Help with canning please!

lilawolf

In two weeks, I plan on having a canning party with 2 or 3 other ladies to make and can spaghetti sauce, salsa, and soup. None of us have ever done it before! I plan on getting lots of tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, onions, etc at the farmers market the day before to go in.

Plan:
Make a base out of:
Diced tomatoes, zucchini, carrot, onion, and garlic.

For salsa:
Take base and add spices and peppers

For spaghetti sauce:
Take base and add fresh basil then blend/food process and add diced mushrooms

For chicken soup:
Add a whole chicken, rice, celery, and spices to the base. Cook, debone, and skim.

For beef soup:
Add a roast, barley, celery, and spices to the base. Cook, shred, and skim (if needed)

Can everything. Any suggestions? Anything that wouldn't can well? What supplies do we need? Any idea of how many pounds of stuff? I'm thinking 30lbs of tomatoes, 20lbs of zucchini and onion etc to take care of 3-4 families. Anything else we should make while we are there?

Thanks!

Agate69

get a canning book. go on line, (google Ball canning) they have a terrific site and help line. Just remember when you are adding non acidic things to tomatoes, the rules for safe canning change. Canning non acidic foods with insufficient processing times or insufficient heat, can be serious or even deadly if botulism toxin forms in your home canned goods.

I hope someone in your group has experience. I can all the time and have for years, but salsa is difficult to maintain fresh texture, and spaggetti sauce with components other than tomatoes can be dangerous. I do can 40 - 50 quarts of tomatoes to use in spaggetti each season. The best thing I have found is to remove the skins from the tomatoes, remove seeds with a food mill, and cook down till desired consistency. Then I can using a pressure canning method, or add additional acid and use a water bath for recommended time and altitude.

Canning meat products is even more difficult. There is a reason why there is so much salt and preservatives in canned soup.

I can primarily fruit, (tomatoes are a fruit), jams, pickles. I have found good storage when I dehydrate things like vegetables.
But freezing is still the easiest. for mixed food products.

lilawolf

Hmmm... Looks like I definitely need to do my research. My coworker cans her own soups and brings them to work all of the time. I will have to ask her how she does it.

If it is too difficult I may go ahead and freeze, but I really need to buy a chest freezer which I wasn't planning on doing until my cow was fattened and butchered here in a couple of months...

Agate69

Botulism toxin is rare, but it only takes a little bit. I think the major problems are from vegetables that are grown beneath the dirt. Onions, carrots,

Other issues with canning, is molds that are found on vegetables, that cause a rapid deterioration of home canned goods.
Are you sure, your friend really cans soups, or does she freeze them in glass canning jars to avoid plastic containers. if you freeze in a canning jar, you can heat them in the same container.

jenny442

I second this response. I have been canning for years and most of what you are listing needs to be pressure canned. This means very specific timing based on altitude and ingredients. There are several yahoo groups devoted to this where you can get good info if you prefer not to buy a book.

And to fly in the face of what people traditionally figure, very few varieties of tomatoes can even be "boiling water bath" canned anymore without added acid, such as lemon juice. This is because other than some heirloom tomatoes, most have had too much of the acid bred out of them and it is no longer safe to can them any way other than under pressure.

All that said, I love to can & know what is in my food. Just be careful & follow the directions carefully!

whierd

Before you begin, start reading up on canning. It is fairly simply, but there are some basic steps that are very important. Also, ALWAYS follow a recipe and never deviate from it. Deviating from a recipe can change the acidity levels and make the product unsafe.

As suggested above, Ball makes a great canning book with tons of recipes.

quiltlovinlisa

Yup, pressure canner. The rule is, you find the ingredient that needs the most processing (highest pressure and time) and use THAT time for your mixed ingredient soups or sauces.

Always check seals after jars cool.

Store in cool dry place.

Plan on eating within a year.

When opening, always, check seal before opening to make sure it's stayed sealed, sniff contents, throw out anything that smells weird and bring to boil for ten minutes before eating.

Squamation

There are lots of different things you can boil can- no pressure cooker needed. Look them up and start there.

I would not try to can meats on a first attempt- It's very tricky to do.

[edit] Also canning takes FOREVER if you're doing large quantities. With everything you have listed be sure you've got the better part of a day to can, your list is going to take more than a few hours.

Otterluv

Yup, pressure canner. The rule is, you find the ingredient that needs the most processing (highest pressure and time) and use THAT time for your mixed ingredient soups or sauces.

Always check seals after jars cool.

Store in cool dry place.

Plan on eating within a year.

When opening, always, check seal before opening to make sure it's stayed sealed, sniff contents, throw out anything that smells weird and bring to boil for ten minutes before eating.

^^^ this is all true. I've canned soups, veggies, and tuna (yum!) before. It works fine, but carefully follow instructions set out by either your local extension service or the USDA on times and pressure. Elevation impacts the pressure needed.

SonyaDHerde

I think freezing all the items you listed may be more ideal for you. I freeze EVERYTHING! From left over stock to the rest of chipotle in adobo that didn't get used. If you use freezer bags and flatten them out, squeeze the air out, they don't take much space at all. Just my 2 cents

Agate69

I wonder if I will ever get tomatoes and zucchini this year. I am so behind on my canning.