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Canning 101: beans

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by
motherhubbard
, 07-25-2008 at 08:38 PM (2785 Views)
I’ve been canning green beans this week, around 100 quarts, and so I thought I’d blog about how to preserve food.

Here are some basics.

There are two different types of canning, cool water bath and pressure canning.

here is a pressure canner



this is just a cool water bath canner



Cool water bath is actually boiling water. This method is only safe for certain foods like jelly and tomatoes. It doesn’t get hot enough to kill some bacteria. Once the food in in the jars you place it in the canner, cover it with water and then boil for a specific amount of time.

Pressure canning is a different kind of canner with a pressure gauge. Water heated under pressure can get much hotter and therefore kill all kinds of bacteria. The jars of food do not need to be covered with water in the pressure canner.

basic canning supplies are

Food for preserving
Canning salt
Jars
Lids
Rings
Canner
canner rack
Spatula
Jar lifter
Canning funnel
(spices, lemon juice, vinegar)



here is a good canner rack

Food must be very fresh and of good quality. Table salt is bad for canning, it contains iodine which will cloud your food. Jars must be canning jars for the pressure canner or they may (and likely will)burst. Old mayonnaise jars are fine for the cool water bath. Jars must be inspected to insure they have no cracks in the glass or nicks on the rim. Lids are the flat part that seals the jar. They must be new, you shouldn’t can with an old lid. Rings are the screw on part and can be reused over and over. Don’t store jars with the rings on them or they will rust in place. The canner needs to have something in the bottom that prevents the jars from sitting right on the bottom. Pressure canners need to be tested every year to make sure the pressure gauge is accurate. This can be done for free at the county extension office. The spatula is for packing food into jars and releasing air bubbles. I bought a clear one and that was a mistake. I loose it all the time because I can’t see it. The canning funnel has a bowl like top and a wide opening that fits into every size jar.

Possibly the most important thing is the Ball Blue Book. I wouldn’t can without this book. Everyone needs a new one, it’s less than seven dollars and it’s important. Cooking times and standards have changed over the years. Eating under processed food is a health risk. I think if you are canning you need to take it seriously.




Each food is prepared a little differently. I’ll talk about beans canned in quart jars. Pints are process for a different length of time. Green beans need to be washed, strung, and snapped into similar size pieces. Once that is done you can cook the beans before placing them in jars or you can “raw” pack them. I have done both and prefer to cook them first although raw packing saves all kinds of time.

Place pressure canner on the stove over high heat. Add three quarts of water. You can add a little vinegar to prevent discoloration of the pressure cooker.

Place the funnel in the jar so that it’s easier to fill with veggies or fruit. Fill hot jars with hot food. Use the spatula to pack the beans in and add more until the jar is full. For beans, leave one inch head space. Mason jars are designed so that the large lip that sticks out at the top is one inch from the top. Add canning salt. Pour boiling water over the beans leaving one inch head space. Use the spatula to release any air bubbles by running it down the jar between the glass and the beans. Add more water as needed leaving one inch head space. Clean the rim of the jar and cover with hot lid (flat). Screw on the ring, but not too tightly.



Place the hot jar in the canner. Remember not to place the jar directly on the bottom of the canner. Lock the lid into place. Allow the pressure to build and steam to come for ten minutes. After ten minutes place the weight on the little spout and reduce heat so that pressure doesn’t build too quickly. When the pressure gets to ten pounds start timing. Beans need to cook at ten pounds of pressure for 25 minutes. The heat will need to be adjusted down during that 25 minutes or the pressure will get too high.

Once the time is up turn the heat off and leave the canner alone. When the pressure gauge reaches zero and no steam is coming out from the weight remove the weight and lid. Lift jars out with jar lifter. Be careful as they will still be boiling inside. As the jars come out of the canner point the bottom of the jar away from you incase the jar pops. This will help prevent burns. Place the jars on a towel so that they are not touching. Allow them to cool completely before removing the rings. Check the seals with thumb.



great help is found here http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...US257%26sa%3DN

maybe your pantry can look like this!
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Comments

  1. pussnboots's Avatar
    My mother-in-law would have a field day at your place. I think she would be in awe of what you grow. Nice pantry by the way. Did my eyes see correctly that you have jarred pickles?
  2. motherhubbard's Avatar
    that's not my pantry, but I do have pickles, and pickled okra. my pantry pics are in my old computer. Maybe when I get done this year I'll take some new ones.
  3. Virgil's Avatar
    Mom-H I will have to show you exactly what we do to can tomato puree. We do use table salt. It's suppose to act as a preservative. We don't use a pressure cooker. We just bring to a boil the jars for 35 minutes. It's about a month away from our tomato canning. I'll try to take pictures.
  4. motherhubbard's Avatar
    I'd like that, Virgil. I'm canning some tomatoes tomorrow- actually spaghetti sauce and salsa! I’ve never done puree. How do you get the tomatoes to be pasty, mine are so watery? I have some applesauce, squash, zucchini, pink eye purple hull peas, peaches, and of course beans to put up tomorrow. Mostly beans. I just gave away three gallons of tomatoes. I’ll have two pressure canners and one cool water bath going, but only two at a time.
  5. Riesa's Avatar
    that is so perfect! thanks motherhubbard, I'd love to be follow your directions, this will be my first year canning, and I'm a bit nervous! one of my favorite things to eat is pickled okra. I can't wait to make my own! The tomatoes have been very odd this year, but they are coming along at last..still green. I'm also thinking about getting chickens eventually, but that seems extremely complicated. Do you have them on your farm? or Dairy Cows? I LOVE raw milk, but I can't buy it here. What a great blog entry.
  6. Virgil's Avatar
    We puree with this tomato strainer: http://www.creativecookware.com/toma...FQOaFQodeEb1SA. The stainless steel one is the exact same one we use. It doesn't make paste, but it's not watery either. For paste you need to sun dry the tomatoes I think.
  7. Countess's Avatar
    MotherHubbard, the only way I know how to preserve food is put it in the frigerator. Your directions, while clear, made my head hurt. (-: But anyhow, since you do all this preserving, how about mailing me some goodies for my birthday? It's, uh, tomorrow. Yeah. That's right.
  8. kiz_paws's Avatar
    Awesome entry, M-H! I am afraid to do canning with a pressure canner because I am afraid that it will blow up/explode. My sister had a very bad accident with a deep fryer that blew up, though it is a miracle that no one was in the vicinity where the hot oil spewed. Anyhoooo, these contraptions scare me so I just commend those who do home canning. I remember my mom making apple jelly and how awesome the house smelled. Your kids are very lucky indeed. If I ever overcome my silly fears, I'll definitely refer to these really good instructions. Thanks! ~K♥zzo
  9. motherhubbard's Avatar
    Thanks everyone. Riesa- I do have chickens and they are so easy, so so easy. No cows at this point. We rent out pasture out. We are planning on cows in two years. The web site I linked to has wonderful directions for canning anything, with pictures that really help, and if you have a question you can e-mail them. I sent in some questions about pumpkin and now the have a list of pumpkin things. Kiz- It is a big bomb. I understand your fear. I don't let the kids in the kitchen when I'm canning. Countess- My dad got a jar of apple sauce and he still makes fun about that. BUt you can PM me . Virgil- I hope you blog about that this season. I'd like to give it a try. thanks for the link.
  10. Shalot's Avatar
    We were just given a giant back of tomatos (home grown sans salmonella) and a giant bag of cucumbers. I'd hate to see them go bad. Maybe we should attempt to can. I'll let you know if we do and how it works out.
  11. 's Avatar
    Oh, this brings back so many childhood memories... Not necessarily the pleasant one though because I would usually end up cutting/peeling the vegetables and fruits and turning the handle on the strainer

    Joking aside, it makes me feel like starting doing all this again but because we don't have a garden where we can grow vegetables, I don't think it would be feasable... but soooo tempted!
  12. sprinks's Avatar
    Certainly sounds like quite a bit of work! . I liked this entry - very interesting!
  13. Virgil's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Mom-H
    Virgil- I hope you blog about that this season. I'd like to give it a try. thanks for the link.
    Sure thing. To Scher: You mentioned strainer, did you make tomato purre too?
  14. 's Avatar
    Virgil>

    Yes, we did tomata puree too and also my mother made what we call "pepper puree" (pureed big red peppers).

    Used the strainer also to make black olive puree.
  15. Virgil's Avatar
    Pepper and black olive purees. Wow, i've never heard of that. That is fascinating.
  16. 's Avatar
    They are wonderfully delicious too... The pepper puree is usually used with tomato puree to add flavour. And olive puree... Oh, boy! It is the tastiest thing with freshly baked bread!

    Give them a try if you have the patience.
  17. Virgil's Avatar
    Thanks Scher. Do you use the same strainer for the pepper and olives that's used for tomato? Do you heat the peppers and olives to soften them before you strain them?
  18. motherhubbard's Avatar
    that sounds so yummy, Scher! do you use fresh olives? I've never even seen a fresh olive.
  19. 's Avatar
    Olive puree> Yes, fresh black olives. You can wait them in hot water for 10 mins or so and then remove the stones. Then run them through the strainer (if you like garlics, it might be a good idea to add some garlic cloves at this stage). Put the puree into a glass jar and add a little olive oil. You can keep it in the fridge for a long time.

    We were lucky that the town where I grew up was a prominent olive grower so there was no shortage of fresh olives.

    To be honest, once I was so determined to serve some to my guests that I used the kind of olives we get from the shop. I bought the ones that come without stones in big jars and after keeping them in hot water a little while, I put them into the food processor and then run it through an ordinary to get rid of the skin. It was not very cost effective and hard work but did the trick for a day.


    Virgil>     Yes, my mother used the same strainer for all vegetables (probably because it was a luxury to have one, I guess) so she cleaned and looked after that one well. I bet she still has it somewhere at home!