Something I have always wanted to do but am totally terrified to try is canning. I'm not so scared about water bath canning as I am pressure canning but still I am afraid I will do it wrong and make my family sick because of it. I knew that I would try it one day so I have attended many classes on caning and I have been buying the proper supplies little by little. For the last few years I would buy a box of jars and some extra lids when I could (and when they were not completely sold out). Last year I took the plunge and bought a pressure caner and this year I finally got the proper water bath caner. I had plans to use these items but for the most part they just sit collecting dust because of my fear of using them and the excuses I told myself to keep from actually taking the plunge in to caning.
Well, the time to take the plunge has finally arrived. On Monday I found 20 pounds of ground beef at a fantastic price and bought it with the intention of canning it. I couldn't let this meat go to waste so I watched some videos about how to cook ground beef, dusted off the pressure caner and took out a box of jars. I had to brown all the meat first and that took forever. I followed the instructions as best as I could, praying that I was doing everything right and especially that my caner didn't blow up on me. I was a nervous wreck the entire time. After 5 hours of work I finally took the jars out of the caner and set them on the towel to cool for the next 12 to 24 hours. It was 2:30am at that point. I looked at the mineral covered jars (we have uber-extreme hard water and the little vinegar I added to the water did nothing) with disappointment for what looked like a bust of a first canning job and went to bed. I could hear each jar pop with a loud sound that I figured could only be a sign I had done it wrong. I had bad dreams about my canning job all night. When I went to check on them the next day and test the seals, to my surprise only one jar did not hold a proper seal and all the other jars looked exactly like they were supposed to. I did it!! I left those jars out all day so that I could admire my handiwork. That 19 pounds of ground beef (we ate one for dinner) yielded 12 pints of about 1.5 lb. of meat each. Satisfied with a job well done, and completely exhausted from the experience, I then packed up the pressure caner and moved it downstairs to the storage room, to be rested for a good long while. We left the one jar that didn't seal in the fridge so that we could eat it for dinner in a few days. The texture was not as I had hoped but with spices it tasted just fine. I am proud of myself for putting up some meat in our food storage. We have plenty of wheat but no meat so this will be a nice addition.
I thought my canning days were done for the season but tonight I was given a bag full of ripe apricots. Although I was still exhausted from the last canning experience I couldn't let this opportunity to can some apricot jam go to waste. I again got out my Ball canning book and looked up apricot jam. To my relief, this is one that only needed the water bath method of canning. That should be a snap after what I went through with the meat. I started preparing the apricots and then stopped to cook dinner. After dinner I began the canning process again. This one may have had a shorter cooking time but the set up took just as long. This time it was only 3.5 hours until I was taking the jars out of the caner to cool. I was totally nervous. I got 5 full 1.5 pint jars of jam done and had about 3/4 cup of jam left over that I put into a spare jar and let cool for immediate use. Again I was not sure of my success. It didn't take long for the small amount of jam to cool enough to try. I dipped my spoon in for a tiny taste. I couldn't believe it...it was perfect!! It was the perfect consistency, and the perfect balance of sweet and tart. It tasted great! All the kids had a taste and they love it too. I am so proud of myself!
This time the caners are going away until the next season but with my new found excitement I am going to look in to buying a dehydrator. I can still put up food with it but without all the fear. Here's to building our food supply.
