Pressure canning in the UK

[ged]

...i am looking to buy when we can afford it one of these,
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garde...Canner-Cooker/4396171/product.html?cid=133635

Do you have the internal dimensions for those? They aren't clear from the information on the site.

The wife and I do a lot of what we call 'bottling' which means mainly fruit from our trees preserved in Kilner and similar jars. The main problem we come up against is getting efficient use of the space inside pressure cookers. We have several, but there always seems to be a huge unused void in the container. Most of the time if the thing was an extra inch tall we could get twice as many jars in there. It's very frustrating. The retailers seem to be able to tell you the internal diameter easily enough, but much less often can they tell you the maximum usable internal height.

...once i have drained a forum of its information relevant to me i go find another one to drain unless it keeps my intrest.

Seems a bit selfish.

 

[hedgerowpete]

bit iam selfish, i am only intrested in ME and me is my favourite subject, me feeds my family and pays the bills, me and my family are every thing, everyone one else is second so why not me be important

so next up was the canning joke, it was a joke you know , apart from that just follow the websites and stay away from the dark spots and enjoy

 

[greenwood]

a big thank you for explaining and post

 

[maddave]

Great post mate !!

 

[Rod Paradise]

Edit - moving to a seperate thread.

 

[Earthgirl]

I hope British Red doesn't mind me showing the results from my own canning today.

It's thanks to his clear pics and instructions and the fact my friend phoned yesterday to say that she had a glut of tomatoes and to come and help myself.

My canner is the same size as British Red's but only half the height so I could do 8 pint jars at a time.

So I did a little experiment.

The 8 jars on the left were cold packed raw tomatoes and the 8 jars on the right were the second batch I did with a hot pack method. So far I can see no difference in either side. I'll have to wait until the jars cool properly tomorrow to taste the results

 

[British Red]

Mind? Its fantastic - love to see other peoples canning output

 

[Earthgirl]

Thanks British Red

We did the taste test this morning and OMG... They are gorgeous...

There will definitely be an overgrowing of tomatoes next year...

This is the raw packed tomatoes

This is the hot packed tomatoes

As you can see there is slightly more breakdown of the tomatoes in the hot pack method but they both taste divine and that home grown fresh tomato smell is stunning.

Now has anybody got a glut of tomatoes they don't know what to do with I'll happily take them off your hands...

 

[British Red]

The joy is I just finished some two year old canned tomatoes - and they are every bit as good as the day I packed them

Just wish we could get the jars more cheaply!

 

[Earthgirl]

I agree about getting the jars more cheaply, the best I can find at the moment is 12 pint kilner jars for £20.99

and I'm also trying to find a source of 'Tatler' lids which are re-usable for up to 10yrs...

 

[British Red]

Be grateful if you would pass it on if you do

Worth knowing that Dunelm Mill do their own canning jars that go on half price (a quid each) now and again. They take standard rings and lids

 

[Earthgirl]

Sure no problem here's the link

http://www.barnitts.co.uk/products/details/42401.html and they do free delivery on orders over £35, they also do a slightly cheaper version of the same jar.

Thanks for the tip about Denelm

 

[British Red]

Thanks - I meant the Tatler lids really (I wasn't clear)

 

[Earthgirl]

I did wonder... lol... I should have asked

I'll let you know if I find any

 

[santaman2000]

The joy is I just finished some two year old canned tomatoes - and they are every bit as good as the day I packed them

Just wish we could get the jars more cheaply!

We're lucky that way; the price of a case here is relatively cheap and of course they can be reused. But even more is the fact that most jars of anything you'd buy in the grocery are of the same sizes and compatable with the canning lids/tops and can be repurposed when empty.

 

[British Red]

Yep - I envy you that - feel free to pack a few hundred empties up and float them across the pond

 

[santaman2000]

LOL. That's the problem with the cost there; shipping costs. Of course if it becomes more popular there. I expect the volume would bring costs down.

 

[British Red]

Indeed - but when my buddies pick up a hundred used ones for $5 in yard sales I could weep

 

[Pvae0104]

I'm new to canning, just finished a few batches of apples, salsa, peaches, beets etc. I'd like to pressure can meats, veg etc, Are there any organisations where ideas nd recipes can be shared in the uk? It's just not done in the uk. I brought a canner back from the USA in my suitcase - crazy I hear you say!! - and want to get cracking with it. However I notice in the pics above that Kilner jars are used but I've been told by rayware (Kilner distributor) that Kilner jars are not "approved or tested" to withstand pressure canning. Can anyone please comment? They hv advised they are ok for water bath and oven canning only, confirming they have been tested to a temp of 150 recently by a member of staff. I'm keen to get started but a bit nervous I might hv an explosion!

 

[British Red]

how long will the toms last in storage now?

I've always wondered on shelf life of bottled water and tinned foods.

Just to answer this officially I reserved two jars of these tomatoes to eat two years later (we normally eat up one lot when the next years crop kicks in).

Other than a little rust on the rings from sitting in the outdoor pantry, they were absolutely fine - no change in colour or flavour and the pasta sauce I made with them delicious (this years onions, field mushrooms and garlic with fresh marjoram, thyme and rosemary)

I've put back some chilli with meat to try for three years