Canning your own meats and shelf life in Tropics

[Rustic Charm]

So, how much does a canning machine cost and how much room on a boat does it take up?

Are the empty cans readily available and how much do they cost?

[NornaBiron]

I looked into canning a couple of years ago and decided that for our needs it probably wasn't worth the effort for the following reasons:

We eat a lot of beans and pulses, which keep very well and are easy to carry in their dried state. They are easy to cook with a pressure cooker and very versatile.

Sourcing a pressure canner in Europe was problematic, most come from the US and high import duties made the cost prohibitive.

Being able to maintain pressure for 90 minutes in order to safely can is not easy on a boat cooker and puts loads of unwanted heat and moisture into the cabin.

I have researched and adopted ways of prolonging the life of fresh produce. I use a vacuum sealer, we have a teeny tiny freezer (about 1 litre capacity) which can be used for the odd chicken breast if it's not full of ice (have to decide which is more important there - the meat or the G&T, the G&T usually wins!)

I keep a supply of canned tomatoes and other veg for emergencies. A can of tomatoes, a few chickpeas and a selection of spices can produce several different meals.

We stop fishing when we have caught a fish - and don't start again until we have eaten it all. I can preserve a tuna for up to two weeks in oil in the fridge. There will always be more fish to catch, no need to get them all at once.

I have become far more adventurous in the way that I cook. I no longer rely on meat as our main protein source. Some of the best meals I produce are vegetarian and sometimes even vegan ��

By all means can food if you are able to do it safely and have the inclination, but it is definitely not the only way to ensure a delicious, varied, well balanced diet when cruising.

[banjoship]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

So, how much does a canning machine cost and how much room on a boat does it take up?

Are the empty cans readily available and how much do they cost?

In Aus, one word.
Vacola
And they are jars, cans are yank talk for same thing.

Look up Vacola on ebay to get an idea of cost. You need a boiler to do fruit. A good pressure cooker for meat and veg.

Lee




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[Siberianhusky]

My uncle pressure cans just about anything you can hunt, fish, harvest or buy.
I've eaten moose and venison canned the previous year, quahogs, clams, crab.
Can't say I would make the space onboard for the required equipment unless a small pressure cooker that can fit a couple jars would do you.
Then there are all the glass jars, worried about breakage.
His canner can fit 2 layers of quart jars. Big stainless steel thing!
I pretty much stick to canning home grown tomatos using a water bath.
Acid levels are high enough that I feel safe doing them. (used a couple jars a few days ago to make pasta sauce, last years canning, still better than store bought tinned)

[Sailor_Hutch]

Originally Posted by Siberianhusky

My uncle pressure cans just about anything you can hunt, fish, harvest or buy.
I've eaten moose and venison canned the previous year, quahogs, clams, crab.
Can't say I would make the space onboard for the required equipment unless a small pressure cooker that can fit a couple jars would do you.
Then there are all the glass jars, worried about breakage.
His canner can fit 2 layers of quart jars. Big stainless steel thing!
I pretty much stick to canning home grown tomatos using a water bath.
Acid levels are high enough that I feel safe doing them. (used a couple jars a few days ago to make pasta sauce, last years canning, still better than store bought tinned)

Yes - when I was a kid in the countryside, my folks always mixed up whatever they canned with tomatoes and some vinegar. They made up vegetable medlies this way, using various things like corn, carrots, etc. Thanks to the higher acid content, we ate belatedly "from the garden" throughout many, many winters without incident. I wonder about canning stuff on the water. What does the coast guard think of those cans when you come back?

[nicholson31]

It's part of our culture here on the rock to can/bottle food, pretty well every type of meat, fish and/or vegetable to be bottled up for the winter. Wild game such as moose, turr, seal, rabbit and muscles are great to break open for a treat, but would not be doable otherwise. The important thing is "sterilization".
Bottling is much easier a procedure as you don't need any equipment but find light will have an effect on the product so I maintain a 2 year shelf life for bottled foods. They are also more prone to breaking on board. But canned foods, as long as the lid isn't bloated and it smells good, hand me a fork!!

[Siberianhusky]

Originally Posted by nicholson31

It's part of our culture here on the rock to can/bottle food, pretty well every type of meat, fish and/or vegetable to be bottled up for the winter. Wild game such as moose, turr, seal, rabbit and muscles are great to break open for a treat, but would not be doable otherwise. The important thing is "sterilization".
Bottling is much easier a procedure as you don't need any equipment but find light will have an effect on the product so I maintain a 2 year shelf life for bottled foods. They are also more prone to breaking on board. But canned foods, as long as the lid isn't bloated and it smells good, hand me a fork!!

INteresting, I'm a missplaced New Brunswicker, same kind of deal, grew up with home canned stuff.
Cultural thing, Acadian way of life.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

So, how much does a canning machine cost and how much room on a boat does it take up?

Are the empty cans readily available and how much do they cost?

"canning" is such a bad word for what we are discussing since the "cans" are really glass jars. I don't know of anyone who is home preserving in actual metal "cans." Even the USDA uses this terminology which is mostly incorrect. One CAN use cans to can/preserve foods but it does take equipment to do this which is why it is not popular. One also has to have throw away metal cans. Glass jars can be reused over and over...

In my area, the glass jars and metal lids can be found in grocery stores and farms stores. The only real consumable is the metal lids since they are to be used once. The jars last until they chip or break. There are jars in my family that have been used by multiple generations. I get one quart jars in a case of 12 and the price is about $1.50-2.00 USD. Might get them for less if I see them on sale but I don't have to buy them often.

I knew I had read not to use the jars with glass lids and metal locks somewhere. I just found the reference in the USDA guide:

Jars with wire bails and glass caps make attractive antiques or storage containers for dry food ingredients but are not recommended for use in canning. Neither one-piece zinc porcelain-lined caps nor zinc caps that use flat rubber rings for sealing jars are recommended any longer.

The only thing you need to preserve food is the jars, lids, and a pressure cooker. Some things can be preserved with a hot water bath which is nothing more than a big pot of boiling water. My pressure cooker is large enough to hold four one quart jars at one time to either pressure cook or water bath. The pressure cooker can also be used to cook food. It is big and heavy but fool proof and safe. One of the kids will get it when I die.

It does help to have a set of canning tools though you really do not need them. The tool are sorta cheap and make things much easier and cleaner. The funnel is REALLY nice because it fits over the jar and with the ladle quickly fills the jar while minimizing messes. These two items are really the worth the money. The magnetic stick is used to pick up the metal lids from the boiling water but you could use a set of tongs to do the same. The magnet does work better. The jar lifter is nice too but I just used a good silicon oven mitt or folded up kitchen towel for years. The jar lifter is much less likely to drop the jar.

Amazon.com: Prepworks by Progressive 3-Piece Canning Essentials Kit: Complete Canning Kits: Home & Kitchen

http://www.amazon.com/Prepworks-by-P...CP80AQR8QC7KVA

The most expensive item is the pressure cooker, at least mine is, but it is fool proof which is what I want in a pressure cooker.

Later,
Dan

[nicholson31]

[QUOTE=dannc;2060393]"canning" is such a bad word for what we are discussing since the "cans" are really glass jars. I don't know of anyone who is home preserving in actual metal "cans." Even the USDA uses this terminology which is mostly incorrect. One CAN use cans to can/preserve foods but it does take equipment to do this which is why it is not popular. One also has to have throw away metal cans. Glass jars can be reused over and over...

Not true, Canning is still used a great deal up here as well as bottling however, bottling is probably more widly used, for preserves especially and yes reuse of bottles makes it quite economical.
As for bottling meats, I do it all in the oven. prepare as you normally do but place in the oven on a cookie sheet, top up water in the bottle to its neck and leave the lids off and cook on 375 for 4 hrs. take out and put on the lids just finger tight. I've done up to 24 bottles at a time, there is no mess what so ever and I have never boken a bottle that way. Boiling water in large pots is nothing but a nuicence.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by nicholson31

Not true, Canning is still used a great deal up here as well as bottling however, bottling is probably more widly used, for preserves especially and yes reuse of bottles makes it quite economical.

It is true in my area which is what I stated. I have never known anyone to use cans when canning. You have to have the equipment and the empty cans. I can find lids and jars all over the place but I have NEVER seen empty cans for sale. The only place I think that might sell empty cans is an hour away at a Mormon store. The only reason I even know about the store is that I was researching long term food storage,as well as bulk food purchases, and the Mormons have foods and equipment to store food for long periods. That store is the only one that I can think of that might sell empty cans. Otherwise it would be mail order.

Most people are using jars and not cans in my area irregardless of the food being preserved. Surely there might be someone useing cans but there are not many of them.

Later,
Dan

[Rustic Charm]

OMG

This whole discussion has been about preserving in glass jars and not 'cans' as in how MOST OF THE WORLD would call a metal container.

How the hell does a container of 'glass or plastic' turn into a can? Talk about lost in translation.

[nicholson31]

Originally Posted by murelyn

Hey Y'all,
So Im learning about how to can meats. My question is how long does the jarred canned meats last in the tropics, temps 85-110 degrees Fahrenheit?
Thanks

Murelyn: I hope you have taken from the disscussion that in the opinion of people who regularly CAN and/orbottle food, it will be ok to keep for extended periods of time. as for the heat issue, for a few months at a time in warmer temp. I would see no issue.

[dannc]

Warning: Commercial about US Agriculture/Coop Extension offices:

In the US, most/many/all? states have an Extension offices that provide a variety of services to the community. Many counties have an Extension office to provide services which includes classes in home food preservation. The Extension service, I have heard it called Agriculture Extension and Coop Extension, was setup to help farming and farming communities in rural areas. This made sense given that most of the population was in rural areas when the extension service was created.

I bring this up since people in the US could go to their local extension office and take a class if they wanted too. The classes I have attended have been free or only cost to pay for the materials. Canning is not hard, like I have said, but if one wanted to take a class they are out there. My local office does have classes.

Another reason I bring this up is for pressure gauge checks. Some pressure cookers have a pressure gauge that should be checked from time to time. The local Extension office should be able to test the gauge. I know my office can do so. My pressure cooker has a gauge but also a weight that sets the pressure. The gauge is really just something look at since the weight controls everything. Pretty simple and fool proof.

Anyway, that ends my commercial for the Extension office. I have use their services for different things over the years and have been most impressed.

Later,
Dan

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

OMG

This whole discussion has been about preserving in glass jars and not 'cans' as in how MOST OF THE WORLD would call a metal container.

How the hell does a container of 'glass or plastic' turn into a can? Talk about lost in translation.

Don't you speak English down under?

The English language is confusing but made worse by the people who speak it.

"Canning" really does not make sense because the person who came up with the process was a Frenchman named Appert. He was working to win a prize that Napoleon had offered for anyone who could preserve food for his armies.

Ironically for the use of the word, "canning," Appert used BOTTLES to preserve the food. I think they were Champagne bottles. Not a can or jar.

Appert won the prize but then a British guy got involved and he used TINS for canning. I think there was a problem with the use of lead sealing the TINS but that would lead to a different discussion.

In the states, reusable glass JARS and lids where created in the mid 1800s and eventually Mason, Kerr, and Ball came out with their different models/brands.

I figure the word canning came about because of the use of tins by the British and the term moved into people's vocabulary. When glass jars came into use for food preservation, especially when done at home, the word "canning" was used to describe the process but not the container.

That is all my best guess. It never made sense to me either.

Later,
Dan

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by dannc

Don't you speak English down under?

The English language is confusing but made worse by the people who speak it.

"Canning" really does not make sense because the person who came up with the process was a Frenchman named Appert. He was working to win a prize that Napoleon had offered for anyone who could preserve food for his armies.

Ironically for the use of the word, "canning," Appert used BOTTLES to preserve the food. I think they were Champagne bottles. Not a can or jar.

Appert won the prize but then a British guy got involved and he used TINS for canning. I think there was a problem with the use of lead sealing the TINS but that would lead to a different discussion.

In the states, reusable glass JARS and lids where created in the mid 1800s and eventually Mason, Kerr, and Ball came out with their different models/brands.

I figure the word canning came about because of the use of tins by the British and the term moved into people's vocabulary. When glass jars came into use for food preservation, especially when done at home, the word "canning" was used to describe the process but not the container.

That is all my best guess. It never made sense to me either.

Later,
Dan

the Queens English. Fair dinkum, its a $@&?$& up language

My mum used to preserve lots of fruits and veggies right up until she passed this year. Never ever heard of it as 'canning', not in Australia.

The 'head' is often referred to as 'the can', but usually 'the dunny'.