[LotuSeed]

It was so much work last year that I decided I wasn't going to do it this year unless I had help. Today I caved and bought two dozen ears from a local farm. Thankfully it wasn't as much work since I was better organized (thanks to last year's chaotic experience)  15 and a half pints are now bubbling away in The Bomb Maker
Now I'm considering getting two dozen more...and more jars lol.

[mumofstig]

You're a glutton for punishment, I think 

[LotuSeed]

You may be right about that one Mum! Because in addition to picking up the corn, I also got a half a bushel of apples to add to the peck I already have! So today I get to peel and slice them all by hand to make applesauce and dried apple rings  (I tried one of those peeler gadgets last year and hated it, too much hassle and even more waste)    it's all a lot of work, especially considering I do it alone, but it's so worth it when those jars ping!!!

[Beekissed]

Lotus, we are going to can more corn this season as well.  We canned quite a bit but found that we are down to three jars and corn isn't on for some time yet, so that's cutting it WAY too close. 

This year I grew some corn but will not have enough to meet our canning needs...that corn is mostly for eating fresh. Will be buying some from the local farmer's stand, which have excellent corn picked fresh each morning and it's a great price. 

We do corn in a steam canner, unlike most folks who pressure can it.  We found many years ago(almost 40 yrs...time flies, don't it?) that pressure canning corn seemed to take all the crispness, color and flavor out of it.  Some old lady had told my mother to can it in the boiling water bath instead but to add a thick slice of green tomato at the top of the jar to add acid.  Ever since then we've been canning corn in that manner and it's just like you've cut it fresh off the cob when it comes out of that jar.  I no longer do a boiling water canner now, but use a steam canner for that instead. 

Can't wait to see those shelves stocked with canned items once again, all neat and shining in row after row.   

We also don't blanch it before cutting it off the cob, but cut it off raw instead.  I must admit, corn is my very favorite canned item from the garden. 

[GrannieAnnie]

I never grow enough of stuff like corn to can it anyway, but I'm lazy too.  They go in the freezer!  I always worry that I'll do something wrong and the food goes mouldy!

Is canning popular over there in the States?  Mind you, canning would be better if there ever is an apocalypse in our lifetimes!   

[LotuSeed]

I get mine from a local farm as well. I like to visit farmers markets to look for large quantities of produce that I haven't grown enough of. I've gotten lower prices on things when I told the person at the stall that I'm canning it. Got a great deal on green beans and tomatillos. I pressure can all of my low acid foods. I don't bother blanching the corn before I get it off the cob either. 🌽
Yes, Grannie, canning is fairly popular in the U.S. Perhaps more so in some places than others, but it's fairly common and I think interest in it has seen an upsurge. Freezers are great, but they require energy and you run the risk of food spoilage if the power goes out or if the freezer stops working. I don't can for any apocalypse or a SHTF kind of scenario (that just ludicrous IMHO). I can because it's fun and because I like having more control over what goes into my food.

[Beekissed]

Same here, Lotus.  We can because it's how we preserve our food each year, as depending on a freezer is unwise in these parts.  The power can go out for 2 wks at a time here and that's a whole year's food wasted and no one can afford the cost nor the labor being wasted.  We don't garden and can as a hobby, but as a major portion of our dietary needs and we can enough for 1-2 years on each item we use the most, as one never knows when the garden is not going to do so well due to the weather, hail storms, etc. 

It's just another way we like to stay independent and not have to rely so much on other people or sources of food and energy.  That's why we heat with wood as well.  Also why we keep water drawn up at all times, in case the power goes down at any given time and also why we keep an outhouse at our place. 

Keeping chickens is another way we stay independent and we never have to eat store bought eggs or chicken at all and that's a good thing....all of that meat and the eggs are of such low quality and raised so inhumanely that it's a relief not to have to consume it. 

Canning is freedom from dependence upon the electrical grid and outside sources of food and that's a wonderful thing, that freedom.  When everyone else is scrambling about in a bad snow storm, bewailing the need for gas for generators to keep their electric on or for food from the grocery store(over here at the hint of a bad storm, all the folks run to the grocery and stock up on milk, bread and eggs....not exactly sure why those are so essential  ), we are snugged into our home by the wood fire, good and healthy food in the jar, homemade bread baking, water on hand and able to use the facilities outside if there comes a need.

I guess it's just the pioneer spirit in this country that likes to maintain that independence and self reliant mode of living.  For me it's a way of depending upon my Lord for my daily bread as opposed to depending upon and trusting in mankind.  He provides the garden growth and bounty and also gives me the desire and materials necessary to preserve it for our use.  I love that sort of dependence, but not so much the dependence on other people.   

[GrannieAnnie]

Thanks for that girls.  Really interesting.

So if you can certain vegetables, how long would they last, as you mentioned sometimes canning 2 year's worth?

[Beekissed]

Depends on the nature of the canned item.  I've had tomatoes that lasted 8 yrs and were safe to eat, actually WERE eaten, just this past year.   Never got to see if corn lasts past 2 yrs because we usually eat that all up!    

Most things that are acidic in nature will last well and can go several years, depending on how they were canned and how they were kept.  Need to be kept in a cool, dry and, preferably, a dark place, proper technique needs to be used in the canning process, and high quality jars and lids will help to preserve things for a long time. 

All things considered, I'd say they last as long or longer than most canned items from a store, though we rarely have to find out as we only can enough for a couple of year's consumption at a time~then we usually consume it all in that time frame.

Corn, lovely corn!!! 

[sunshineband]

Oh boy that corn looks good    My plants are only about 30 cm tall yet, so harvest is a long way off. I started bottling produce a couple of years ago as there is never enough space in the freezer and no space for a second one, as well as having to think about running costs and what could happen it is failed --- twice this has happened and it is awful.

Never thought of "canning" (Is this the same as bottling?) corn though, so thanks for the idea. If I can pick cobs before they get consumed by rats (yuck!) then this is on my list for this year for sure 

[New shoot]

A question for the expert canners then please    

I have done little fruit bottling or canning and have also bottled pasta sauce based on tomatoes.  I was thinking I could try broad beans (fava beans, but we eat them green rather than dried) to save freezer space.  Tender fresh young beans out of a jar in the depths of winter sounds very appealing

My Marguerite Pattern preserving book says you should not bottle vegetables except in the pressure cooker.  I have one but if corn is better steam canned than pressure canned, I was thinking the same may be true of the beans   

I like the slice of green tomato idea as well, but could I substitute lemon as the tomatoes are only just forming on the plant and the beans are ready now.

[Beekissed]

Oh boy that corn looks good    My plants are only about 30 cm tall yet, so harvest is a long way off. I started bottling produce a couple of years ago as there is never enough space in the freezer and no space for a second one, as well as having to think about running costs and what could happen it is failed --- twice this has happened and it is awful.

Never thought of "canning" (Is this the same as bottling?) corn though, so thanks for the idea. If I can pick cobs before they get consumed by rats (yuck!) then this is on my list for this year for sure 

I think what we call canning is bottling to y'all.      

[Beekissed]

A question for the expert canners then please    

I have done little fruit bottling or canning and have also bottled pasta sauce based on tomatoes.  I was thinking I could try broad beans (fava beans, but we eat them green rather than dried) to save freezer space.  Tender fresh young beans out of a jar in the depths of winter sounds very appealing

My Marguerite Pattern preserving book says you should not bottle vegetables except in the pressure cooker.  I have one but if corn is better steam canned than pressure canned, I was thinking the same may be true of the beans   

I like the slice of green tomato idea as well, but could I substitute lemon as the tomatoes are only just forming on the plant and the beans are ready now.

I've never tried it but don't see why it wouldn't work.  Might make the beans taste a little tarty but I think it would be negligible, at best.  I'll do it this year if my beans do well and let you know how it turns out.  My granddaughter LOVES green beans, though I'm not a fan at all, so I'll likely be putting some up for her if we get a sufficient crop. 

I know what all the books say about preserving veggies but over the years we've started to rely more on common sense than the canning books and it's turned out fine.

 I've even canned meats in the boiling water bath canner instead of the pressure canner.  One of my patients was a 94 yr old Mennonite lady and they had been canning all their foods for generations in a big iron pot in their yard, said it would hold 14 qt. jars!   They never once used a pressure canner in all those many years, for meats or veggies of all kinds. 

I still visit her when I get over that way and she is now 100 yrs old.

[LotuSeed]

New Shoot, all low acid foods should be processed in a pressure canner. I use my water bath canner for jams, fruits and tomato sauces. Beans, corn and potatoes all go in the pressure canner. Meat would too, but I'm a vegetarian. There are lots of canning techniques that were common years and years ago but that are considered unsafe now: open kettle canning, the inversion method etc. Everything I can is based on tested recipes put out by the National Center for Home Food Preservation. They include recipes and processing times for different altitudes. You'll find lots of conflicting information from individuals in regards to canning. I personally am only comfortable using a boiling water bath canner for high acids foods and a pressure canner for low acid ones. And yes, I even add lemon juice to my tomato sauces as recommended. I'd rather not, but adding citric acid ruins the flavor. My best advice if you're interested in getting into it is to do your research. Then when you're finished, do it again lol.

[Beekissed]

Yes...that is the "safe" and accepted way to can.  If one is fearful of breaking rules and such, it's probably best to keep with the government recommended rules on canning.