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CANNING

Canning Basics - the What, Why & How of home canning. A great resource for beginning or experienced canners who want the best possible results.

High-Acid Foods - illustrated step-by-step guide to preserving delicious jams, jellies, fruit, pickles, relish, chutney, and tomatoes.

Low-Acid Foods - illustrated step-by-step guide to safe home canning of vegetables, meat, fish, seafood, poultry, game, soups, stews, ragouts (combination recipes)

History of Canning from Del Monte Canning started in jars. The process was invented in France in 1795 by Nicholas Appert, a chef who was determined to win the prize of 12,000 francs offered by Napoleon for a way to prevent military food supplies from spoiling. Appert canned meats and vegetables in jars sealed with pitch and by 1804 opened his first vacuum-packing plant. It was a French military secret that soon leaked across the English Channel.

STUDY FINDINGS: COMPARISON OF SELECTED FRESH, CANNED AND FROZEN FRUITS, VEGETABLES, LEGUMES AND PROTEIN FOODS

Reasons Home-Canned Food Spoils Date: May 1989 (Revised April 1995) Source: University of Minnesota Time, energy and money are lost when food spoils. There are several reasons home-canned foods spoil. The most common ones are: failure to heat process the filled jars, processing by an incorrect method, processing for insufficient time, and failure of lids to seal.

Equipment - With the exception of homecanning jars and two-piece vacuum caps, few utensils are absolutely essential for home canning. However, there are many unique utensils that are extremely useful to home canners. This section illustrates them.

Recipes - Detailed step-by-step recipes take the guesswork out of home canning. Click Recipe Search to locate a recipe by category or fruit, vegetable type, etc.

Food Preservation- Selection, Use and Care of Canning Equipment Some helpful info for the beginning canner.

Home Canning- Selecting the Correct Processing Time Excellent info. PDF/Adobe Acrobat

The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning  The 1994 edition of the Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving is the only approved version of this document. If you have an earlier version, please replace it with the 1994 edition. Information on ordering the paperback version of the Guide can be obtained from this University of Georgia web site. The National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) regularly reviews canning methods contained within the USDA Guide and has developed many new preservation recipes that are safe to use.

Identifying & Handling Spoiled Home-Canned Food This info could save your life - or alot of pain.

High Altitude Food Preparation Guide

Jams and Jellies Extensive resource

Canning the Catch PDF/Adobe Acrobat File When you catch fish, handle the fish with care to avoid bruising and exposure to sun or heat. Bleed the fish immediately after catching to help increase storage life. Remove viscera (internal organs). Rinse fish and keep iced, refrigerated, or frozen.

Preparing and Canning - Meat Stock (Broth) This document was extracted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning,", Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA. Reviewed 1994.

Safe Home Canning of Meats, Poultry, Fish & Seafood (Includes Rabbit & Squirrel!) This publication was extensively revised by William Schafer, Extension Food Technologist, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, from an original publication by Isabel D. Wolf and Edmund A. Zottola.

Canning 101 — pickles, fruits, jams, jellies, etc. For some reason, (definitely unknown to me) canning, as a method of very long term food storage, fell into disuse. Maybe it’s the hurry/rush syndrome many folks have become addicted to, necessitating “instant” foods, microwave ovens, and mixes for everything from pancakes to casseroles. But for people of a self-reliant inclination—raising a good portion of their own wholesome, chemical-free food and establishing a storage method that is easy and results in tasty food, even years down the road—home canning is the way to go.

Potting Meat: Before refrigeration changed everything in Southern Alberta, meat potting was a more prevalent way of preserving meat than either salt curing or drying. This is how we used to do it... By Gordon Schaufert (born 1942). Very interesting text.

Salt Curing Meat in Brine. Curing meat by using a salt brine was a widely used method of preserving meat before the days of refrigeration. This is the way we cured pork in Southern Alberta, however it would work for beef as well. Recipe by Verla Cress (born 1940)

HOME CANNING GUIDE. This publication contains many new research-based recommendations for canning safer and better food at home.. It is an invaluable resource for persons who are canning for the first time. Experienced canners will find updated information to help them improve their canning practices. See also NDSU: Canning

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PRESERVING

FAO Preserving Tomatoes Three home-processing and preservation techniques

Fruit Preservation Manual I & Fruit Preservation Manual II UNDERSTANDING HOME-SCALE
PRESERVATIONS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES By Eric Rustin

NCSU Guide to Home Food Preservation Huge on-line text

Safe Storage of Herbs and Vegetables in Oil It's important to keep food safety in mind when storing vegetables (such as garlic, mushrooms, chili peppers) or herbs in oil. These low-acid foods can be a source of Clostridium botulinum bacteria which are found in soil, water, and air. Oil's oxygen-free environment is perfect for growth of the bacteria. For this reason, herbs and vegetables in oil must be stored correctly to prevent botulism food poisoning.

Preserving Squash and Pumpkin Squash and pumpkin can be stored through the winter in a cool (but not freezing), dark place which is slightly humid, but not damp. If you store them in a basement, they should be laid out in a single layer on clean paper or wood pallets so the bottoms do not collect condensation and start to mold. Check them from time to time and discard any that become soft or moldy. Original document now only available as PDF File See also Selecting, Storing and Serving Ohio Squash And Pumpkin, HYG-5530

Spiced and Pickled Seafood Pickling with vinegar and spices is an ancient and easy method of preserving seafood. Commercial processors pickle only a few seafood species, but you can pickle almost any seafood at home. Store pickled seafood in the refrigerator at 32-38°F. Use pickled seafoods within 4-6 weeks for best flavor. Refrigerate seafood during all stages of the pickling process.

Rec.Food.Preserving FAQ in Text form, best for saving to disk or printing.

Michigan Venison - How to Field Dress, Butcher, Prepare/Cook/Preserve

Preserving Food Safely Database To use this data base, click on a letter to bring up a list of keywords that begin with that letter. Related topics will be listed under each keyword. Try HERE also

University of Georgia's So Easy to Preserve Guide to Drying Huge on-line text

Wild Side of the Menu - No. 3 Preservation of Game Meats Wild game provides wholesome, nourishing food, but should be preserved carefully to retain quality. Like domestic meat, wild meat is perishable, so care is needed to maintain its quality. Freezing meat is the most accepted way to maintain top quality. Other methods for preserving game meats include curing and smoking, drying, corning, canning and sausage making. Covers curing & smoking, corning, and canning.

Dial Gauge and Weighted Gauge Charts

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Handling

Aging Big Game Many practical considerations must ultimately determine whether to age or not to age game meat. Among these are the temperature at the time of kill, the chilling rate, the internal temperature of the muscle after chilling, the youthfulness of the animal, the relative humidity, the amount of weight loss the hunter is willing to sacrifice, the processing procedure and the cooler space and labor available if the game is to be processed commercially. Under ideal conditions, age antelope 3 days, deer, sheep, goat, cow elk and cow moose 7 days and bull elk and bull moose 14 days after the kill at 34ºF. If the temperature is higher, the aging period should be shorter. Game which is killed when the temperature is 65ºF or above and held at this temperature over 1 day should be cut immediately. Game that is to be ground or chopped does not need to be aged.

Aging Big Game by Ray A. Field and C. Colin Kaltenback. Hunters seldom agree as to the length of time a big game carcass should be aged. What is involved in the aging process? When is it beneficial to age game meat? Under what conditions is it inadvisable to age game? This pamphlet is concerned with answers to these questions. See Also: B-513R - Aging Big Game

Field Care of Big Game & Cutting Up a Big Game Carcass

Nebraska Hunting Guide Big Game Guide to Field Care & Home Processing Properly field-dressing game is the most important part of a successful hunting trip. Deer and antelope make fine table fare if the animal is well cared for. The flavor of the meat depends on how quickly and carefully the meat is field dressed. Far too many animals are wasted or provide poor-quality eating because fail to follow simple, common-sense rules of good meat handling.

Canuck2's Gutting Guide - A very good pictorial guide.

Aging Game Meat AGING MEAT does not mean hanging the carcass up to see how many days it takes to spoil. A neighbor of mine and his wife shot four antelope, and they decided to age the meat. The daytime temperature was in the 70s and even higher, yet they hung the meat in their garage. "I like it when it's about to fall off the bone," the man told me. My suggestion was to cut the carcasses down immediately, butcher them, package the meat and hope for the best. But hang longer, they did.

A Pocket Guide to Care and Handling of Deer & Elk from Field to Table See also: A Pocket Guide to Care and Handling of Deer from Field to Table by Julie Garden-Robinson, Martin Marchello, and Pat Beck, and Deer from Field to Table

A Pocket Guide to Care and Handling of FISH from Stream to Table Fish are fun to catch and nutritious to eat. They are high in protein, rich in vitamins and minerals, and low in saturated fat. Fish oils are high in polyunsaturated fats that may function in lowering blood cholesterol. Proper handling of fish from the time you catch them until you get them to the table will help maintain optimum eating quality. Keep the following fish handling tips in mind.

Food Safety for Deer Hunters A powerpoint presentation

Freezing Meat, Poultry and Game The flavor and texture of the final product depends upon the manner in which the meat is handled following slaughter. If you slaughter your own meat, contact your local Extension office for complete information on slaughtering. Use only meat from healthy, disease-free animals. The meat should be chilled without delay to 40 degrees F or lower to prevent spoilage. Rinse poultry thoroughly in cold water and drain. Handle meat rapidly and keep everything that touches the meat clean. Trim off all gristle, bruised spots and excess fat before freezing. After 24 hours of chilling, pork, veal or lamb is ready to be cut, wrapped and frozen. Beef may be left at 32 to 36 degrees F for five to seven days to age the meat, making it more tender and flavorful. See also: Quality for Keeps — Freezing Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs and Dairy Products

Nutritional value meat from wild animals A number of studies on the nutritional value of wild animal meat indicate that bushmeat is comparable if not better than domestic meat. The general trend is that the meat of most wild animal species tends to be low in fat, while equal or better than beef, mutton, chicken or pork in protein content and much higher in vitamin content (Tables 2.7 and 2.8). Apart from the large game species, nutritional studies on wild animals have been carried out for "non-conventional" species such as rodents, insects and snails. Nutritional studies of rodents used as food in the Zambezian woodland gave average protein content of 24% (fresh weight); fat content of 2.816.8% and ash consent of % for twelve species (Malaise and Parent 1982, see Table 2.7). Based on these results, the authors concluded that the nutritive value of rodents places them on the same level as beef and chicken.

Food Shelf-Life Recommendations A table with some common items.

Dr. Gary North's Food and Food Storage Forum Archive 4 July 97-2 Feb 98. Whoa! This sucker is 93 pages of info-packed dynamite. Definitely a first stop on the food-storage information train! Presented by the fine folks at Walton Feeds. Thanks, Guys!

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