Hi Everybody - Bunches of Questions

[YYY]

Hi Everybody,

 

I’m YYY. I’m new. I’ve lurked for a very long time.

 

I’ve been interested in canning for years and until last Monday, I had never canned anything. You all inspired me to try. In the last month, I’ve found a water bath canner , 2 dozen wide mouth pint sized jars, 1 dozen new ½ pint regular mouth jars with lids and rings, 1 dozen wide mouth quart size jars, 6 quart size regular mouth jars and 3 boxes of regular rings and lids, and 3 boxes of wide mouth rings and lids. All for a grand total of about $20. Yeah !!

 

I have lots of questions. I hope you don’t mind.

 

1. The rack had hard water deposits. I boiled the canner with the rack in it with about 2 cups of white vinegar and enough water to be about 2 inches above the rack. The rack is much better now. Even with boiling in vinegar water, the rack still has a dull finish. Should it be shiny? Are there any other suggestions on what I could have done?

2. I have an electric stove and the canner bottom has “indented rings” around it. (I hope “indented rings” makes sense.) I read somewhere, maybe here, that for electric stoves, the bottom should be smooth. Will these rings make anything I can, unsafe to eat?

3. The canner needed a good scrubbing – which I did. I found that there are 3 lightly rusted spots in the bottom of the pot on the rings (1 about the width of a quarter and 2 about the width of a nickel. I tried scrubbing them out, but no luck. Will this amount of rust cause whatever I can to be unsafe?

4. The canner is about 3 - 4 inches WIDER than the largest burner on my stove. Is this OK?

5. Must the jars be the same size when I can? In other words, can I “boil” the ½ pint AND the quart size jars at the same time?

6. If I ever get to the point that I want to get a pressure canner, will I still need the water bath canner. In other words, is it OK to also use a pressure canner as a water bath canner?

7. I like the idea of having canned food that’s ready to eat. Is it OK to can previously cooked foods like stew or spaghetti or whatever? If so, should I use a water bath canner or pressure canner?

8. What are the easiest AND tastiest things I should try as a beginner? (with my water bath canner)

 

I’d like to answer YES to 2 questions in advance. (a) YES, I do have a Ball Blue Book, and ( YES, I did call my local extension office – Not much help there.

 

Whew !!! That’s a lot of questions and comments – for now. I hope you all can help me.

 

Thanks so much for any and all suggestions.

 

YYY

[Darlene]

Welcome to MrsSurvival, YYY, and welcome to the exciting world of canning! I'm so proud of you taking the plunge into something you've never done before that will be so rewarding for you. I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability and I'm sure the others will be around later to put their 2 cents in too.

 

1. That was a great idea to boil the rack in the water and vinegar...it's a sure fire way of helping to remove the minerals and deposits from water that are left behind. As with all cooking items, over time, they lose their *new, bright and shiny* look and begin to take on that loved and well known *I've been around the block a few times* look. When I look inside my canners and see the rings around the inside of the pot, it brings back memories of all the canning I've done over the years, but in no way shape or form adversely effects the quality of the canning.

 

2. Are you talking about a water bath canner or a pressure canner? To me, the ridges on the bottom of the canner, if either type is brought up to pressure or to a proper boiling point, and processed for the correct amount of time, should not adversely effect your canned product.

 

3. Perhaps one of the ladies will have an idea on how to remove those rust circles, but to me, if you have a pressure canner, your canned products contained in glass jars would be fine. If it's a water bath canner, to me they'd be fine also.

 

4. IF you either bring up to pressure and/or to boiling (still don't know if this is a pressure or water bath canner) and process for the correct amount of time and/or pressure, then your foods will be fine. You're secondary confirmation of that will be a securely sealed jar once they've cooled.

 

5. In water bath canning, generally speaking, I mix pint jars with 1/2 pint jars to process in boiling water. They are recommended to be processed for the same amount of time, so I've never had a problem with it. In pressure canning, it depends on what exactly I'm canning as to whether I'll mix the pint jars with the quart jars.

 

6. I think that question answers all the above ones about whether you were talking about a pressure or water bath canner lol. YESSSSSSSSSSS keep your water bath canner even if you get a pressure canner...and yes, you can water bath in your pressure one also.

 

7. I'm sorry, it's late and I'm not sure I'm understanding this question, so bear with me. Are you asking about canning leftovers? If so, depending on what type of food it is, for the most part they'll need to be pressure canned. For me, about the only things I water bath can are jams, jellies and some fruits. It has to do with acid levels of the different ingredients.

 

8. My suggestion would be to start out canning jams and jellies...they're fun, they're easy and they're sooooooooooooooooo pretty. Depending on what is in season for you, you can also waterbath jars of fruits in sugar syrups. I don't know if peaches are still around, or if y'all are heading towards your apple season but the opportunities are limitless!

 

I hope this helps clarify a few things...others will be around soon to add to it, and if we confuse you at all, please feel comfortable asking us to clarify.

 

I'm really excited you you've joined MrsS and I'm thrilled you're going to home can!

[Granny]

[YYY]

Darlene and Granny,

 

I'm sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. I normally check in at night.

 

Anyway, thanks to both of you. I really appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions in depth.

 

I canned 2 pints of tomatoes last Monday (a lot huh). I THINK everything went OK. I've been wanting to open one of them to make sure they're good, but I think I'll wait a little longer to make sure. One of them popped at the beginning of processing and then both popped afterwards. How will I know they're OK to eat?

 

Once again, thank you, Darlene and Granny, for your answers.

 

YYY

[Darlene]

If the lids have sunk in, and when you press on the top center of them, as long as they don't move back and forth, then you have a solid seal. The other sure fire way is to smell it. If you've ever had rotten tomatoes, then you'll know that they put out a definite spoiled smell...the liquid in the jars will get all cloudy and it might even be a little foamy. Not to worry, it's pretty easy to know when it's bad.

[YYY]

Thanks again, Darlene.

 

YYY