. leatherneckpa at comcast dot net Thanks.

[Martin]

Without a doubt the best place to start would be to pick up a copy of The Ball Blue Book...about $6-$7....available at grocery and hardware stores this time of year...or even Walmart. Find something in there that looks appealing.

www.amazon.com/Ball-Blue-Book-Guide-Preserving/dp/0972753702

The 12 quart is a canner/cooker....the model with the disc weight (which I also have) is a bit of an older model. The manual may still be available from Wearever. It's probably one of 3 models...M-0512, 512M or M-0512-11



~Martin

[☼ ЯÏĊk ☺]

The red button is so you dont go BOOM. The weight determines the pressure. 10 pounds is standard for most folks and elevations. YES- Blue Book is a must. Make sure there is a spacer/ disc thing for the bottom. I forgot that once, glass and beans shattered and mixed together.
I'd do whatever veggie you have ready. I did peas first, beans second. Then right on to meats. Yummy.

[capecmom]

Mike, you can read all of the old issues of the valley online.

Here is June, but you can see the others to the right-

issuu.com/the-valley/docs/june2011-online-thevalley?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true

I would seriously start with some water bath canning first until you get the hang of it-high acid foods-then go to the pressure canner. Do you have all of the other equipment?

Ball blue book is great-plus Ball has "The complete book of Home preserving" which is great-then one of my other fav's is a book by Linda J. Amendt "Blue Ribbon Preserves". She's one of those ladies that wins the State fairs for her canned goods every year. All of these books have recipes for both water bath and pressure canning stuff.

[leatherneckpa]

Thanks for the pointers folks. Was headed out onto the deck to do some schoolwork and happened to see a blue binding on the shelf of cookbooks. Sure enough, it was the Ball Blue Book.

Later that evening Cindy was rooting around in her "spare bedroom" and came across a book titled The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving. She's actually reading a book! (Ok, who are you and what have you done with my wife?)

We're going to start with a small batch, 6 qts, of dill pickles next weekend because the little cucumbers happen to be available at the farmer's market in town.

[leatherneckpa]

I have said it before, and I'll say it again. Martin has got to be the most widely knowledgeable person I know when it comes to this homesteading stuff. He nailed the model number of our cooker/canner right on the head. From everything I'm reading there is no reason why we won't eventually be able to use it for pressure canning. Thanks to him I even found a replacement manual and parts for it.

We are probably going to restrict ourselves to water-bath stuff for now. But it's nice to know we don't have to drop another $200 for a canner unless we choose[/i] to.

Thanks yet again Martin.

[nhlivefreeordie]

Jul 11, 2011 21:42:22 GMT -4 leatherneckpa said:

I have said it before, and I'll say it again. Martin has got to be the most widely knowledgeable person I know when it comes to this homesteading stuff.

He has given me more valuable info than anywhere I have read, he isn't selling anything, just telling you the truth. That is why I want to coax him into writing in The Valley when he is up to it, people will dig his stuff just like everyone else in the paper.

[☼ ЯÏĊk ☺]

Here's a cool article, Mike.
www.offthegridnews.com/2011/07/04/canning-203-introduction-to-meats-poultry-and-rabbit/

[☼ ЯÏĊk ☺]

And I appreciate when Martin dumbs- down some stuff when I ask him to, cuz I'm a moosh mind.

[leatherneckpa]

Thanks Rick. I appreciate the link. Bookmarked it, 'cause it's a little beyond me right now.