Last night (after T's track meet) we had a Relief Society gathering to learn about a different approach to food storage. Since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, I think (well HOPE) most Americans have realized the importance of keeping some kind of "food stash" for an emergency. Our Church has preached this concept for... well... forever! We've had it beaten into our heads, and we know it's a good idea and even more than that we believe it's a commandment, but knowing it and doing it are two different things. I have quite a bit of food storage, but a lot of it is food we don't really eat. I have tons of dried milk... and I hate dried milk and coming up with recipes that need milk, but don't taste like they have "dried" milk in them is a challenge! All the stuff we do eat, we've already eaten and I've had to replace, like the rice, sugar and flour. But the real challenge has been how do you store meat long term??? We have a second freezer and I'm working on stocking it with all kinds of chicken, pork and beef.... but what if... and this is a frightening thought.... but what if Phoenix had a long term power crisis and I lost all my perishable food? It's a very real possibility, especially with the extreme heat we experience in the summer. Well... last night I learned how to bottle (in mason jars) chicken, ground beef and beans. You can also do pork or roast beef, too. It's suprisingly simple and easy to do and doesn't heat up your kitchen like bottling peaches or tomatoes in the water bath canners (like our mothers did when we were kids)... I have some "not so fond" memories of these "canning" days as a kid! So, someday (after I have found a quality pressure cooker for a reasonable price (see photo) - hopefully ebay will come through for this....) I'll be able to bottle my own chicken and ground beef... last night we sampled some ground beef that had been bottled already and we heat it up in a skillet and it was GREAT! A gal at our get together has tried bottled chicken and she says it tastes BETTER than the canned chicken you can buy at Costco or Sam's Club... now top that!!!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Canning Under Pressure
Last night (after T's track meet) we had a Relief Society gathering to learn about a different approach to food storage. Since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, I think (well HOPE) most Americans have realized the importance of keeping some kind of "food stash" for an emergency. Our Church has preached this concept for... well... forever! We've had it beaten into our heads, and we know it's a good idea and even more than that we believe it's a commandment, but knowing it and doing it are two different things. I have quite a bit of food storage, but a lot of it is food we don't really eat. I have tons of dried milk... and I hate dried milk and coming up with recipes that need milk, but don't taste like they have "dried" milk in them is a challenge! All the stuff we do eat, we've already eaten and I've had to replace, like the rice, sugar and flour. But the real challenge has been how do you store meat long term??? We have a second freezer and I'm working on stocking it with all kinds of chicken, pork and beef.... but what if... and this is a frightening thought.... but what if Phoenix had a long term power crisis and I lost all my perishable food? It's a very real possibility, especially with the extreme heat we experience in the summer. Well... last night I learned how to bottle (in mason jars) chicken, ground beef and beans. You can also do pork or roast beef, too. It's suprisingly simple and easy to do and doesn't heat up your kitchen like bottling peaches or tomatoes in the water bath canners (like our mothers did when we were kids)... I have some "not so fond" memories of these "canning" days as a kid! So, someday (after I have found a quality pressure cooker for a reasonable price (see photo) - hopefully ebay will come through for this....) I'll be able to bottle my own chicken and ground beef... last night we sampled some ground beef that had been bottled already and we heat it up in a skillet and it was GREAT! A gal at our get together has tried bottled chicken and she says it tastes BETTER than the canned chicken you can buy at Costco or Sam's Club... now top that!!!
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5 comments:
Okay - I HAVE a pressure cooker! How do you do it? I would love to know...
just caught up over here, totally lMBO at your PA blog.
nice hair and cool on the new kitchen aide/
Okay, we need some instructions, here...I will go buy a pressure cooker if I can bottle meat. I have been worrying about this same thing for a few months! Email me how to do it if you can!
Oh Christy, I loved canning and still do. There is nothing like fresh canned berry or apricot jam. You just have not so fond memories of canning because as a kid, you had to help. Once you start for your family, you will love it. I want to know if the meat canning works too. I've always been hesitant to try it. And who knows, maybe your kids will have some "fond memories" of helping you can too! Love ya, Mom
A word of advice -- get a quality cooker and follow the directions carefully. My family canned tuna for many years. It's a huge smelly mess but the result is like nothing else. It's no Starkist, let me tell you. We would usually have three cookers going at intervals. One year the lid of one was not attached correctly (we think) and one blew. If someone had been standing over that thing checking the gauge at the time, they would not have lived I'm sure. The contents of the cooker pulverized. This was at my mom's house in her garage. We did it in the garage because canning tuna does not smell so great. Mind you, my mom was THE tidiest and cleanest person I have ever known, and that puts it mildly. When those things exploded you could bearly find a piece of glass and there was tuna hanging from the rafters in the garage. Not pretty. It's worth it, believe me, but be CAREFUL!
Janine
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