# Canning 101 Question



## Prometheus (Feb 19, 2021)

Can anyone make recommendations?
1) I want to start canning this weekend to be prepared and learn for the garden's next harvest. Anything I can purchase at the market that would be easy to start with? 
2) anyone here preserve their chickens' eggs? They're starting to crank them out again so I would love to save some long term. 
3) anything else that's easy for a beginner like me?


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## Chinclub (Mar 2, 2005)

If you are pressure canning green beans or carrots are great first item and are cheap and easy to buy in bulk to practice with.

Try water glassing your extra eggs. There are tons of videos on it but you add 1 oz of pickling lime for every 1 quart of water in a crock or 5 gallon bucket. Then add unwashed eggs each day as you collect them. Don't use any soiled eggs, just clean ones. Then you can store the bucket in a cool dark pantry and the eggs will last 8 months +. That's what we do with all of our extra eggs to get through the winter if the chickens stop laying.

Happy homesteading!


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## Leech (Mar 27, 2020)

Stew and chili are what I consider the most important because they are meals. Raw packing stew is easy. Layer cubed meat, carrots, and potatos in a quart jar. Add hot water, salt, and pepper


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## sharkerbaby (Jan 15, 2016)

If you have absolutely NO experience with canning of any sort, I'd start with water bath canning vs pressure canning. If you go that route, pickles, tomatoes, and jams are great to start with. Make sure you use a reputable source for recipes to ensure the acidity level is appropriate, eg USDA.

I second water glassing for eggs. I also freeze eggs, slightly beaten and frozen in ice cube trays, then stored in plastic bags. For me, three "cubes" = 1 large egg.


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

I find green beans are easy if you are pressure canning. As for eggs, I freeze them. Basically crack 3 eggs, put them in a bowl and mix a bit. Then put them in ziplock freezer bags. When I'm baking a cake or some other baked item that required eggs, I just take out a baggie, thaw, and use as I would a fresh egg.


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## lmrose (Sep 24, 2009)

Green string beans, carrots and broccoli can good in a water bath canner. I make vegetable soup and can what we don't eat to have a quick meal when needed. I've never used a pressure canner. Extra eggs are cracked and emptied three or four into small plastic containers and stirred a little. They are frozen until needed when the hens stop laying. Just thaw and use as normal. When I didn't stir the eggs before freezing the yolks when thawed were a bit solid and rubbery. By stirring them before freezing the thawed eggs were normal either to bake with or cook.


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## Prometheus (Feb 19, 2021)

Thank you!


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Imrose, while you may process those foods in a water bath, that is not the approved safe method.

How does canned broccoli turn out anyway? Just cooking it to tenderness makes it fall apart.


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## sharkerbaby (Jan 15, 2016)

To add to what @Danaus29 stated, water bath canning should only be done with high acid foods (and in some cases, i.e. tomatoes, actually needs to be augmented with either citric acid or lemon juice). It's the acidity that keeps bad bacteria and other organisms from growing and becoming toxic. This is why I stated above to "use a reputable source for recipes to ensure the acidity level is appropriate ."

Other foods need to be pressure canned in which case it is the extreme heat and time at that temperature that kills the bacteria and organisms.

Please do not skimp on these recommendations as botulinum toxin is colorless, odorless, and tasteless AND deadly. Do NOT let this scare you off from the practice as it is very safe and rewarding when done properly. I have been canning (both water bath and pressure) for decades and encourage others to learn how to preserve their own food as much as possible. I also always encourage others to practice safe, effective, and tested methods.

Also, as a side note: the "old" recipes and methods were likely fine for the food of that time, however, because we have spent so much time "perfecting" our food crop, we have also changed how well some of them preserve. I am talking most specifically of tomatoes; the race to make them bigger, better, higher yielding, etc have not only had an impact on their taste but also, for purposes of this discussion, have lowered their acidity hence the need today to add acid when canning. Similarly, if adding lemon juice to increase the acidity, it oddly needs to be bottled lemon juice because we have "perfected" some of the acidity out of even our citrus crops!


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## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

Pickles, tomatoes and fruit preserves. Hard to screw those up, use the Ball recipes.

Jeff


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Danaus29 said:


> Imrose, while you may process those foods in a water bath, that is not the approved safe method.
> 
> How does canned broccoli turn out anyway? Just cooking it to tenderness makes it fall apart.


Prolly about the same as canned lettuce.


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