Introduction to More Exciting Pressure Canning

When people decide to acquire a pressure canner, it is usually so that they can preserve excess garden produce.  But there is so much more that can be done--so much that is quite tasty and will be very desirable in the dark days ahead.  Pressure-canned foods add variety to the diet, especially in a world lacking fresh and frozen foods.

Now, I'm not going to reproduce the Ball Blue Book of Canning (hereafter the BBB) here.  Everyone should have a copy of that for reference for basic guidelines, correct preparation, and accurate processing times.  What I do want to do is explore some ideas for using a canner to prepare some less conventional foods that will save you time and definitely boost morale.

Vegetables

Most vegetables are canned per instructions in the BBB.  There's just not a lot that is exciting or different to add.  And actually, I usually prefer to dehydrate vegetables when possible.  But there are some situations where the dehydrated version just doesn't work as well in recipes.  One of those is dehydrated shredded zucchini.  Don't get me wrong; I do actually dehydrate quite a bit some years.  But when I rehydrate the zucchini for making cakes and breads, it doesn't reconstitute perfectly.  And some baked goods I want to have absolutely perfect.  And of course, I do just put several bags of shredded zucchini in the freezer, but I'm preparing for a time without easy electricity, so every year or so I can a few pints of shredded zucchini.  It gets packed in jars and processed per instructions for squash in the BBB.  And then when we want zucchini bread or cupcakes, we don't have to wait for the dehydrated stuff to rehydrate, nor are we dealing with cupcakes that are a little on the chewy side because the zucchini didn't fully reconstitute.

The other exception around here is potatoes. Yeah, lots of people can potatoes, but we never really cared for the texture, and unless they were being used in a stew, we never seemed to get around to eating them.  However, there is that other more popular way of eating potatoes in this country, the French fry.  Even if the pressure canner was not used for anything else, it would be worthwhile (in this family, at least) to acquire just to be able to have French fries when the grid goes down. These fries are so incredibly divine. Unfortunately, I can’t give you a taste. You’ll just have to trust me. Canning French fries is one of the first articles I posted on this blog; as such, not a lot of people have read it yet. All the work is done in the canning; when you wish to eat some fries (which will be often!), open the jar and put the fries into a strainer. Thoroughly rinse and drain to remove excess starch. Deep fry in peanut oil until they reach a golden brown. If your family is just not into the food storage thing because it's too horrible to contemplate eating that stuff, give these French fries a try.  You'll see a complete one-eighty as they realize food storage can be really good.

Dry Beans
Dry beans aren’t a particularly exciting item to can, unless you get excited about saving money, time, and energy. Dry beans normally take hours to prepare for each meal. By utilizing a pressure canner, you prepare beans for several meals at once, saving money now and time down the road. So how is it done?  Dry beans are truly one of the easiest items to can and a great way to get started with pressure canning.  Basically, you soak the beans for several hours or overnight; rinse, drain, and cook; fill jars about 2/3 full; add boiling water and salt; and process.  It might sound like a lot of work, but it is really quick and easy, and not at all messy.  Complete instructions are here. 

Meats

Canning in the meat world is just like canning in the fruit and vegetable world--follow directions and be careful.  There's nothing scary about it, and preparing meats is a lot faster and easier than preparing produce.  All meats are canned exactly as outlined in the BBB.  However, here are a few ideas for preparing and packaging meats for other uses.  Food fatigue is a real thing, and having a variety of tasty and familiar foods in our menu will be essential to maintaining morale in the coming crisis.

• Beef. I can a good quantity of stew meat to be used as is in stews, but also to be shredded for use as taco filling, French dips, etc. Ground beef also gets browned and canned so that I can make soups and casseroles very quickly. 
• Pork. Some pork is canned in chunks for later use in chili or to be shredded for taquito filling or super quick pulled pork sandwiches. The Cooperative Extension has never tested the safety of canning smoked or cured meats, including bacon.  It may be perfectly safe; it may not be. 
• Bacon.  The Cooperative Extension does not recommend canning bacon for a variety of reasons, all of which are sound. That being said, there are still a lot of people doing it.  I admit to it myself, but now only for bacon ends and pieces, and not the strips that are "dry-canned."  I have posted on bacon in the past, including how people do it and exactly why the Cooperative Extension opposes the practice.  
• Chicken. Home-canned chicken makes for quick chicken salad sandwiches or adding to a summer salad for a main dish meal. And with a can of chicken on hand, it takes no time to get homemade chicken noodle soup ready when someone comes down with a cold.
• Chicken bones. This isn't being recommended as food for people, though apparently in some cultures chicken bones do get thoroughly cooked and mashed or blended in some dishes.  I'm not entirely sold on the safety of this in general, but it does work for making chicken bouillon.  However, chicken bones can be pressure canned, just like chicken meat is, for feeding cats.  After being pressure canned, the hollow bones are easily mashed with a fork and fed to cats. Unfortunately, the chicken bones are too high in protein to be fed to dogs (may cause kidney damage).

Convenience foods

Pressure canning is great for preserving the harvest, but it’s also ideal for making life easier with convenience foods for days when we're just too busy or sick to cook.  A ready supply of stew, chili, and soup provides peace of mind for those situations when they arise.  Each family will have its own favorite recipes, so I'll refrain from posting any here.  Most any recipe can be adapted for canning, one just needs to always remember to process for the time stated for the ingredient that needs the most time and highest pressure.  Read your BBB for specific guidelines here.

A pressure canner is going to cost $100-$300. But the peace of mind that comes from preparing your own food? Priceless.

Links to related posts:
A Few Thoughts on Pressure Canners
Canning French Fries  
Canning Refried Beans  
Canning Hamburger Patties
Canning Bacon 
Canning Chicken
Canning Ham
Canning Pork 

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com  

Dietary Deficiencies and Consequences--Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)

Food manufacturers routinely add vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, to enrich breakfast cereals and breads.  But what happens when Kraft and Nabisco and Kellogg's aren't working for us anymore?

Due to the fortification of foods, cases of nutritional thiamine deficiency in the United States are extremely rare.  However, it remains common in parts of Africa and outbreaks occur in refugee camps.  While thiamine deficiency has been described in historical records for thousands of years, it only became common in the late nineteenth century with the increased processing of grains, particularly rice in the eastern hemisphere and wheat in the western hemisphere.  As researchers observed increasing incidences of disease in populations that consumed more white rice and white flour, governments mandated the addition of essential vitamins back into these foods that processing had stripped away. 

Mild to moderate thiamine deficiency is marked by malaise, weight loss, irritability, and confusion.  Risk factors for thiamine deficiency in a functioning society include dialysis, bariatric surgery, diabetes, large numbers of diuretics, and alcoholism.

But what happens when our society is no longer functioning?  What are the risk factors?  How quickly will thiamine deficiency and beriberi (Sinhalese phrase meaning “I can’t, I can’t”), return when our society collapses?

Ten days.  The human body doesn't store thiamine.  Symptoms of mild to moderate deficiency may occur in just ten days.

Diagnosis of beriberi in a collapsed society without access to laboratory blood tests is going to be based on symptoms and improvement with good nutrition, specifically whole grain bread, because conventional treatment with thiamine administered intravenously also won't likely be an option.

Unfortunately for caretakers, beriberi is expressed in different forms, which could make diagnosis difficult.  Common symptoms include impaired reflexes, droopy eyelids, lack of coordination, and difficulty walking.

Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system and is marked by an increased heart rate, shortness of breath, and swelling of the legs due to vasodilation.

Dry beriberi affects the nervous system and is exhibited by confusion, numbness in the limbs, trouble moving the feet, and pain.

Gastrointestinal beriberi causes abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and lactic acidosis.

Infantile beriberi occurs primarily in infants two to six months in age whose mothers are deficient in thiamine as well.  It may present in either the wet or dry forms, and in addition to an increased heart rate, edema, and vomiting, the infant may also have diarrhea and pale skin.  Shortness of breath and convulsions are noted in the terminal stages.

There are also some genetic conditions that make thiamine absorption from food difficult, but they're beyond the scope of this post and the ability to treat post-collapse.

So how to we ensure that we are getting enough thiamine in our diet on a daily basis?  Building up a generous supply of supplemental vitamins is one way, but when that supply is exhausted, what next?  What foods are high in thiamine?  

• Whole grains, especially brown rice (which doesn't have a long shelf-life)

• Beef, pork, fish, liver, eggs, dairy (food from animal sources is only a good source of thiamine if their diet has adequate thiamine)

• Legumes

• Vegetables such as acorn squash, asparagus, spinach, beet greens, and Brussels sprouts

As I attempt to finish writing this post, my husband is asking me about where to find Christmas wrap and tape and bows and playing Christmas music.  (I write posts about a month before they appear online.  It gives me time to make revisions and lets me take a break if I need to.) My daughter's trying to keep the one remaining kitten from the litter from hiding behind the piano, or anywhere else, before someone shows up to claim him.  My son is studying for his last final.  I love my life.  I don't want things to change.  I'm sure it's the same for you.

Links to related posts:
Dietary Deficiency and Consequences--Vitamin A
                                                                Vitamin B2
                                                                Vitamin B3
                                                                Vitamin B5, B6, B7
                                                                Vitamin B9
                                                                Vitamin B12
                                                                Vitamin C  
                                                                Vitamin D
                                                                Calcium  
                                                                Iodine  
                                                                Iron
                                                                Magnesium
                                                                Potassium  
                                                                Zinc

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com   

Expanded Food Storage--Dried Beef/Jerky

One of the best things about going to visit grandparents is getting lots of love and spoiling, and my Grandma Bessie was no exception.  She wasn't a particularly huggy person; she showed her love with food.  While my wild cousins who lived nearby her apparently favored store-bought cookies, the rest of us who lived an hour away loved Grandma's beef jerky.

As I've come to learn over the years, what she made us isn't truly considered jerky by most people.  By definition, jerky is simply lean meat, cut into thin strips, salted, and dried to preserve.  However, jerky aficionados insist that true jerky is dried meat that is marinated and seasoned with more than just salt and pepper.

Whatever.  I'm happy to call my stuff dried beef if it keeps everyone else from eating it.

Grandma passed away when I was nineteen years old, and as the oldest granddaughter, and the only one interested in food preservation, I inherited her four-tray Excalibur dehydrator.  Even though I was still in college, I started using it right away.  And the first order of business was to figure out how to make Grandma's beef jerky.

I knew Grandma watched for sales on pre-sliced meat when we went shopping, and the cut she looked for was called breakfast steak.  I don't know whether stores just don't do that cut anymore, or whether that's only the case here.  I buy pre-sliced carne asada at WinCo, but only if it's sliced thinly enough, 3/16" thick or less.  If meat is any thicker, it may not dry thoroughly and you'll end up with spoilage.  

Grandma only used salt and pepper to season her jerky.  She believed in keeping things simple, and especially for her grandchildren.  She definitely didn't make jerky for her own children.  I still can't figure out why my mom and her siblings didn't eat it; I still love it, but maybe it's just because it reminds me of Grandma.

Anyway, back to drying beef.  Remove excess fat.  Lay the beef slices on the dehydrator trays and salt both sides.  I put pepper on just one side, but add pepper according to your tastes.  Of course, you can also add other seasonings; I happen to find that salt and pepper work just fine for most people and are best suited for children.  You may want to run a small test batch first to get an idea of how much salt and pepper to apply.

Set your dehydrator temperature to 155 degrees.  If the temperature is set too high, case hardening may occur, whereby the outside layer dries too quickly and thoroughly and does not permit the moisture to escape adequately from the inside.  (A little side note.  Do I think the temperature has to be that high?  No.  Native Americans, and indeed people the world over, have been drying meat for millennia, long before electricity and Excalibur dehydrators.  And I'm pretty sure they weren't doing their meat at 155 degrees.  But they didn't live in a litigious society where anyone can be sued for anything at any time.)

It usually takes about a day to dry, but I live in a desert.  Drying time will vary due to thickness of the meat, humidity, amount of salt used, and how full and efficient the dehydrator is.

I like the idea of vacuum-sealing the dried beef in bags, but I dry my beef completely, and it invariably pokes holes in the bags.  So I usually resort to vacuum-sealing in canning jars.  How long will it last?  Well, beef jerky is kind of like chocolate around here, so we don't have extremely long term studies.  However, we did misplace a few jars in our move and then somehow came across three-year old jerky.  It tasted just fine and disappeared rather quickly.  Even the pieces of fat tasted fine and had no trace of rancidity, which is what I would expect, as long as the vacuum seal isn't compromised.  

28 january 2023