View Full Version : Canning versus freezing
I have a freezer that I keep fairly well stocked, and I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to add canning to my food storage efforts. I don't have a garden (yet) so I need to purchase whatever food I would be canning, though I would need to do that for freezing anyway. I would also have to buy or otherwise get all the canning supplies. It's something I've been wanting to try, but it seems like a pretty big investment in supplies, learning a new skill, and time to actually do the canning (plus cleanup afterward). I'm specifically interested in spaghetti sauce and salsas/relishes to start with. Any advice?
Tussiemussies
8-15-12, 11:52pm
Hi Jill,
If you do decide to can, I would recommend "The Blue Ball Canning" book. It comes out once a year and you can trust the recipes. It is very important to have trustworthy recipes since you could get into trouble otherwise.. This book also gives step-by-step instructions in how to properly can.
I only ever use this book and one other book I have. I don't use recipes from anyone else...
As far as start up costs go it is an investment that you will have for years...
The first things I canned were spaghetti sauce, salsa and apple butter and they came out great! You'll be able to learn it quickly but you use do every step perfectly as the book says, unfortunately there is no improvising...
The reference book is different every year with their recipes so it is good to collect them. :) christine
Canning is so much fun, plus they make awesome holiday gifts. Here's what I am making & canning tomorrow, as it's raining figs in my backyard:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Drunken-Fig-Jam-350120
If you do decide to can, I would recommend "The Blue Ball Canning" book. It comes out once a year and you can trust the recipes. It is very important to have trustworthy recipes since you could get into trouble otherwise.. This book also gives step-by-step instructions in how to properly can.
This is the week of our "big" county fair. The Blue Ball book is the bible everyone uses for the preserves for the competitions, and is essentially required for the 4H participants to use. You can't go wrong.
This is the week of our "big" county fair. The Blue Ball book is the bible everyone uses for the preserves for the competitions, and is essentially required for the 4H participants to use. You can't go wrong.
I came sooo close to jetting up for the SJC Fair. Best one around. One year I entered cannd grape leaves in brine... I was usually able to finance my four days there with blue ribbon prize $$.
You going?
I came sooo close to jetting up for the SJC Fair. Best one around. One year I entered cannd grape leaves in brine... I was usually able to finance my four days there with blue ribbon prize $$.
You going?
I've been there off-and-on setting up all week :-) We usually park the boat over in Friday Harbor and most of us stay over, while one commutes by foot to take care of the critters remaining back here.
Wildflower
8-16-12, 4:04am
I froze tomatoes from my own veggie garden last year. Much easier than canning and I was happy with the results.
We made meat spaghetti sauce and froze some and pressure canned some. Check to make certain that you can water bath "can" sauce because tomatoes vary in acidity. Love opening a jar when I'm in a hurry. We also don't mind defrosting a sauce block when we have time. I dole out sauce into 3 cup ziplock square containers, freeze 'em and then pop them out and put them into a very large bag in the freezer. We've lost power and don't have a generator (grrrrrr) so I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket as they say. I can't help thinking about the the Pointer Sisters sing yes, you can can..
Let me mention as alternatives: dehydration and lactofermentation. I do freeze and can as well, but am getting tired of boiling jars in hot humid August. I've been dehydrating a lot of zucchini this year to add to later baked goods and chili/soups The dehydrated form takes up a whole lot less room. After I dehydrate the shredded zucchini, I put it into a mason jar and vacuum seal it to keep the moisture and critters out. (This was a $20 attachment to a regular vacuum sealer that you see everywhere).
I just learned how to lactoferment over the weekend, and have already made pickles, a cucumber relish and a carrot relish. You don't need to boil jars, and you can make product right in the jars (I thought you had to have big crocks for this). You do need to keep the product in the frig after its done (usually 1-3 days) or in a root cellar if you have one. I'm liking this because I can do one jar at a time, as I have produce, instead of waiting til I have a whole bunch to make 6 jars of something. Plus, this is adding natural pro biotics to your diet (I usually take a supplement in the fall to help ward off colds). The recipes I have came from the book Nourishing Traditions, and use whey (the liquid stuff that drains from your yogurt) as the innoculant to guarantee you will have the right bacteria. You can keep produce for a year (or longer) this way- if you do happen to lose power the worst that will happen is that fermentation will start up again and the product will be a bit more sour, though still edible.
We both can and freeze. As far as supplies, I would suggest that you post info somewhere that you are looking for supplies and you will find that there are quite a few people who are waiting to find a new home for their bottles and canning equipment.
May I sugggest that you get a really good (Wearever or similar) pressure canner which can be used both for pressure canning and water bath.
Shop around for prices on snap lids. They really seem to vary and when you use them makes sure that you boil them as recommended prior to sealing the bottles.
Another thing some people like to do is blanch and freeze the tomatoes from their garden when they are ripening at a high rate. Then when it is cooler and you actually want to heat up the kitchen, make the sauce and salsa and can it.
For this year, I'd get the supplies and then bit by bit buy enough produce to make one batch of each thing you are interested in. That way you can find out if you like the recipe. Beyond the one test batch of each recipe, can things as plain as possible as they can be used for more different things.
Also to avoid awkward situations, ask for the Ball Blue book with the words in that order and not the reverse. :)
In the future, if you hope to do both a lot of gardening and a lot of food preservation, try to set your garden up so that you have a steady supply of diverse fresh food, a lot of things that need minimal processing for preservation(such as squash, storate onions, flour corn, dry beans), and a reasonable amount of things that need canning. Try to select a goodly number of things where the majority of the processing can be delayed into the winter. For example if you grow corn to grind for flour, you can dry the corn on the cob and then in the late fall or winter you can take the dried kernals off the cob. This way you can shift quite a bit of the preservation processing to a slower part of the year. In any case, don't can more of an item than can be eaten by the end of two years.
When you are canning a lot from a garden, it is good to work in groups so that you will have a new batch ready to go each time a canner is available. Usually 4-6 people can harvest and prep food at a rate that keeps 2 canners going for most of a day. About 3/4 of the way through the day, you will only need one person to finish loading and unloading the canner and doing the last bit of cleanup. Usually only 2 canners can be fit on a normal sized household stove top. Avoid canning on a solid top stove as it ruins the stove.
If multiple families are canning, it is good to rotate from house to house, but if instead you bring all the produce to one location, wait 24 hours to move your canned goods back home to insure they seal properly.
One you have everything canned, make a chart that shows how many of each thing you need to eat each week to get at least one years worth gone by the time next year's crop will be ready. Each week bring those canned goods from the storage area to your kitchen. Make plans for which days each item will be eaten.
I freeze tomatoes too. What a revelation! I just plop them straight from the vine to a freezer bag. They are a cinch to peel once frozen. I used to can tomatoes to use in soups, casseroles, stews, etc. I haven't noticed a big difference in texture or flavor with frozen tomatoes.
I do still can though. I do big batches of applesauce in the fall. I also make pickled things (beets, beans, cukes, etc.) and make enough jams for the year.
treehugger
8-16-12, 12:04pm
This is a very timely thread, Jill. I have recently decided to tackle learning to can as my new cooking "frontier." My last one was yeast bread, and I have gotten pretty good at that.
I have starting doing my reading and research, and I think I need a pressure canner, since I am most interested in canning marinara sauce and salsa. I make large batches of marinara sauce now and freeze it it 32 oz. yogurt containers, which works pretty well, but my freezer space is limited, and the defrosting takes time. I also worry about power outages and the freezer. So, canning seems like the next step for me.
We go through a lot of salsa, and it would save money to make it myself. I do make some every summer, but its fridge life is short (which restricts the quantity I can make) and I tried freezing it and didn't care for the post-freezer texture.
I also make applesauce every fall and freeze it, which is fine, but I would like to can that, too (I know this only needs water bath, not pressure canner). I am less interested in jam and canned vegetables, but it would be nice to know how and have the tools to can things if large quantities of produce came my way, which happens sometimes.
Some links I have bookmarked for further reading:
http://nchfp.uga.edu/
http://www.punkdomestics.com/
http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/oamc-homecanning-freezing-preserving/3031-great-site-canning.html
Looking forward to more discussion about this.
Kara
Thank you for all the replies! I'm going to check whether the local library has the Ball canning book - it sounds like a really good resource. I grew up watching my mom do huge canning operations in the basement every year, with the huge canning pots on the stove, buckets of veggies in the laundry tubs, and shelves and shelves of jars, so it's a little intimidating to think of doing it myself in my little kitchen - we don't even have a basement. But from the sound of it, it can be done in stages so I think I'll try it if I can get all the equipment rounded up. I think I'll try Freecycle for that, and maybe the dandy dime too. we don't eat onions in my household, which makes it really difficult to buy any kind of sauces or salsas because they all have it.
From what I'm reading, it sounds like a pressure canner is the way to go?
I grew up watching my mom do huge canning operations in the basement every year, with the huge canning pots on the stove, buckets of veggies in the laundry tubs, and shelves and shelves of jars, so it's a little intimidating to think of doing it myself in my little kitchen
A good friend of mine is a perennial ribbon-winner at the State Fair -- mostly jams/jellies and pickled vegetables, but some juices and such. She usually submits 20 entries a year. Her kitchen is the same size as everyone else's -- not huge. And she's not canning two dozen of each kind of jelly or pickle, either -- unless she wants to. Many times she makes only 4-6 jars (how much apple jelly can a person get through in a year or two? :sick:). For the jams/jellies/etc., she is a big fan of the Ball Flex Batch pectin -- you don't have to make a whole big batch; just what you want.
From what I'm reading, it sounds like a pressure canner is the way to go?
Definitely, for the sake of safety when not preserving high-acid foods. n.b., a big pressure cooker is not the same thing. While some pressure canners also can serve as pressure cookers, not all pressure cookers are pressure canners.
I've not tried canning so far. But our freezer seems perpetually jammed up with stuff so I've been casually thinking for a while now that canning might be the next logical step in my food preservation efforts. We don't currently garden, but each week's CSA box is bounteous, not too mention that the farmer often offer chances to buy bulk tomatoes and whatnot, and I'm disappointed at the fact that we don't finish all of it, yet in winter we could be eating it up if it had been preserved.
I'll have to follow the suggestions for newbies above as far as the Blue Ball Book, etc. As far as pressure canners go, does anyone have recommendations? If I'm going to tackle learning a new skill/developing a new hobby I'm not against spending money on decent equipment to make the task as easy/enjoyable as is realistically possible.
Don't forget when you open a jar of canned goods that a plastic or white mayonnaise lid is a perfect fit! Do not buy those lids when you are probably recycling them!
I If I'm going to tackle learning a new skill/developing a new hobby I'm not against spending money on decent equipment to make the task as easy/enjoyable as is realistically possible.
I agree. I also want something that will last many years so I'm willing to make the investment. If it turns out to be something I don't stick with, then it can last many years for somebody else. What would be a good brand to get?
try2bfrugal
8-17-12, 11:54am
Besides my regular side by side freezer and fridge, I have an stand alone chest freezer for stocking up and a separate mini-fridge that serves as my faux root cellar. I used to use a dehydrator but gave it away when I had less time. I just got a new to me dehydrator at the thrift shop for $8 so that is one of my next projects. I have not tried canning since I'm basically lazy and freezing seems like less work.
treehugger
8-17-12, 12:05pm
I agree. I also want something that will last many years so I'm willing to make the investment. If it turns out to be something I don't stick with, then it can last many years for somebody else. What would be a good brand to get?
This is not a personal recommendation in any way, since I don't even have one yet, but I have seen this one mentioned a lot of times as the ne plus ultra of pressure canners: All-American Pressure Canner (http://www.amazon.com/All-American-921-2-Quart-Pressure/dp/B00004S88Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345219445&sr=8-1&keywords=american+pressure+canner). The Presto brand is quite a bit cheaper, but the All-American has a zillion positive reviews for performance and durability.
Kara
Blackdog Lin
8-17-12, 7:05pm
We've been hot-water-bath canning for years (pickles and salsa); this was our first year to try pressure canning. We followed the recommendations to just spend the money and invest in the All American pressure canner. I have nothing to compare it to, as this is our first pressure canner, but we're entirely happy with her and the quality is very evident.
DH seemed scared to death of it when trying it for the first time in June - now at the end of summer he has it down to a science. It's really not any harder to do than hot-water-bath, just different. And it has really opened up what we can do in the way of preserving our garden produce (we have rows of pretty jars of homegrown green beans ready to just open and heat, instead of having to think ahead and thaw frozen ones).
I'm still tickled at him, in that when the tomatoes first came on, he told me he was still going to hot-water-bath can his salsa, "cause it's always worked fine before and I see no need to try something else". Next thing I know all of our homemade salsa is going into the pressure canner. Guess he did get totally comfortable using the pressure canner. :)
treehugger
8-17-12, 7:16pm
That's a great review of that All-American canner, Blackdog. What size did you get?
Btw, I'm reading this really great blog right now: Food in Jars (http://www.foodinjars.com/)
Kara
I have no experience with pressure canners, but I know the company that made my pressure cooker -- Fagor -- makes a 10-quart pressure cooker/canner. Fagor has a good reputation for pressure cookers and I'd be pretty comfortable with buying one they labeled as a pressure canner.
I think we've all heard the horror stories about steaming-hot food shooting out of an over-pressured cooker. My mom had one when we were growing up -- one of those Presto/Mirro types that spit steam and made lots of noise while it was working. So I have to admit it took me a little while to get comfortable with using my Fagor, but it is one of the most-used appliances in my kitchen now.
happystuff
8-18-12, 8:44pm
I love canning, but don't do very much of it any more. (Still hope to start up again down the road). I ditto dehydrating and use all of my canning jars, lids and rings for the food I dehydrate. I don't vaccum seal my dehydrated foods, as long-term storage only needs to be "air tight". I don't think I freeze as much as most folks seem to, although I'm hoping to start freeze more meals again.
Good luck with your canning! It's great fun! The "ping" of sealing lids is like music - lol.
Blackdog Lin
8-19-12, 7:15pm
Kara - we got the 921, I THINK it's the next-to-biggest one they make. It will process 7 quarts at a time, or 19 pints, double-stacked. She's heavy, but not so heavy that even I can't lug it from the stove to the sink to dump the water out of it.
I know many people prefer to process smaller amounts of produce at a time; but in our house we're both in agreement that if we're gonna go to all the trouble and mess (with our salsa, for example) to dunk and peel and core the tomatoes, and clean and chop the onions and peppers and garlic and get out all the seasonings, and cook and stir and dip out all the "tomato water" etc.....we prefer to do a larger batch, and then not have to mess with it for another week, you know? It's kind of a labor of love for us. That's why we got the larger 921. This size wouldn't be appropriate for everybody.
A smart thing I think we did for our first try too was not getting in a hurry. (I have to tell you, DH was NOT in favor of getting into pressure-canning. I think his mother traumatized him with her pressure-cooking back in the '60s). :) We got the canner out and set up and looked-over, but well ahead of any garden production. We spent 2 or 3 weeks reading the manual that came with it, along with 2 other books I had on food-preserving; and we talked about what we were reading, and highlighted passages, and questioned each other on what this or that meant. I think that DH having a good mental image and plan of what the process was going to be led to his initial success, which he built on that made it easier each time he's canned in the pressure canner.
frugal-one
8-21-12, 8:57pm
Well...... someone left the door open on the freezer and EVERYTHING is gone! Of course it was during the hottest days of summer.... a plus side of canning!
treehugger
8-21-12, 9:09pm
I know many people prefer to process smaller amounts of produce at a time; but in our house we're both in agreement that if we're gonna go to all the trouble and mess...we prefer to do a larger batch...
I completely agree. I prefer to do large-batch cooking for most things, rather than cook smaller amounts more frequently. That just suits my style. So, I think the large canner is a good way to go.
A smart thing I think we did for our first try too was not getting in a hurry.
I am definitely in research mode now, and will ease into it. Especially considering pressure canning involves a start-up investment, I don't want to rush into anything. I am having lots of fun reading up on the topic. Thanks so much for sharing your newbie experiences.
Kara
OK, I hope this isn't a stupid question, but is it true that if you don't do the canning process correctly, your canned goods could become poisoned/infected with botulism? I always think about this when someone gives me home-made canned goods in jars. Especially if the person is not really the super-clean or detail-oriented type, I'm wondering whether they really actually boiled everything or whatever you are supposed to do!!! Is this silly and should I just stop worrying about this?
Tussiemussies
8-22-12, 5:13am
OK, I hope this isn't a stupid question, but is it true that if you don't do the canning process correctly, your canned goods could become poisoned/infected with botulism? I always think about this when someone gives me home-made canned goods in jars. Especially if the person is not really the super-clean or detail-oriented type, I'm wondering whether they really actually boiled everything or whatever you are supposed to do!!! Is this silly and should I just stop worrying about this?
Hi mamma latte, I feel the same way when people I don't know that well give me food items. If your in doubt-- throw it out, it's not worth getting sick over it.
Mamalatte Jams and jellies are boiled with lots of sugar and put into jars boiling hot, so IMHO the most serious problem you might get is mold. Pickles have such a high acidity that it's unlikely that any bacteria would grow in the liquid especially since that liquid is also boiled to bring everything into solution. I have a biology degree and there are some very practical things I've learned by acquiring it. Anything else in jars I would be suspicious of if I was unsure of the giver's cleanliness or processing skills.
small & friendly
8-22-12, 4:58pm
Well...... someone left the door open on the freezer and EVERYTHING is gone! Of course it was during the hottest days of summer.... a plus side of canning!
Oh, no! How awful.
:(
Well...... someone left the door open on the freezer and EVERYTHING is gone! Of course it was during the hottest days of summer.... a plus side of canning!
Oh no. That's horrible.
Hi mamma latte, I feel the same way when people I don't know that well give me food items. If your in doubt-- throw it out, it's not worth getting sick over it.
I hope no one throws out the home-canned food I give them! It's about 6 months in the making - from picking seeds in the catalog, starting seedlings, planting in the garden, weeding and caring for plants to harvesting, then several hours processing! The amount of time in each can is staggering - I'd urge you to refuse a can from someone rather than throwing it in the trash.
I ♥♥♥ canning - this year I've done salsa, bruschetta, zucchini relish, cucumber relish and blueberry jam. I'm planning pizza sauce for this weekend.
I would not recommend a pressure canner. Most food that benefits from canning - jams, condiments and tomato products, don't need to be pressure canned. Conversely, most produce that is pressure canned is as good or better when frozen. For example, why can beans when frozen is as good or better and easier to do?
Canning tomatoes and anything high-acid (jams, pickles, relishes) is FUN! You have to be careful and methodical but you don't have to sterilize everything in your kitchen. That's what the waterbath is for!
I used to do all-day, all-week mega canning, but now that it's just the two of us, and I do not have a large garden anymore, I just do small batch canning. I don't do anything which requires a pressure canner anymore, so am limited to fruit, preserves, jams, chutney (my fave), and the like. I like to go to the farmer's market or local farmers' stands and buy local produce in quantities that I can process in one morning or afternoon. I really recommend this book I bought at Powell's last year. If you are a canning newbie, or dabbler like me, you will love it. I like just doing 4-6 jars at a time. Doesn't feel so overwhelming and doesn't kill my energy.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Book-Small-Batch-Preserving/dp/1554072565
treehugger
9-7-12, 12:02pm
A friend is bringing me her never-used pressure canner on Saturday. I am so excited to get started! I got the book Food in Jars from the library and read it cover-to-cover. I really like her blog, too.
The reason that I think I want to do pressure canning (instead of, or in addition to water bath canning) is that I am primarily interested in canning pasta sauce, salsa, chili, and soup. Things that, currently I make in large batches and freeze. I know that some tomato sauces and salsas are OK to water bath can, but I also know that one has to stick with tested recipes and I want to use recipes I already know I like. The salsa recipes I have seen for water bath canning have vinegar, I don't care for vinegar in salsa. Plus, my husband is a kidney recipient and on anti-rejection meds, so we have to be EXTRA careful about bacteria and microbes, etc., since he has no immune system.
I don't care for pickles, and I can't see myself making a lot of jam, but that doesn't mean I won't explore water bath canning, too.
I agree with CatsNK, that it is much kinder to refuse a gift of homemade food if you intend to throw it out. I make a lot of food gifts (bread and other baked things) and while I am realistic enough to know that not all of it gets eaten, I would hope that friends who are too germaphobic to eat food prepared by others would just be honest enough to tell me.
Looking forward to my first canning adventure this weekend!!
Kara
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