tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31401979.post6272960013885971783..comments2023-11-15T03:44:35.033-05:00Comments on Fast Grow the Weeds: Eat Local: Preserving tomatoesElhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14878724196098024140noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31401979.post-41985146077742861412007-09-29T01:19:00.000-04:002007-09-29T01:19:00.000-04:00I'm intimidated by the pressure canners a little, ...I'm intimidated by the pressure canners a little, and we're waiting on some of the wish-list equipment till we're finally "there" (the land we're trying to hunt down..argh the waiting time). It'll likely be one of the first items bought, though...I've come SO close over the past year in getting one. They do look like time machines, dont they? ha :)Robbynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01860870861321231048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31401979.post-86361457699719400612007-09-27T08:09:00.000-04:002007-09-27T08:09:00.000-04:00Ali: thanks for the tip, and thanks for stopping ...Ali: thanks for the tip, and thanks for stopping by! In a lot of ways, Maine sure sounds like the Promised Land, especially with extension programs like the one you attended. I think preserving food is fun, and I am glad I have the pressure canner. <BR/><BR/>It's just like anything, though: you can get by without a lot of fancy expensive tools, but, in the instance of the pressure canner, I have been able to do so much more than before...so I recommend getting one if you think you'd need one.Elhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14878724196098024140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31401979.post-72437496418319792482007-09-26T18:58:00.000-04:002007-09-26T18:58:00.000-04:00I took a class from my Cooperative Extension Servi...I took a class from my Cooperative Extension Service county office this summer, and it was great. It demystified the whole pressure canner process, and they checked your canner for safety, including checking the pressure gauge for accuracy. I appreciated that as I'm using an older inherited model --which got the A-ok. <BR/><BR/>Might be worth checking out for those of you interested in giving it a try.Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04462041577129730944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31401979.post-67286339120380652672007-09-26T09:03:00.000-04:002007-09-26T09:03:00.000-04:00Kim: it took me years to psych myself up enough t...Kim: it took me years to psych myself up enough to get a pressure canner. Now of course I wonder why it took so long.<BR/><BR/>The paste, like the ketchup, requires a lot of time on the stove to boil off all the juice. Paste takes less time than ketchup though because the paste tomatoes I use are pretty meaty, whereas the cherry tomatoes I use for ketchup are little water balloons. I freeze the paste in a plastic tub, then I just scrape out a spoonful as needed in recipes.<BR/><BR/>Nada: Fascinating. And I do think it is interesting, the cultural differences (or emphasis, anyway) of what to be scared of. I like the idea of sauce in a beer bottle, and the idea that putting them up is a communal event! Here in the states, we used to have communal canning kitchens, back during WW2. Those are long gone, just like the tradition of canning. Alas.<BR/><BR/>Ang: the Ball Blue Book of canning, and older editions of the Joy of Cooking, should both have instructions for using older pressure canners. I think mine is great (obviously) though it does look scary with all that hardware!Elhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14878724196098024140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31401979.post-66700719438321055752007-09-26T08:39:00.000-04:002007-09-26T08:39:00.000-04:00great post, El! I actually have inherited Eric's g...great post, El! I actually have inherited Eric's grandma's pressure cooker, but I've been too afraid to try it!! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31401979.post-9557774646539723412007-09-25T18:45:00.000-04:002007-09-25T18:45:00.000-04:00That pressure canner looks like it could fly you t...That pressure canner looks like it could fly you to the moon. I've never encountered one and most people I know who preserve food don't use them. I guess I should think more about microbes than I do.<BR/><BR/>Interestingly for tomatoes, a reasonable number of Italians in Australia put their sauce in long- neck (600ml) beer bottles and seal with a new cap. They, then, lay the bottles in a 44 gallon drum, cover them with water and boil away. The drum is raised and there is an open fire burning underneath it. Whole families/communities get together to do this. <BR/><BR/>I always wanted to use beer bottles to preserve my sauce in but alas, we don't drink enough of it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31401979.post-55366835589665477252007-09-25T13:49:00.000-04:002007-09-25T13:49:00.000-04:00You are really convincing me that I need a pressur...You are really convincing me that I need a pressure canner, even if that's not your intent. (Partly because I want to start putting up things like beans, and partly because I add so many of those aforementioned onions and peppers that I am probably at the corporation limit of Microbe City already!)<BR/><BR/>What really struck me is that you make your own tomato paste. Is that insanely time consuming?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14395380166485303934noreply@blogger.com