Violet

Sorry, no, tea is not safe to can. High ph level. No way to figure out a safe processing time. I have been asked this a lot of times.

We told you it was something you could do !! What is next on your list to can ?

Glad you ordered the canner. It is the best deal around in my opinion.

Wish I was physically able to can right now. One of the recipes I want to use is the green, red pepper relish with onions. It is sweet and good ! From Small Batch preserving by Ellie Topps.

I want to make sugar free blueberry jam for myself. Then, I still have probably 35 lb. of dried pintos left.

Calcium Chloride. Same thing commercial industry uses. Now available for home preserving. By Ball named Pickle Crisp.

Not sure that is enough or not. I used the same amount for pickles in my potatoes. It does work.

Wow, that is expensive asparagus. I paid $1.38 for mine and it was local. It is still $1.48 now.

I got some blanching pots on Amazon for my classes. They were about $42 each. Stainless with a glass lid.

Good luck on your hunt !

We are the same height. Not only the bolts on it, but I cannot even lift the AA canner empty. They are heavy.

No need to test the dial if you are getting the weight set. At that point the dial will just plug the hole. You will see if the dial is accurate when the 10 lb. weight jiggles. If the dial is just over 10 or at 11 lb. that is right. Do you live at 1,000 ft. elevation or less ? If so, you use the 10 lb. weight.

No blanching pots there ? I find them here. Usually the blue speckled ones in the thrift stores.

Can you get the Presto cheaper than the $82.99 ? That is a good price.

I hear the Amish sell Clear Jel cheaper. It would be fun to go with you !

You don't have to watch that dial if you go by the weights. It is just the same as using the Mirro you have otherwise.

Other than Presto will rock the entire time and the others are so many jiggles per minute. I like the constant rocking so I know it is working fine. I can be at the sink washing dishes or whatever and just listen to it.

I don't like messing with the All American bolts. It is hard being short and plus it is hot and hard to undo when the thing is so hot.

Give me my Prestos anyday. I have only gotten 1 new gasket for the oldest one in about 30 years. The other I have never had to get one for yet.

Here you can get a new Presto 22 qt. for $79 on sale. Right now Amazon has for $82.99 free shipping. Here we have to pay 8% sales tax. So, that is a great deal. Just need to order Presto part 50332 to get the weight set extra.

You mean the round weight on one ? Not the 3 piece one you can get for Presto.... The only round weighted one is Mirro. Don't buy one ! The new ones a junk. They have springs in the handles that keep wearing out. Then, you will be finding a harder time finding parts for any Mirro. I was told that my a gal that runs the canning dept. in a store where I teach. Mirro was bought out by some other company.

What is wrong with the Presto with the 3 piece weight set added on instead of the counterweight that comes with it ? You just buy the weight set extra for about $15. Leave the dial on, but then you rely on the weight instead of watching the dial the whole time.

So easy. It just rocks away the whole time. You can easily get Presto replacement parts so far. That is my favorite way and favorite canners.

The only other brand is All American, and they will be very expensive, and have those big bolts you tighten down. Metal to metal seal. They also have a dial and weights. The weight is round, but I really see no advantage.

You want a 22 or 23 qt size canner to stack that many pints.

This is a very common thing newbies try. Don't fret. Just get a current Ball Blue Book and/or a So Easy to Preserve from the Univ. of Georgia and use the tested recipes. Those are the 2 most trusted ones. Many books and advice people post online are just things people have made up.

Unless things are tested in labs, there is no way to insure they are safe unless you have food preservation safety training.

They test the foods in labs before it is canned. Then, months later, then even longer than that. Foods can and do change ph as they sit. Some things, like the bread, eggs, milk, etc. are just known givens that are unsafe to add.

You can take a free basic online course from the University of Georgia.

Then, the info from their book is on line there, too.

It is the NCHFP.

Please, if those jars were canned more than 24 hours ago, then toss the food, jars and all. Do not open them in case botulism has grown in them. You don't want to risk exposing yourself.

After 24 hours it is possible that enough of the spores can grow to become the toxin. It can grow really rapid in a sealed jar, as that is how botulism grows. In the absence of air, in a sealed jar.

You will learn. Don't give up ! If you have questions, then please send me a pm or post on here so I can help you before you can something you are unsure about. I am happy to help !

If you had any bread, oatmeal, crackers,, eggs, milk, etc. the meatballs will not be safe to can. Also, it will make a difference what kind of sauce you put in there. You must use tested recipes and methods with all the foods being processed.

Wow ! That is for rich people to pay those prices for chicken !! I can buy an entire cooked deli chicken for $5, sometimes a few cents less. That is with them doing the cooking !

Here I get boneless skinless breast meat for $1.88 a lb. Legs and thighs, with bone and skin, is about $1.29. Sometimes less on sale. It has gone up in price recently.

I think the seasoned ground beef we canned yesterday would be good in tacos. The recipe from Ball Blue Book. Has tomato juice, onion, garlic, seasoning salt, black pepper.

You can also make little meatballs and can them if you don't want really fine ground meat. It still does have a different texture, though, I agree.

I need to can more dried beans. I still have at least 30 lb. or more.

You do not have to boil it for 10 min. That used to be what was taught . Now we teach if you canned it properly, then it is safe. We eat it right from the jar. No need to boil it.

Looks good to me.

You can at 11 lb. pressure with a dial gauge, not 10, in case you didn't know. So, you need to bump it up to 12 lb. for your proper pressure.

Lindals, if it is a dial gauge you must get it tested before use. It may not be accurate even new out of the box. If you use it and it is off your food may be underprocessed. Meaning you would have to toss the food and jars without opening them to insure you did not get botulism.

Please, get it tested if it is a dial gauge. Your local county extension office is where to call and ask if they do the testing.

I know the safety of tea. I teach food preservation and food safety as a profession. I am trained in all USDA methods of food preservation and food storage .

My boss got very, very ill from drinking iced tea at a function. She was ill for days. That is one way I have evidence it does happen. The health dept. did trace it to the iced tea. We have other reports of illnesses from iced tea. It is leaving it unrefrigerated that is the issue.

No, sun tea is not sweetened ahead of time.

I am sorry we do not agree on the safety of tea and leaving it unrefrigerated .

I am sorry, but this is still not a safe thing to do. Tea left out at room temperature like that will grow bacteria and can make you very sick. Happened to my boss at a function. She was so ill for days. Leaving it at room temp that long is a problem. Tea should be kept on ice or in the fridge, not on the counter unrefrigerated. We teach it is the same as any other food, no more than 2 hours. After that, throw it out.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/06/did-you-know-iced-tea-safety/

When people read a person's food safety information, you are libel when posting information if someone gets ill from following your recommendations. You can be taken to court and sued. Please, everyone, when posting something be sure it is safe, current, and up to date.

No, of course canning cheese is NOT safe. Wait until they start suing her when someone dies of botulism or is paralyzed from her posting this.

Wishing you a great birthday and another year of blessings.

You MUST acidify ALL tomatoes whether in a pressure canner or boiling water bath canner. The times in each of them is equal in the manner in which botulism is destroyed. If acid were not added, then the tomatoes would be processed so long you would not want to even eat them. There is absoloutely no way to determine just how long that would be.

I have discussed this via email with Elizabeth Andress from the University of Georgia, plus live on a webinar. She is the lady who wrote the USDA guides to safe food preservation.

There are only a few exceptions where acid is not called for. I know the spaghetti sauce is one, but the thickness makes a difference in canning methods, as well.

There are some tomato products that are safe in the boiling water bath canner, many are not. Stewed tomatoes must be pressure canned, for example. However, just plain tomatoes in jars with the proper acid added takes 85 min. in a BWB canner. That is a long time, so I do all mine in the pressure canner.

It is all a science as to how thick the food is, the size of the pieces in a jar, if other ingredients are added, if the food is packed raw or hot. Also, many people argue it is safe to use Clear jel to thicken salsa or other tomato foods before canning. It is NOT safe to ever thicken any tomato product before preserving.

The foods are tested and retested in labs to determine what times and methods will destroy botulism. The foods are tested at many different stages, both before and after preserving. They are tested months later, too, to insure the time and methods were correct.

Not following safe current methods is like playing Russian Roulette. There are reasons why each step is part of the safety in preserving foods.

I suggest every person who is canning at home to at least take the free online course from the University of Georgia.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_crushed.html

Jeepers, you may still get some separation, but using the crushed tomato method I find is the best. Not only do they seem to come out the same as ones you cut up, the processing time is less. I use the pressure canner for mine. You still must always use the bottled lemon juice even when using the PC, but I sure prefer this method.

Yes, if you heat the tomatoes first that should work for you, Andrea.

Thanks ! What a nice resource to have.

The only issue is if you do them raw the product will seperate due to the pectin being broken down. You heat tomatoes as fast as possible, crushing them, then you juice them after cooking for 5 min. That helps hold the product together with the natural pectin in the tomatoes.

When I asked Elizabeth Andress from Univ. of Georgia about canning liver, she said it was not safe to can. Something about the density of it. I wish I could remember what she said about it !

I taught a class yesterday at the Food Bank and the gals canned 29 quarts of applesauce. Only one had not sealed when I left yesterday.

Yes, remove the skins.