Wow, I'm feeling a little silly as I sit down to write a post about my Canner!
For Christmas I went out on a whim and asked for a Pressure Canner, and I was very happy and surprised when I got it! It took a few conversations to convince my husband ( like why I would need that versus my hot water bath pot, safety, and what could I can).
So... here it is September, 9 months later that I am typing up my first Canning Post. Sigh.
Last year, I got this crazy idea in my head to buy a pressure canner.
When I finally got the guts to get one, my husband purchased it for Christmas for me.
I did a lot of online research about my canner, because honestly, I don't know anyone who cans with one, owns one etc. So I went with this one, because of the overpressure plug, the weight and the gauge. Three devices to keep the pressure in check and safe.
So when it arrived (and after the holidays) I was itching to get canning but in January there was nothing in the garden waiting to canned.
One night after we had chicken, I decided to attempt broth making. With manual in hand, I went slowly step by step and something just wasn't right. So I turned off my stove walked away and tried again the next day.
The following day, the canner still wasn't right. It wasn't building any pressure on my gauge. So I showed my husband and we suspected the gauge was bad. A little upset and defeated, I contacted the company and within a day or two a new gauge was here, and my husband switched it out in minutes.
So I threw out the broth to be safe. And needed to see what else I could attempt.
After seeing potatoes on sale, I decided to look up a recipe, and give it a try. And boy were we happy! Best way to do potatoes! Peel, cut, fill the jars, add some water, salt, put your tops on and into the canner they went. That was it! The potatoes canned while they cooked! I was able to can 15 lbs of potatoes into 7 quart jars. Which worked out to be the perfect amount of potatoes for one meal for our family of five. Just open the jar, strain them and reheat! Such a time saver during the week!
Even though we had the gauge hiccup, it all worked out.
My pantry is full!
*Note: My pantry has items that are pressure canned and hot water bath canned. So even if you do not have a pressure canner you can still stock your pantry!*
Congratulations! I've got several recipes on my blog thefarmhouseinthefield.com for pressure canning. It's a lot of fun and very addictive. Don't be afraid of it, it's got a learning curve like anything but soon you'll be an old pro with lots of canned goods to show for it. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteStacey- I've since canned quite a bit with my pressure canner. It was just ironic that I finally had the guts to use it and the gauge was bad! And thanks for sharing your blog! I'll be checking recipes soon!
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