Canning Ground Beef by Sheila

Post and Pictures by Sheila

I first cleaned my work area and laid out all the tools I would need during the canning process.

I  fried the hamburger...

and washed the fat off before placing the meat in the jars.

I added chicken broth to the chicken and beef broth to the stew meat and hamburger.

I hope you are all enjoying being a Master Food Preserver as I am. If any of you have any questions do not hesitate in contacting me at svansonpfs(at)yahoo(dot)com.

I have also canned 120 jars of fresh meat. chicken, stew meat and hamburger.

See you in the KITCHEN!!!!

Related Fact Sheets from the National Center for Home Food Storage Preservation

• General Canning Information
• Using Presser Canners
• Canning Ground Beef

Canning Chicken by Sheila

Post and Pictures by Sheila

I first cleaned my work area and laid out all the tools I would need during the canning process.

I then washed and trimmed the fat off my chicken before cooking it.

I boiled the chicken before placing it in the jars. I also added chicken broth to the chicken.

I opened a jar of chicken and used it to make orange chicken and served it over fried rice which I added my dehydrated peas, carrots, green and red peppers, onions, garlic and broccoli. It took me 5 minutes to prepare dinner and 25 minutes to cook the rice with the dehydrated veggies. And if I don't say so myself it was delicious...

I hope you are all enjoying being a Master Food Preserver as I am. If any of you have any questions do not hesitate in contacting me at svansonpfs(at)yahoo(dot)com.

I have also canned 120 jars of fresh meat. chicken, stew meat and hamburger.

Related Fact Sheets from the National Center for Home Food Storage Preservation 

• General Canning Information
• Using Presser Canners
• Canning Chicken

Tip for Dehydrating Foods by Sheila

Post by Sheila

When dehydrating your food it is very important to wear gloves when you touch the food. Even during the preparation of the food to avoid transferring the oil from your hands, lotion or any other things that may be on your hands. You do not want to transfer anything to your food that could spoil it later.

It is even more important to wear gloves after it has been dehydrated because the food is free of moisture and you do not want to transfer any moisture to your dehydrated food that may cause it to spoil later. Also when removing food from your daily storage containers you also want to wear gloves to keep your food free of anything that may cause it spoil.

Using a Food Saver to Lengthen Shelf Life of Foods

Thinking of Sheila, and her post on dehydrating, I remembered this video I saw by Wendy Dewitt.  She lengthens the life of her shelf stable foods by using the Food Saver.

I bought a used Food Saver on Craigslist and saved over 50%. The Jar Sealers (not sold with the original unit) can be bought at Bass Pro Shops.  I have not found another store in Nevada that sells the Jar Sealers, so if you know of any please list them in the comments.  There are other brands that are compatible with Food Saver's Jar Sealers such as Seal a Meal, just make sure it has an accessory port with tubing.

My Food Saver (Click to Enlarge)

The Food Saver is NOT a substitute for Wet Bath Canning or Pressure Canning.  Using the Jar Sealer, It is meant to increase the shelf life of things such as nuts, uncooked rice, granola, uncooked pasta, dehydrated foods, etc.

To watch Wendy's entire presentation on food storage click here.

Testing Pressure Gauges - Testing Form with Disclaimer

Click the picture above to download the Canner Testing Form

Testing Pressure Gauges - General Information

Testing Pressure Canner Gauges

Pressure canners use either a dial gauge or a weighted gauge. The gauge (dial or weighted) controls and monitors the pressure.

The weighted gauge permits pressure to rise to a definite point and then releases excess steam to keep pressure from going higher. Some people refer to these gauges as “rocking” or “jiggle” gauges. With this type of gauge, the canning process is monitored by listening for a certain number of jiggles per minutes. Check your canner manual for information on how to monitor the pressure. Most weights allow you to process at 5-, 10- or 15- pounds of pressure. Weighted gauges do not require testing but should be kept clean and rust-free.

A dial gauge canner has a pressure dial on the top that allows you to read the pressure inside the canner during the canning process. Dial gauges operate from 0- to 25-pounds of pressure, with most recipes and canning instructions calling for a pressure of either 6- or 11-pounds of pressure. Dial gauges MUST be tested every year for accuracy. Your dial gauge will be tested against a Master Gauge which will determine if your gauge is accurate, if you can compensate for your gauge being off, or if your gauge needs to be replaced.

Check with your County Extension office to see if the testing is done locally. If you cannot get your gauge tested locally, National Presto Industries will test your gauge for no charge!

Carefully remove and package the gauge. Send the gauge to:

National Presto Industries
3925 North Hastings Way
Eau Claire, WI 54703-2200

Questions? Presto Consumer Service Department (1-800-877-0441)

If the gauge-reading is off by one or more pounds, you are encouraged to purchase a new gauge. If it is off less than one pound, remind yourself of the difference and adjust the recipe’s ressure accordingly to allow for the difference. Incorrect readings will lead to unsafe foods that are under-processed or over-processed.

Replacement gauges and other parts (e.g. gaskets, safety plugs) for canners are often found at stores that sell food preservation equipment or from canner manufacturers. When ordering parts, be sure to provide your canner model number and describe the parts you need.

Testing Pressure Gauges - Policies and Procedures

The Office of the Attorney General at Washington State University Pullman has reviewed potential liability issues connected with Extension testing pressure canner gauges. Many county offices have provided this service to the public for years. Because improper pressure canning can result in severe illness or death, we wanted to insure that our policies around testing were sound.

The Assumption of Risk Form should be used in all county offices that are continuing to test pressure canner
gauges. The policy is as follows:

• The owner of the pressure canner must be the one who signs the release form.
• Duplicate copies of the form should be signed and the office should keep a copy for at least six (6) years.
• Fees should be charged for testing pressure canner gauges. The fee should be sufficient to cover the cost of one or two canning bulletins to assure that home canners have the most recent versions of the bulletins. One of these should be the bulletin “Using and Caring for your Pressure Canner” (unless the client already owns that bulletin).

Your office has the option of no longer testing pressure canner gauges. If you do choose to continue testing, we recommend that your office purchase the version of National Presto Industries testing unit for dial gauges, which uses an air pump and master gauge. The fees for testing pressure canner gauges can be set to include funds for cost recovery of the unit’s purchase. One disadvantage with the new air pump gauge tester is that will only test Presto canners. However, it is more accurate and safer to use than Presto’s older testing unit which uses steam.