I'm thinking about getting the canner fired up tomorrow and putting some of this excess turkey in jars. Anyone else here doing this?
Aren't they supposed to be tightly packed with only 1/4" head space?
I think you are right Passedpawn but I always double check Ball's Blue Book.
passedpawn said:Yea, I used a pressure cooker. Those salsa jar lids pulled a tight vacuum - they are caved in. If they popped up at all I wouldn't eat.
Regarding citric acid... is it necessary to add acid if I'm using a pressure cooker at high pressures/temps? I thought acid was only if you are boiling the bottles (i.e., not cooking at elevated temps to kill the botulism spore).
For low acid foods you need a pressure cooker so you can get the temp up above boiling (212F/100C), whereas foods with adequate acid (think tomatoes) you can use a standard canning set up.
We can rabbit. Basically make a meal with deboned rabbit, veggies, and some broth and can it in the pressure cooker. The rabbit is already cooked so all you do is dump it in the pan and heat it up. And it keeps even when the power go out.
Get a book in regards to what you need the pressure cooker for vs. the standard hot water method. It depends on acid content of the foods. If the acid is inadequate, you need the extra heat to kill all the bad bugs so they don't kill you.
Boil-off also comes from releasing the pressure manually with the button (rapidly decreasing pressure with same temp = vigorous boil off inside jars). Patience, grasshopper.
Some may escape anyway if the jars get direct heat from the bottom of the cooker or there's too little water in it. But not that much.
I have to concur on the 3-piece jars instead of trying to re-use others though. Kerr/Ball jars are cheap enough that you really have no excuse.
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