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Post by Peter on Aug 6, 2015 11:43:25 GMT 10
Valid points - thanks shinester. I read on a gas supplier website that LPG is not suitable for indoor use, but I'd thought at the time it was likely that they wanted to sell piped gas to the viewer.
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Frank
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Post by Frank on Aug 6, 2015 13:12:15 GMT 10
Impressive shinester, great work.
Never had those scoutmum, do they taste like regular cucumber/pickles?
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scoutmum
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North Queensland
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Post by scoutmum on Aug 9, 2015 12:20:45 GMT 10
Impressive shinester, great work. Never had those scoutmum, do they taste like regular cucumber/pickles? 'Prickly', or 'Bush' cucumbers taste pretty much like normal cucumbers... The prickles are QUITE prickly, though, so you need to shave them off before using. They grow everywhere around here. Haven't taste our dill pickles yet; letting them marinate for a few weeks. |
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Aug 11, 2015 6:00:30 GMT 10
 More! 10L of beans in dill, and 7L Pasta sauce with beans. As I cooked the beans from dried [and they were getting on the older side] they took forever to cook, like about 12hrs brewing away. I'm finding the 500ml [pint] jars to be the best as they're meal size. I had to redo some, as I did the lids up too tight, thinking that would be a good idea. Counter intuitively it's not. Better that they 'just' be on, finger tight, which makes sense as some of the air needs to be expelled under pressure [aka one way value] and this forms the seal. The wife loves the ready meals, and asked me to make more of the pumpkin soup I did if I'm doing another batch. *laughs* There's one way to get your partner into prepping  |
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Frank
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Post by Frank on Aug 11, 2015 9:49:57 GMT 10
As I know very little about canning, this might be a dumb question..... do you put meat in your pasta sauce?
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scoutmum
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Post by scoutmum on Aug 11, 2015 12:10:22 GMT 10
Was reading through the pressure canner book, and it looks like you should be able to use it to pressure cook dried beans, etc. in a fraction of the time it would normally take... (Re. old dried beans taking forever to cook @shinester)
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Aug 12, 2015 5:17:19 GMT 10
As I know very little about canning, this might be a dumb question..... do you put meat in your pasta sauce? If you pressure can, you 'can' put meat in your sauce [use low fat] no probs. Yeah, the higher pressure and higher temperature helps. I've been doing some further reading on the subject and the easiest and best way apparently is to sprout and cook them, to which I'm currently trying [sprouting]. |
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Post by Peter on Aug 13, 2015 12:41:15 GMT 10
Is there any reason why Ball lids couldn't be sterilised in the dishwasher?
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Post by wellrounded on Aug 13, 2015 16:50:46 GMT 10
Why do you want to sterilise Mr Pete?
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Post by Peter on Aug 13, 2015 19:47:12 GMT 10
Um, now that you mention it, that's a good point.
I'm guessing it's because I've also been thinking about fermentation pickling lately...
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Post by wellrounded on Aug 14, 2015 16:22:19 GMT 10
I'd use something other than the thin ball lids for that if you can, they don't hold up well. Tattlers lids are great you can drill them and them add a brewing grommet and airlock. I contacted tattlers about their lids and they told me that they will direct ship to Australia  . I use brewing sanitiser for fermenting (Sodium percarbonate) as it brakes down into stuff that won't cause problem for yeast or bacteria growth in the ferments/brews. You can get a 20kg bucket for about $5.00 a kg including post from ebay. Love this stuff as it's a great way to store hydrogen peroxide. I keep some in the laundry as well |
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Post by Peter on Aug 14, 2015 17:05:31 GMT 10
wellrounded - you are quite the font of knowledge. Thanks for that - that's most helpful. I'm hoping to do a trial run of fermenting sauerkraut in jars starting this weekend - I'll now probably skip the ball jars and use glass lids (these ones www.ikea.com/aa/en/catalog/products/50213551/) for the moment, until I get something better sorted. I think I'll visit a nearby brewing supplier next week if I get the chance. Interestingly I was speaking with my father this afternoon, who reminisced about his childhood in Europe; his family would slaughter a couple of pigs each year and make charcuterie for the winter, and they'd also make various pickles, sauerkrauts, etc. How I wish I could get some of the old traditional recipes.
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scoutmum
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Post by scoutmum on Aug 14, 2015 19:00:29 GMT 10
Interestingly I was speaking with my father this afternoon, who reminisced about his childhood in Europe; his family would slaughter a couple of pigs each year and make charcuterie for the winter, and they'd also make various pickles, sauerkrauts, etc. How I wish I could get some of the old traditional recipes. Don't know what your family heritage is, but I picked up 'Preserving the Italian Way' by Pietro Demaio a few years ago, and found it to be excellent! Lots and lots of old world recipes... www.diggers.com.au/shop/gardening-books/cookbooks/preserving-the-italian-way/hpre/ |
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Post by Peter on Aug 14, 2015 19:25:51 GMT 10
We're from a bit further north, but the principles are the same. I recently got a copy of "The Joy of Pickling", which looked good at first. Now that I'm looking into it in more detail, I find myself annoyed at the number of recipes in that book that require the use of vinegar.
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Aug 15, 2015 3:25:46 GMT 10
Um, now that you mention it, that's a good point. I'm guessing it's because I've also been thinking about fermentation pickling lately... If you're using jars for fermenting [they seem a little small for my liking], then you could use the lids that come with the Kmart jars that have a straw in the middle, remove straw, perhaps drill a bigger hole and add a grommet. They're one piece and a little thicker than the normal jar lids. |
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Post by Peter on Aug 15, 2015 10:16:21 GMT 10
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Matilda
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Post by Matilda on Aug 17, 2015 8:50:51 GMT 10
I used my dehydrator for the first time over the weekend. I dehydrated a big bunch of Kale and was very happy with the result. It fill 2 quart jars and took about 7 hours. Next I dehydrated 2 x punnets of strawberries and 2 small pineapples. 15 hours later - I was finally able to turn the dehydrator off. My 2 punnets fitted in the palm of my hand and the 2 pineapples filled 1 quart jar. I'm going to do another large bunch of Kale shortly. I had a couple of concerns - the length of time the dehydrator ran for - I was worried about it overheating etc. so I was housebound for the duration. My friend said leave it on overnight. Hmmmm. Need to think about that. But I have made a start and that's what's important.
My canner. I have a box of apples and a couple of bags of carrots that I want to can. I have viewed a few videos and feel confidant enough to start. But I apparently need canning salt for the carrots, so its two feet forward and one back!! I think I might tackle the apples though tonight when Hubby gets home and tomorrow when I shop hopefully I can find canning salt. While trawling thru videos, I came across this lady who gave a good spiel about beginner canning. Hopefully tomorrow I can have some apples canned!! Grrrrrrr! I need ascorbic acid for the apples !
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VegHead
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Post by VegHead on Aug 17, 2015 21:40:15 GMT 10
Opened two jars of duck and one of potatoes (both processed via the raw-pack method in my All American canner a couple of months back) the other night and boy, the duck was like the best duck confit we'd ever tasted and the spuds were also superb. All hail the pressure canner, eh? The reason for the two jars of duck is that we chucked in half a duck in each, but it was soooo good smelling as I opened the first that I raced out to the shed and got another one Wife says buy bigger wide-mouth jars and breed more ducks for canning. Not sure a goose would fit, though lol. New Generation Preserving have given me a pretty good quote for freight on a bulk order of jars so may just lay out some coin and stock up. Veg. |
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Post by thereth on Aug 17, 2015 23:41:33 GMT 10
probably a bit late but has the admin thought of approaching ozfarmer about providing Ausprep members a discount?
Just thought it was worth a mention as they not only do canning, but jerky, cheeses, general farming and self sufficiency goods.
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Aug 20, 2015 8:29:50 GMT 10
You could also approach these guys - www.aussimasonpreservingjars.com.au/
Same guys as Veg mentioned. I found them to be 'very' good to deal, with a lovely couple and best prices around. I mentioned that I was going to tell a group about them .
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Veg - Nice one! I've yet to do meat, I've got to get around to it. I really like the 'meal sized' jars [500mls] for soups and so on and I would agree with Mrs.Veg wide mouth would be the go for packing meats, mostly because you don't have to go around a corner when putting the meat in there. I used my dehydrator for the first time over the weekend. I dehydrated a big bunch of Kale and was very happy with the result. It fill 2 quart jars and took about 7 hours. Next I dehydrated 2 x punnets of strawberries and 2 small pineapples. 15 hours later - I was finally able to turn the dehydrator off. My 2 punnets fitted in the palm of my hand and the 2 pineapples filled 1 quart jar. I'm going to do another large bunch of Kale shortly. I had a couple of concerns - the length of time the dehydrator ran for - I was worried about it overheating etc. so I was housebound for the duration. My friend said leave it on overnight. Hmmmm. Need to think about that. But I have made a start and that's what's important. Cool. Dehydrators have thermostats that turn it off intermittently when it reaches the set temperature Canning salt - If you pressure can, salt is ONLY for taste. If you're water bath preserving, that might be the case to keep out botulism though I'm unfamiliar with the water bathing non-acidic foods. Non acid foods are usually done in pressure canners these days. Canning salt is normal salt minus the iodine as I understand it and pool salt is salt without iodine. If you're preserving apples 'with' a pressure canner you ought not need the ascorbic acid. The acid is to keep out botulism which the spores aren't killed with boiling in water bath preserving. Basic rules, high acid, you can water bath, .. everything else pressure can. As I have shown above, I do some water bath preserving [mostly condiments] and use 'normal' jars and put on the steralised lid [boiling] whilst still hot. This saves money as they're in effect free. Ha, yeah I like her canning vids, she's energetic [like myself lol] and got some good info in there! Of course she was one of the reasons I reuse my lids. |
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Jul 7, 2024 11:02:41 GMT 10
