Home Canning In The 21st Century? You Bet!

[JeepHammer]

My wife says a month ago Harvest Guard & Tattler (reusables) were still both available, she ordered a batch and both websites said they had them in stock.

She said hers came in less than a week.

I use them, but I miss the 'Ping' the metal lids make, reusable doesn't make that ping.
I pick them up by the lids to see if they sealed, she says you are only supposed to bump them to see if they sealed, I want a little more confirmation...

 

[dprimm]

For those that Facebook look up Rebel Canners. That is where I learned about reusing lids. If it can be canned they know how to do it safely.

I am very anxious to go to retort bags. Especially as I now have 40 lbs of chicken to get canned. There are many other things the retort bags will work better for than jars.
one good thing that came from this virus stuff is I learned to can. Buddy gave me a canner and that was that.

I want to see @JeepHammer setup. For so many reasons beyond my canning needs.

 

[dprimm]

I pick them up by the lids to see if they sealed, she says you are only supposed to bump them to see if they sealed, I want a little more confirmation

that is how I test my Tattler lids. My only concern with them is very long term storage (vs metal).

 

[JeepHammer]

For those that Facebook look up Rebel Canners. That is where I learned about reusing lids. If it can be canned they know how to do it safely.

I am very anxious to go to retort bags. Especially as I now have 40 lbs of chicken to get canned. There are many other things the retort bags will work better for than jars.
one good thing that came from this virus stuff is I learned to can. Buddy gave me a canner and that was that.

I want to see @JeepHammer setup. For so many reasons beyond my canning needs.

My luck with retort bags is not that good so far, but I used a freezer bag vacuum sealer instead of proper retort bag sealer...
Live & learn.

I didn't pack tight enough, so I had blowouts.
Between not packing tight enough, and questionable sealing, all the splits were at the seams.

When I figure out how to seal better I'll try again.

 

[dprimm]

My luck with retort bags is not that good so far, but I used a freezer bag vacuum sealer instead of proper retort bag sealer...

Can you further seal w an iron like the regular Mylar bags?

 

[JeepHammer]

Can you further seal w an iron like the regular Mylar bags?

Don't know, haven't tried it.

If China ever starts shipping again, or I can find a used one in the US, I'd like to have a proper bag sealer and see if I can reproduce what it does...

 

[JeepHammer]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-Berli...a-87f1-4540-b538-1e2f28249c27&redirect=mobile.

Edit:
Got a message from the seller,
" I can provide exact inside dimensions on later today, but from a usage standpoint I would routinely fit 110 quart jars and 160 pint jars. I did not can product in 1 gallon sizes. I hope this helps for the meantime."

110 quarts is a BUNCH of food!

......

Found a retort on ebay, it's got a built in lid crane & basket lift which makes it better than mine.
I have it on the watch list, if it goes cheap enough I might pick it up.

The way the legs are welded on and the control box is mounted it will be a little more difficult to convert to induction...
....

I found mine in an equipment sale, a little bigger than this one, got it for $300.
I use a chain hoist & 'A' frame on wheels for moving basket around.
Awkward, but it works.

What I want is an I beam overhead so I can move the basket to either side of the retort.
Retrofitting an I-beam into the shelter house I use as the summer kitchen won't be all that easy.

Boilers scare the crap out of me.
It's a science thing, one cubic inch of water makes 1,700 cubic inches of steam.
That's 1,700 to 1 expansion rate!

I've seen the pictures & read the stores of steam boilers going off and being found a mile away...

The retort is MUCH smaller than the boiler required to heat it, and I can heat it without a boiler, I fear it much less, but I still stay clear if it when at temperature/pressure since I can't guarantee it's integrity.
I do double working pressure tests, but that's only 35 PSIG.

If you want to watch metal can processing with retort (using boiler) watch this one.



I WISH I had it down this well!
I would need more people, but community canning isn't done anymore like it was into the 50s...

Everytime I see something about 'Survival Communities' I look for something like this...
Never seen one, always guns, gadgets that do little to nothing and more guns...