Pressure Canning Newbie

[TCM]

Hello everyone. Being new to pressure canning, I have a question that is somehow a bit difficult to get answered (googling the web). My question is this: When I make e.g. a nice meat stew or something similar, it cooks for a couple of hours and it's ready to eat. Whatever I have left over, I usually put the freezer. Buying a pressure canner, I imagined that I could can the whole batch or just the leftovers instead of putting them in the freezer. However, that would mean exposing the leftovers to maybe 50 minutes of extra heat (in the pressure canner). This would of course make the dish quite different from the original one - i.e. much more mushy and not at all the way I wanted.

When pressure canning e.g. a meat stew, it seems to me that the cooking as such takes place in the jar in the canner - and not prior to putting the food in the jar (as I originally thought). Or am I totally mistaken here? Advice appreciated

 

[GLC]

Your right. The solution is that stew is canned by cooking the stew in the jars in the pressure canner. Of course, you brown the meat on the stove top first. Check around the Internet by searching CANNING BEEF STEW for some typical recipes and time/pressure. Very little time difference, and probably even less clean-up than conventional stewing.

 

[sparrowgrass]

Don't 'search around the internet' for canning recipes--there are a lot of canning recipes on line that are not safe, particularly when you get into recipes that involve meat!

You need to use a recipe that has been tested by USDA. Safe recipes are found right here: National Center for Home Food Preservation

Another good source of recipes, also from USDA/University of Georgia is 'So Easy to Preserve'. Google that title and you will find instructions for ordering that book. I think it is about $18-- a good bargain.

 

[mcnerd]

I definitely agree with sparrowgrass. Canning is not designed for preserving "meals". Stick to freezing for that. 'Can' the meats and other ingredient separately according to approved and tested canning recipes.

Far too many recipes on the Internet are not considered safe or stable for long-term storage. At the very least get the canning bible, the Ball Blue Book Guide To Preserving for about $6.50 locally or online.

 

[TCM]

How about...

I will do as advised. Thank you all. I have already ordered a couple of well-thought of canning recipe books. A follow-up question: Would it be OK to make e.g. a meat stew the "normal" way (that is not a canning recipe) and stop short the last hour or so - using the last hour in the pressure canner? You see what I'm driving at?

 

[sparrowgrass]

NO. Sorry to be so emphatic, but in home canning, following the directions is key. Mainly, we want you to remain healthy, but also because you run a big risk of ruining your food and losing money.

Mcnerd--the link I posted contains all the recipes in the Ball Blue Book. University of Georgia is the official USDA site for home canning research, and is where all the BBB recipes came from. The Blue Book is very handy--I have a copy.

 

[TCM]

oh well...

I appreciate straight answers - so continue being emphatic I think I'm getting the point now. It's when meat is involved it gets a bit more ridgid. Basically it's all about canning the meats (beef, chicken, fish) separately from the other ingredients. Right?

One question: In the shops, one can get tinned food (like a mixture of meat and beans etc) - how come they get away with it?

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Canning factories are able to achieve higher temperatures than a home cook can. The food manufacturers also fail at times, thus food recalls.

 

[sparrowgrass]

You can do meats and veg together--there is a recipe for vegetable soup in the book, and one for spaghetti sauce with meat. It is more a matter of the right temp for the right time, and sometimes, the addition of acid.

 

[TCM]

?

I was of the impression that mixing meat and other ingredients was a no-no. Of course, if it's a matter of adding some acid (like lemon juice or something), that's easily arranged. Thank you very much for adding this info - I'm trying to get a grip on this and it's a bit tricky (for a novice).
Chris

 

[Lardeffect]

I don't think mixing vegetables with meat is a problem when you sterilize it in a pressure canner. It's just the matter of keeping it hot enough for long enough (the precise times and temperatures should be taken from a trusted source) to kill all the bacteria - pasteurizing does not kill them all. But if you heat things up to 121 degrees and the meat and veg reach this temperature and stay at that temperature for at least 20 minutes (with the temperature reaching the center of the product being sterilized) all the bacteria, including spores, should be killed. At least this is how you sterilize all stuff for research purposes, and there even one bacteria cell cannot be left alive

You also have to remember that the dish will taste differently when cooked under pressure. There are different chemical reactions occurring between the taste-making compounds then they do when cooking in a normal pot. This is why getting a cookbook that is just about that is very important

 

[sparrowgrass]

It is not a no-no if a food scientist has tested the recipe and found it safe. That is why you should only use recipes from the sources we have listed (BBB, Easy to Preserve, both of them from U. Georgia).

There are a lot of people on line who have canned things and suffered no ill effects, but dumb luck plays a part in that. I would rather be safe, and I would rather not waste my efforts, money and produce on an untested recipe.

I do have some adventure in my soul but it doesn't extend to canning.

(I have canned for more years than I want to tell, and I work for University of Missouri Extension. During the summer, we field hundreds of canning questions, so I have heard them all, and experienced a lot of them.)

 

[Lardeffect]

Yes, if you are not an expert, you should always follow the recipe from a trustworthy source. I was just trying to explain the mechanics a little bit. But it is true, you can get really sick or even die because of eating not properly canned food.

 

[TCM]

Ok. I get the point. I'll follow the recipe. You know, some of us, we like to experiment, we like to achieve something that is even better... But I do see my limitations. It's an everlasting thing...
Chris

 

[TCM]

I don't think mixing vegetables with meat is a problem when you sterilize it in a pressure canner. It's just the matter of keeping it hot enough for long enough (the precise times and temperatures should be taken from a trusted source) to kill all the bacteria - pasteurizing does not kill them all. But if you heat things up to 121 degrees and the meat and veg reach this temperature and stay at that temperature for at least 20 minutes (with the temperature reaching the center of the product being sterilized) all the bacteria, including spores, should be killed. At least this is how you sterilize all stuff for research purposes, and there even one bacteria cell cannot be left alive

You also have to remember that the dish will taste differently when cooked under pressure. There are different chemical reactions occurring between the taste-making compounds then they do when cooking in a normal pot. This is why getting a cookbook that is just about that is very important

Thank you VERY MUCH, I do appreciate what you're saying. Cooking generally is a bit like alchemy, and pressure canning should not be very different... I've bought an All American Canner and as long as I make sure I get the temperature right and for long enough - that should make it OK.
Kind regards, Chris

 

[Lardeffect]

I'm glad to help. Just mind what is written in my next post:

Yes, if you are not an expert, you should always follow the recipe from a trustworthy source. I was just trying to explain the mechanics a little bit. But it is true, you can get really sick or even die because of eating not properly canned food.

But yes. There is no magic there, but science happening . And because of that with given parameters you get a given result - but to choose the parameters to be correct, you need to have an in-depth knowledge on food safety and probably some serious scientific equipment. It is impossible to guess or even estimate it on your own.

 

[TCM]

words of truth

Yes, but that's true in every kitchen, is it not? People get sick - the chicken is undercooked etc.. You just have to do the best you can, make sure that you keep the right temperature, keep it clean and so on.
Chris

 

[Lardeffect]

Of course. But the bacterium that makes botox neurotoxin (Clostridium botulinum) is unfortunately the one that can develop in canned meat, if it was not sterilized properly. This is very dangerous. A small amount of ingested botox will paralyze you completely and you can die from suffocation within minutes. It is a much more serious danger than salmonella poisoning from undercooked chicken.

 

[TCM]

death and destruction

Good point, the dangers are potentially very severe with canning, I'm sure. This is a quite a learning curve for me. Canning is unchartered waters.
Chris

 

[TCM]

mason jars or not

If you guys are not completely bored by now, I have yet another question. Where I live it's difficult to get hold of Mason jars (incl. lids, bands etc). What we do have however are jars with a metal lever-arm sealing mechanism and rubber sealing rings. Can I use these instead?