Finally bought myself a pressure canner. My friend Mike assisted with the test run. I read the manual step by step as he followed direction. Little bit of a control freak you see. Since one of our other friends nearly blew the side of his face off with one last summer (most likely alcohol induced) I decided to be real careful. The night before I read the manual from front to back, unusual for me. The test run was uneventful and I finally starting canning beets by about 6 o'clock that evening. Big mistake there! Had I known how long it takes to get the canner to pressure, cook time, and cool/pressure release this would have been a project to start earlier than later. Needless to say I was up until 2 am with still 5 quarts to go. They were froze instead. Put up 14 quarts, 19 counting the frozen beets. I have some carrots to do next and might try and make some apple sauce. I am happy to finally own one. The canning opportunities are now unlimited! :) Thanks Maine Man for the birthday moola!
Woo Hoo! Congrats on your first run! I got mine last Christmas as a gift from my DH (does he know me or what!) and that first run is terrifying.
ReplyDeleteJudy
The first time is always the scariest but after thirty years of pressure canning everything from tomatoes to meat to milk to kidney beans, I'm still a little nervous about the pressure canner. Kind of pathetic when you think that some years I've water bathed and pressure canned five hundred jars or more. I should be comfortable by now but the thoughts of the lid blowing off the pressure canner keeps me vigilant at watching the dial. If I were you, I'd water bath your applesauce. It will take half the time. The canning tool like a Victoria Strainer saves a ton of time if you make very much applesauce as you cut your apples in half, cook them until they soften, then run them through the machine and the skin, core, and seeds come out one way and the applesauce all ground comes out the other. Its awesome that your canning your own food. It always tastes so much better.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I'm not the only one scared of a pressure canner. And I'm very glad to see it's worth getting over.
ReplyDeleteI'd been thinking of investing in one when I found one, brand new still in it's box in my parents basement. My mom is giving it to me before we're ready to start canning next year.
I wanted to can this year and was too scared. I did use a pressure cooker for the first time though, so maybe next year I'll step up and do the cannin' thing!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your pressure canner! Maybe one day I will have the courage to get one and use one. :)
ReplyDeleteHere are your words for the game(I was going to email you but I don't have your address):
Instant, Kidney, Purpose, Yellow, Sauce
Have fun!
YD
Pressure canning is sort of a scarey thought... but they are very handy, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteYou have the world at your fingertips now...or at least the garden!
ReplyDeleteThose mushroom pictures were very interesting. I like the different textures and colors they had.
ReplyDeleteI own a pressure cooker but am terrified to use it. My mother in law gave it to me. She used it with me in the kitchen one time and knew I was scared. So she told me to come real close and listen to the sounds it was making and she yelled and jumped to scare me and I thought I was going to die. I mean I hit the floor and everything. Needless to say it sits in the closet, lol. I wish I could get over my fear becaue I know you can do sooo much with them. She cooked chicken and baked potatoes in it while they were visiting.
Thanks for all your comments. I will be over to visit you all this weekend when I have more time to surf.
ReplyDeleteLate to comment, but I did want to say Congratulations on that first go with the pressure cooker! I had my first run this year as well, and it surely was a nerve-wracking experience. I agree with the others, doing applesauce by waterbath is much easier/faster. But for food where a waterbath is unsafe, it is definitely good to know that it can still be preserved.
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