# new to canning



## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

I have just recently really got into this whole self sufficiency faze which I plan to make a habit what should I look into getting as far as certain types of dehydrators and canning supplies really new to this also any good books other then the Ball book on general tips and tricks to canning. what has worked for you and what has turned out to be a huge disaster?

thanks all and god bless


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

I've had so few disasters I can't even remember them. As far as putting up your own food, I'd advise you to be meticulous about cleanliness, and avoid cutting corners in your processing. The Ball Blue Book is sort of considered the bible of canning; but there are others such as Stocking Up by Rodale Press and Putting Food By. While I'm a real nut for old books, canning books need to be as current as possible so the information inside is the safest for you and your family. Just follow directions carefully and exactly, and you'll have all those pretty sparkling jars lined up on your shelves! 

Oh, I forgot the Excalibur book, although I can't remember it's name. Lots of info on drying food, although the Rodale book has instructions for a solar dryer.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

Not a disastor, but a rather expensive experince.

I got back into canning about three years ago. At the time, I had a glass topped stove. 

Decided to start with BWB canning, and dug out my old canner. It had a ridged bottom, so would not work on the glass top stove. Bought a hotplate from Walmart and tried that. Took about 45 minutes for it to bring the full canner to a boil, and the second time I used it the thing gave out - only half the element would heat. At least that I took back to Wallmart.

I'd been reading on this site for too long, and hankering for the AA canner. No way would I use it on my stove, but read about people using it on propane burners outside - figured that would work. 

Saved up funds and bought an AA canner and a propane burner setup (both online) and got a bottle of gas. Got all set for a maiden run - and discovered a manufacturing flaw in the burner - company said they would replace it once I sent the bad one back. Well, OK, but the crop was not going to wait the 2-3 weeks it would take for the shipping.

My first pressure canning batch was done on my cement patio - using our old colman cookstove. I wasn't happy doing it that way, but I got my first load of veggies done.

While at Menards, I found a propane burner setup in the clearance section, so decided I'd buy that to have on hand while the first one was getting replaced.

Takign that home, I tried it. I live in a windy area, and had problems so finally resorted to doing this in the shop. It has tall ceilings and plenty of air flow. Still had some problems with the flame, but I managed to get the job done. HOwever I had issues getting the canned food between the house and shop - no good place to fill the jars in the shop, and not a good way to transport them back and forth. And the outdoor temps were now getting down into the low 50's in the evneing, when I'd be getting the batches done. And I didn't like ahving to sit out in the cooling shop keeping an eye on the canner.

But I got a few more batches done, and eventually the first burner got replaced. I thought it would be a time saver to run both (one pressure, one BWB) at the same time, so I bought a regulator so I could hook both up to the same tank (more $$$). 

But I had way too much problems trying to control the flame under the BWB canner - turn it down and it would go out, turn it up too much and the water would boil hard and spill out of the canner and put out the flame . . . This outdoor canning with the propane burners might work for some, but it wasn't workign for me. ANd I knew it would not be possible during the winter months when it gets truley cold here in SD.


So after more research, I bought a Presto 16 qt canner, because it was safe to use on a glass top stove. If I had known then what I know now, I'd have bought the 21 qt, but at the time I thought the 21 would have a bigger base. They are the same size, the 21 qt is simply taller. 

I could now can indoors, and finished up that season. I used that canner for BWB on my stove too - problems solved. . . Though I had an AA canner that was sitting on a shelf getting dusty and two propane burners, a regulator and a tank of propane in the shop I had no use for.

For a little background - DH and I were in the process of a complete remodel (and partial rebuild) of our entire house. As we got to the kitchen, after much research we decided to go with an induction cooktop. I won't go into the reasons, but gas was not a viable option for us.

To continue the story - the big drawback to induction is it only works with magnetic pans - and larger pressure canners are all aluminum. So in doing so, I would not be able to use either canner on my indoor cooktop.

So here I am, a 4000 square foot garden with (hopefully) lots of veggies on the way and knowing that some day in the future my glass topped stove would go bye-bye.

Then I was at Menards (with all the work on the house, we were there several times a week) and saw a coil cooktop - I didn't even know they still made coil cooktops! This would be perfect, and it had evey duty burners already - now . . . where to put it.

We have several outbuildings, and one we had already converted a part to a greenhouse/chicken coop, and I realized the other section would make a perfect summer kitchen. It had a water hydrant, and we could set up a grey water drain out the back. Hubby had already rewired the building for the greenhouse (needed more power for the heaters and fan) so we bought the cooktop and installed it in an old desk and I had a place I could can to my heart's content - provided it was warm enough. This year was my second year with the summer kitchen - and I loved it. Last winter I still used my presto in the house on the glass top stove for winter canning. As it turns out, I do a lot of winter canning - meat, broth, jams, soups, etc. The coil cooktop let me take the AA out of storage, and I could also use the Presto on it - I could use both canners at the same time even.

So I was still faced with the problem of no way to can indoors during the colder months. This spring we installed the induction cooktop and though we love it, I can't use it to can on. Since I'd had a bad experience trying to use a cheap hotplate, I started researching and found what is called a portable range - it is basically a heavy duty hotplate made for large pots and long periods of use.

This works great, and can hold both the big, heavy AA and the lighter Presto. 

If I had to do it all over again, I'd have bought the AA and the hotplate to start with - but then I may never have ended up with my summer kitchen as that was a solution to a problem I would not have had if I'd got a good hotplate to start with. . .

And I love my summer kitchen!

My canning has been an interesting, somewhat expensive lesson, but Dh works out of town and takes home canned foods with him, so he says it's been worth it. 

Cathy


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## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

okay first off sorry for not knowing the lingo 

whats an AA canner? and what size and brand hot plate did you go with ? 

thanks


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## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

An AA, is an All American canner. It's considered the cadilic of canners.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

It's funny how we get use to the "shortcuts" and don't even realize we're using them half the time.

I bought a Cadco LKR 220 portable range. It has turned out to work very well as I have all the burners on my cooktop to use for other things and the canner isn't hogging most of the room.

Usually I've got a pot of what I'm going to can, a small pan to heat the lids, and another pan/pot heating up because DH is getting hungry. 

One thing about hot plates, most of them don't have the power needed. the large coil on a cooktop/range is usually 2200-2500 watts, and most hot plates have 1000 or less watts per coil. Watch out for the ones that have two burners, they'll say 1600 watts, but what they have is one 1000 watt burner and one 600 watt burner.

Mine has one 2000 watt burner, and it is completely sealed so nothing will spill down into it. Cadco has several 110 units that have 1500 watts for one burner.

While searching for heavy duty hotplates, I learned a lot about beer making - those people need burners to heat up 5- 10 gallons for long periods of time I also found burners you can use to heat up the contents of a 55 gallon drum - probably overkill for most home canning needs  I love the internet - I find all sorts of things I can't live without that I didn't even know existed before I got online.

Cathy


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

In addition to the Ball Blue Book you might want to browse through all the great information offered by the National Center for Home Food Preservation, the recognized authority on safe home food processing. Check it out at: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/


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## Pouncer (Oct 28, 2006)

I have a pair of AAs, 921s. I too, knew I couldn't pressure can on the electric coil because it tends to cycle too abruptly-I would be chasing the needle and being stressed out, to say the least. Electric works fine for BWB of course, which is handy since I can do it in my kitchen.

The pressure canning is done in my pantry. I did find that I don't have enough prep room there, so must fill jars in the kitchen (or garage) and then carry them into the pantry to load. I just use those blue plastic soda crates for that. I have about six foot of counter to the right of the gas cook stove I use, for the jars I process-which, when I get busy, is not nearly enough space, lol 

I also have two propane burners, one of which is a double on a very large stand, made for camp cooking. With some fiddling by my husband, they can now be dialed down low enough that they won't go out for pressure canning, yet can still be turned on full bore if needed. He put some sort of special regulator for this, not a regular one.


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## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

Ruby said:


> An AA, is an All American canner. It's considered the cadilic of canners.


AWESOME now i know what an AA is lol i read up on them and it looks like they tend to be very expensive



judylou said:


> In addition to the Ball Blue Book you might want to browse through all the great information offered by the National Center for Home Food Preservation, the recognized authority on safe home food processing. Check it out at: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/


this website is an amazing resource thank you so much for the link i think i learned more in five min of reading that site then all my previous knowlege together


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> i learned more in five min of reading that site then all my previous knowlege together


Yes it is a real wealth of info on all aspects of food preservation. Well worth bookmarking.


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## tinknocker66 (Jul 15, 2009)

Salmon slayer judging by your name you fish alot so start canning your salmon.I had to lose a stand up freezer full of food before i started canning.Smoke the salmon for 30 min.(only 30)smoke intensifies while canning.add a teaspoon full whitevinegara tbls diced onion andd fill with skined fillets.pressure can at recomended times for your area.I put up over 100 pints last year and it can last 8 years(not that it will)enjoy the fruits of your labor


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## salmonslayer91 (Oct 10, 2010)

judylou said:


> Yes it is a real wealth of info on all aspects of food preservation. Well worth bookmarking.


not only bookmarking but PRINTING!!! since the computer is far from the kitchen



tinknocker66 said:


> Salmon slayer judging by your name you fish alot so start canning your salmon.I had to lose a stand up freezer full of food before i started canning.Smoke the salmon for 30 min.(only 30)smoke intensifies while canning.add a teaspoon full whitevinegara tbls diced onion andd fill with skined fillets.pressure can at recomended times for your area.I put up over 100 pints last year and it can last 8 years(not that it will)enjoy the fruits of your labor


i have a great recipe for canned salmon but maybe ill give that a try itll give some contrast to the same old same old i would be DEVESTATED if i lost a freezer full maybe not so much in the spring but the winter for sure all the salmon steelhead trout deer elk and god knows what else but yes im an avid fisherman.:goodjob:


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

I'm posting this follow up in case anyone comes across this thread via searches.

My Cadco LKR 220 that I have been recommending for almost a year died 11 months and 2 weeks after I purchased it, with maybe 30 uses under it's belt. The warranty is "walk in" which means you pay the shipping both ways. 

When I first bought the unit I thought something was wrong with the thermostat, and had a very nice customer service guy walk me through a whole bunch of testing, and he said it appeared to be working OK. At that time he said if it did go out, he would ship us a new thermostat and we could replace it ourselves - it is very simple to do. He said we would not need to ship the item back.

So, when the thermostat started acting very strange, I sent an email. That was a few weeks ago, and I've never gotten a word of response from Cadco.

DH called them after I got no response, and talked to a woman who said our only option was to box the item up and ship it to them. They would check it out, and IF they determined it was a warranty issue, they would repair it and we would pay to have it shipped back to us. No idea how long it would take . . . She did give us the name of the company we could order a new thermostat from, so at least we got that much info out of her.

The new thermostat costs slightly more than it would cost to ship the unit, and we would not have to wait, and the woman made it sound like they would do their best to prove we had abused the unit anyway. 

We ordered the part, and are still waiting to receive it. I'm seriously unhappy to pay almost $200 for a unit that didn't even last a year, and from what I've researched, probably didn't work right from Day 1.

Now I'm trying to find the threads where I recomended this unit so I can update on my experience.

Cathy


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