The Great American Tradition of Canning: How Do I Do It?

What Is Canning Fruit and Vegetables All About?

Canning fruit and vegetables is one of those great traditions that has entered the memories of generations of families. There is something so rustic and enjoyable about those hours spent canning vegetable juice or canning fruit juices, and it's not just the knowledge that you will have the finest canned fruits and vegetables without the chemicals, preservatives and additives of commercial canning. And there is so much that can be canned, with asparagus, beans, carrots, peas, pumpkin and tomatoes being amongst the most popular. Plus, if you are canning juices, you do not need a special tomatoe canning juicer, a fresh fruit canner or canning juice extractors: you can use your current juicer, juice extractor or juice steamer (like the Mehu-Liisa juice steamer.)

What Canning Supplies Do I Need?

Canning is very easy and requires few canner supplies (check http://juicers.organic-knowledge.com/juicer-store.htm for great canning supplies). The two main items are the jars with lids and the canner. There are two types of canner: a Pressure Canner and a Water Bath Canner. Pressure Canners work at a higher heat are therefore better when used for low acid foods such as meat and poultry and vegetables like beans, corn and carrots. Water Bath Canners work at the boiling point of water and are good for high acid foods such as jellies and fruits. Canning is the process in which foods are placed in jars or cans and heated to a temperature that destroys microorganisms and inactivates enzymes.

How Do I Can Tomatoes, Fruits and Vegetables?

Prepare the food you are going to can by washing it first. Then peel, slice, pit or blend it as per your recipe. Remove skins, such as tomato skin, as the skins can become tough. Scalding should do the job. You can then make a choice of whether to hot pack or cold pack, again depending on the recipe. Hot packing is when the food is placed into the jar hot. The jar is then placed into the canner with boiling water to prevent the glass from breaking. With cold packing, the raw food is placed in the jar before being put into hot water in the canner. The water is then boiled. The jars are kept in the canner for the required amount of time, and that's it!

Canning Sounds Great Fun!

So, to recap, canning is a fun, safe method of food preservation that is even more enjoyable when done with friends or family. Canning is a bit more work than freezing, but once done, all you need to do is store it. And it doesn't need thawing and cooking to eat. The equipment is cheap to buy and operate, and you really don't need much in the way of supplies. Home canning is a healthy way to fill your pantry with home cooked, preservative-free recipes such as soups, vegetables, baby food and so much.

This article was written by Piers Crispin, a writer on consumer affairs. Please visit juicers.organic-knowledge.com for more information on Juice Extractors, or to purchase Canning Supplies or Juicers.

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Pressure Cooker Canner - Where to Find a Great Deal

Are you looking for a great pressure cooker canner on sale? You are surely not the only one. Lots of people are now searching online for great prices on canners, and that is I why I wrote this article about getting you the best deal on this handy home appliance.

What is so great about the Pressure cooker canner?

Imagine coming home on a cold winter day. Perhaps you're back from work, or back from a lovely walk outside. You are hungry, but you don't feel like cooking.

Good news. You do not have to cook today, or tomorrow, or the next day! Imagine that you already have all kinds of great tasting food in the house, ready to be eaten straight away, after a little heating up.

How could this be so? Because earlier in the year you have canned your food and as if by magic kept the fresh and beautifully tasting food stored in such a way that it keeps that fantastic flavour for months on end. And it doesn't go off!

Here are 3 major reasons why a pressure cooker canner is so popular for so many people:

Food canned at home is much cheaper and tastier than canned food from shops;
The home canned food is healthier than canned food from the shop, as there are no additives or chemicals added to it;
It is possible to preserve seasonal food for much longer. e.g. you don't have to throw away your freshly harvested fruit and vegetables any longer as canning them will keep them perfect for ages. Or, if you see a cheap deal on meat in your shop, you can buy lots of it, and store it later use (yes, that can be canned too!)

So how do you find a great deal on a pressure cooker canner?

You can buy the canners in various stores, including online. Some of them have discounts, some might have coupons, and some have low prices in general. Also, free shipping is often included.

You need to know where to find the right stores to get your best deal. And the easiest way to do this is to find someone who has already done all that research for you.

So to find the best deal on a pressure cooker canner, such as the All-American pressure cooker canner, visit this pressure cooker canner site today.

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If Pressure Cooking is So Great, Why Don't I See Them on the Cooking Channels?

Despite the fact that no one can really pinpoint when or where they heard the story of the exploding pressure cooker, they still have a reputation of being 'explosive'. Is this 'urban legend' the reason we do not see pressure cooking on the cooking shows?

There are tons of stories out there but I cannot find any documented cases where a pressure cooker exploded AND it was not the fault of someone trying to do something stupid!

Now I am not saying that in my grandmother's day, these devices were not as safe as they are today. Today's pressure cookers are equipped with a number of safety devices that release steam and excess pressure even if the cook forgets. Without safely releasing all of the pressure and steam, the lid will simply not turn due to these safety features and locking mechanism wizardry.

Almost all (I cannot find one that has not) pressure cooker makers voluntarily ship their models of pressure cookers and pressure canners off to Underwriters Laboratories (UL) so that they can put these cookers through a variety of rigorous tests. They not only test them to approved safety standards, they abuse them! The override safety valves, build up pressure WAY beyond the safety ratings, damage the locking mechanisms and still no reports of explosions or injuries. These things are safe!

Maybe another reason we do not see these devices on popular cooking shows is that all the action goes on off-camera. By that I mean that the cooking process is hidden from view. Sure, I like to see Rachael cutting up that onion for the thousandth time - Yummo! And sure, E. Lagasse can't say "Gaarrrrlick" or "BAM" too many times for me because I am a huge fan!

But when it comes to the magic of cooking under pressure, it all happens under (safety) lock and lid. But I think there should be some time devoted to the pressure cooker on these shows. "Cooking under Pressure" is a modern marvel. It can reduce the cooking time of meals by up to 70%! What person in today's hectic lifestyle is not going to listen to that message? Additionally, meals cooked 'under pressure' retain almost all of their original nutrients because so little liquid is used during the cooking process, nothing is boiled or rinsed away.

I do recall a show with Jacques Pepin from several years ago when he used a pressure cooker on his show. It is the only show I can recall where a chef of his magnitude featured cooking under pressure on his show. He did two recipes: beef broth and chile con carne. It was amazing!

He took the same ingredients he would use for a conventional recipe for beef broth. The only step that was the same was to bake beef bones until they were nicely browned in the oven. Then all the ingredients: wine, aromatics, herbs, bones and water went in the pot. 45 minutes later he had what he said usually took him 8-12 hours to accomplish!!! And his chili - it was done in 30 minutes and it looked fantastic.

I have done both in my kitchen using my pressure cooker. And you may ask how it turned out? Well, I have bought beef broth out of a can since and the chili recipe rivals two award-winning recipes I bought. Try it and make up your own mind! I just wish other shows would catch on and learn that 'cooking under pressure' is a great idea for today's modern cook.

I have been writing articles and publishing editorials for over 4 years covering a number of popular topics about life, career and hobbies. My interest has recently involved getting my kitchen ready for spring and summer cooking, preserving and canning foods from my garden. I am reviewing several brands of pressure cookers and the latest model I wrote about is at the Presto Pressure Cooker Review page. Stop in and learn all about pressure cookers and pressure canners at my http://CookerCanner.com website for some great tips and hints for your own kitchen.

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