I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
packaged foods. I don't see a big difference €” I'd rather cook food
fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>
--
--
Barb
www.barbschaller.com, last update April 2013

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
> gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
> folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
> meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
> they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
> packaged foods. I don't see a big difference €” I'd rather cook food
> fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
> thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>

perhaps they are running low on freezer space and
want to put it up knowing they have a new side of beef
coming soon?

i dunno. i'm with you. fresh is best. canned in
glass jars is second best for some items and frozen
is best for others (freezer jam is still close to
heaven here this time of the year). to me boxed
anything is a far distant fifth or sixth (after a
glass of water or a serving of yogurt). often the
boxes stuff has too much salt for my taste anyways.
when you don't normally put salt or pepper on any
food it's pretty horrible that almost all meals at
places out are full of them to the point where you
can't taste much of anything else. ok, i exaggerate,
but not by much.


songbird

On 2/11/2015 6:13 PM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
> gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
> folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing meat
> from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or they'll talk
> about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and packaged foods. I
> don't see a big difference €” I'd rather cook food fresh. <scratching my
> head and figuring I must be older than I'd thought if I can't wrap my
> head around the idea>
I've talked to folks like that and it seems that if the didn't can it it
ain't fit to eat. Like you I don't understand it. Like many I only can
things that are to much to eat this time, mostly jams, jellies, pickles,
beans and peas, etc. Fresh food is the thing.

Being busy building a new raised bed for the blueberry plants we ate
cereal and sandwiches today and for dinner we had fried chicken tenders
from the local market, which we happened to be in today. Maybe tomorrow
we will finish the new bed and can rest.

On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:13:42 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
>gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
>folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
>meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
>they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
>packaged foods. I don't see a big difference — I'd rather cook food
>fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
>thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>
>--

The only reason I can think of for taking something out of the freezer
to can is if it was on sale and you wanted to stock up but didn't have
time to can it. If it was more than a few days, chances I would just
take it out of the freezer and cook it. I try to can or freeze things
that are fresh, from my garden or the local farmers market where I
know who grew what and when. To me the difference in opening a can of
something I canned as opposed a box or jar from the store is that I
know exactly what things went into my jar or freezer bag and I can
pronounce all of them.

--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

On 2/12/2015 6:33 AM, The Cook wrote:
> On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:13:42 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> > wrote:
>
>> I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
>> gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
>> folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
>> meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
>> they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
>> packaged foods. I don't see a big difference — I'd rather cook food
>> fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
>> thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>
>> --
>
> The only reason I can think of for taking something out of the freezer
> to can is if it was on sale and you wanted to stock up but didn't have
> time to can it. If it was more than a few days, chances I would just
> take it out of the freezer and cook it. I try to can or freeze things
> that are fresh, from my garden or the local farmers market where I
> know who grew what and when. To me the difference in opening a can of
> something I canned as opposed a box or jar from the store is that I
> know exactly what things went into my jar or freezer bag and I can
> pronounce all of them.
>
Amen. Having diabetes and a bad heart putting up my own food plus
reading labels thoroughly in stupormarkets has made a difference in my
staying alive. Now if I could just figure out how to finesse getting old.

Waiting for the eldest great grandson to be dropped off so we can see
him on the school bus. His Momma doesn't trust an eleven year old to
stay awake and get on the bus by himself. Then it's back to building the
blueberry bed.

On 2015-02-12 12:33:45 +0000, The Cook said:

> On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:13:42 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> > wrote:
>
>> I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
>> gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
>> folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
>> meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
>> they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
>> packaged foods. I don't see a big difference — I'd rather cook food
>> fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
>> thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>
>> --
>
> The only reason I can think of for taking something out of the freezer
> to can is if it was on sale and you wanted to stock up but didn't have
> time to can it. If it was more than a few days, chances I would just
> take it out of the freezer and cook it. I try to can or freeze things
> that are fresh, from my garden or the local farmers market where I
> know who grew what and when. To me the difference in opening a can of
> something I canned as opposed a box or jar from the store is that I
> know exactly what things went into my jar or freezer bag and I can
> pronounce all of them.

Oh, I get that part for sure but some of the stuff they talk about
canning boggles my mind. Pumpkin water. WTF? And I gotta tell you
that a lot of the pictures don't impress me one whit €” stuff like 2
inches of headspace, jars 3/4 full. A lot of them do pressure canning
and I don't. Some of the newbies want to just jump right in and one
took some offense because instead of answering a (not so simple)
question with a (long) answer, I'll post a link to the information on
the NCHFP site. "I can look it up myself." Really? Then, uh, why
don't you? I'm getting old, Susan! And going to see Neil Diamond in
April. :-)

--
--
Barb
www.barbschaller.com, last update April 2013

On Thu, 12 Feb 2015 21:05:21 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>On 2015-02-12 12:33:45 +0000, The Cook said:
>
>> On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:13:42 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
>>> gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
>>> folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
>>> meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
>>> they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
>>> packaged foods. I don't see a big difference ? I'd rather cook food
>>> fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
>>> thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>
>>> --
>>
>> The only reason I can think of for taking something out of the freezer
>> to can is if it was on sale and you wanted to stock up but didn't have
>> time to can it. If it was more than a few days, chances I would just
>> take it out of the freezer and cook it. I try to can or freeze things
>> that are fresh, from my garden or the local farmers market where I
>> know who grew what and when. To me the difference in opening a can of
>> something I canned as opposed a box or jar from the store is that I
>> know exactly what things went into my jar or freezer bag and I can
>> pronounce all of them.
>
>Oh, I get that part for sure but some of the stuff they talk about
>canning boggles my mind. Pumpkin water. WTF? And I gotta tell you
>that a lot of the pictures don't impress me one whit — stuff like 2
>inches of headspace, jars 3/4 full. A lot of them do pressure canning
>and I don't. Some of the newbies want to just jump right in and one
>took some offense because instead of answering a (not so simple)
>question with a (long) answer, I'll post a link to the information on
>the NCHFP site. "I can look it up myself." Really? Then, uh, why
>don't you? I'm getting old, Susan! And going to see Neil Diamond in
>April. :-)
>
>--
Going to see Neil? I am green with envy. He has no concerts
scheduled for the South and I don't feel like DC. Last year was a
bummer for me too. Back problem taken care and things are looking up.
Hope to be able to do some gardening and canning this summer.

--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

On 2/12/2015 9:05 PM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> On 2015-02-12 12:33:45 +0000, The Cook said:
>
>> On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:13:42 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
>>> gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
>>> folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
>>> meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
>>> they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
>>> packaged foods. I don't see a big difference — I'd rather cook food
>>> fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
>>> thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>
>>> --
>>
>> The only reason I can think of for taking something out of the freezer
>> to can is if it was on sale and you wanted to stock up but didn't have
>> time to can it. If it was more than a few days, chances I would just
>> take it out of the freezer and cook it. I try to can or freeze things
>> that are fresh, from my garden or the local farmers market where I
>> know who grew what and when. To me the difference in opening a can of
>> something I canned as opposed a box or jar from the store is that I
>> know exactly what things went into my jar or freezer bag and I can
>> pronounce all of them.
>
> Oh, I get that part for sure but some of the stuff they talk about
> canning boggles my mind. Pumpkin water. WTF? And I gotta tell you
> that a lot of the pictures don't impress me one whit €” stuff like 2
> inches of headspace, jars 3/4 full. A lot of them do pressure canning
> and I don't. Some of the newbies want to just jump right in and one
> took some offense because instead of answering a (not so simple)
> question with a (long) answer, I'll post a link to the information on
> the NCHFP site. "I can look it up myself." Really? Then, uh, why
> don't you? I'm getting old, Susan! And going to see Neil Diamond in
> April. :-)
>
Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.

On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 09:59:21 -0600, George Shirley >
wrote:

>On 2/12/2015 9:05 PM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>> On 2015-02-12 12:33:45 +0000, The Cook said:
>>
>>> On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:13:42 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
>>>> gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
>>>> folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
>>>> meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
>>>> they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
>>>> packaged foods. I don't see a big difference ? I'd rather cook food
>>>> fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
>>>> thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>
>>>> --
>>>
>>> The only reason I can think of for taking something out of the freezer
>>> to can is if it was on sale and you wanted to stock up but didn't have
>>> time to can it. If it was more than a few days, chances I would just
>>> take it out of the freezer and cook it. I try to can or freeze things
>>> that are fresh, from my garden or the local farmers market where I
>>> know who grew what and when. To me the difference in opening a can of
>>> something I canned as opposed a box or jar from the store is that I
>>> know exactly what things went into my jar or freezer bag and I can
>>> pronounce all of them.
>>
>> Oh, I get that part for sure but some of the stuff they talk about
>> canning boggles my mind. Pumpkin water. WTF? And I gotta tell you
>> that a lot of the pictures don't impress me one whit — stuff like 2
>> inches of headspace, jars 3/4 full. A lot of them do pressure canning
>> and I don't. Some of the newbies want to just jump right in and one
>> took some offense because instead of answering a (not so simple)
>> question with a (long) answer, I'll post a link to the information on
>> the NCHFP site. "I can look it up myself." Really? Then, uh, why
>> don't you? I'm getting old, Susan! And going to see Neil Diamond in
>> April. :-)
>>
>Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.

Neil is younger than you, but 8 days older than me.

--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

On 2015-02-13 15:59:21 +0000, George Shirley said:

> On 2/12/2015 9:05 PM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>> On 2015-02-12 12:33:45 +0000, The Cook said:
>>
>>> On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:13:42 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
>>>> gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
>>>> folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
>>>> meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
>>>> they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
>>>> packaged foods. I don't see a big difference — I'd rather cook food
>>>> fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
>>>> thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>
>>>> --
>>>
>>> The only reason I can think of for taking something out of the freezer
>>> to can is if it was on sale and you wanted to stock up but didn't have
>>> time to can it. If it was more than a few days, chances I would just
>>> take it out of the freezer and cook it. I try to can or freeze things
>>> that are fresh, from my garden or the local farmers market where I
>>> know who grew what and when. To me the difference in opening a can of
>>> something I canned as opposed a box or jar from the store is that I
>>> know exactly what things went into my jar or freezer bag and I can
>>> pronounce all of them.
>>
>> Oh, I get that part for sure but some of the stuff they talk about
>> canning boggles my mind. Pumpkin water. WTF? And I gotta tell you
>> that a lot of the pictures don't impress me one whit €” stuff like 2
>> inches of headspace, jars 3/4 full. A lot of them do pressure canning
>> and I don't. Some of the newbies want to just jump right in and one
>> took some offense because instead of answering a (not so simple)
>> question with a (long) answer, I'll post a link to the information on
>> the NCHFP site. "I can look it up myself." Really? Then, uh, why
>> don't you? I'm getting old, Susan! And going to see Neil Diamond in
>> April. :-)
>>
> Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.

Whomp 'im, Susan!

--
--
Barb
www.barbschaller.com, last update April 2013

On 2/14/2015 2:56 PM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
> In article >, George Shirley
> > wrote:
>
>> Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.
>
> What does it mean if you just think about MAYBE going to see him?
>
You're only on the cusp of being old, I think. Just had a visit from my
middle grandson and his four-year old son. Wish I had that much energy,
it's just wasted on little kids.

On 2/14/2015 5:48 PM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
> In article >, George Shirley
> > wrote:
>
>> On 2/14/2015 2:56 PM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
>>> In article >, George Shirley
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.
>>>
>>> What does it mean if you just think about MAYBE going to see him?
>>>
>> You're only on the cusp of being old, I think. Just had a visit from my
>> middle grandson and his four-year old son. Wish I had that much energy,
>> it's just wasted on little kids.
>
> Careful, George... Don't want you turning into a curmudgeon!
>
> djb
>
I've been a curmudgeon for years, practically born into being one. Proud
carrier of the curmudgeon flag. So there!

On 2015-02-14 20:56:57 +0000, Dave Balderstone said:

> In article >, George Shirley
> > wrote:
>
>> Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.
>
> What does it mean if you just think about MAYBE going to see him?

Means you haven't decided yet if you want to pay the price.
--
--
Barb
www.barbschaller.com, last update April 2013

On 2015-02-14 23:48:02 +0000, Dave Balderstone said:

> In article >, George Shirley
> > wrote:
>
>> On 2/14/2015 2:56 PM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
>>> In article >, George Shirley
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.
>>>
>>> What does it mean if you just think about MAYBE going to see him?
>>>
>> You're only on the cusp of being old, I think. Just had a visit from my
>> middle grandson and his four-year old son. Wish I had that much energy,
>> it's just wasted on little kids.
>
> Careful, George... Don't want you turning into a curmudgeon!
>
> djb

Too late €” by about 12 years!!
--
--
Barb
www.barbschaller.com, last update April 2013

On 2/15/2015 7:57 AM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> On 2015-02-14 23:48:02 +0000, Dave Balderstone said:
>
>> In article >, George Shirley
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> On 2/14/2015 2:56 PM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
>>>> In article >, George Shirley
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.
>>>>
>>>> What does it mean if you just think about MAYBE going to see him?
>>>>
>>> You're only on the cusp of being old, I think. Just had a visit from my
>>> middle grandson and his four-year old son. Wish I had that much energy,
>>> it's just wasted on little kids.
>>
>> Careful, George... Don't want you turning into a curmudgeon!
>>
>> djb
>
> Too late €” by about 12 years!!
See Dave, even my good, long time friends think I'm a curmudgeon. I'm
honored by their respect and love.

On 2/15/2015 7:57 AM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> On 2015-02-14 20:56:57 +0000, Dave Balderstone said:
>
>> In article >, George Shirley
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.
>>
>> What does it mean if you just think about MAYBE going to see him?
>
> Means you haven't decided yet if you want to pay the price.
Any fan over seventy should get in free. That's my feeling and I stand
upon it. We've already paid our dues.

When I was young I used to sing with a band. That's before cigarettes,
whiskey, and women destroyed my ability to sing and/or think.

Note: I didn't say I was a good singer but since everyone in the dance
hall was drunk it didn't matter. Beat all the flesh off my fingers
trying to learn to play guitar only to find out I was tone deaf and
couldn't really play anything except a snare drum.

Back to preserving, put up the pickled dirt clods yesterday and, today,
realized I forgot to put some vinegar in the BWB and my lovely jars are
covered with calcium and will have to be washed with vinegar. Drat!

On 2/16/2015 11:22 AM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
> In article >, George Shirley
> > wrote:
>
>> See Dave, even my good, long time friends think I'm a curmudgeon. I'm
>> honored by their respect and love.
>
> ROFLMAO!
>
> I bow before the master...
>
> Me, I'm just a COC... (cranky old coot) but I'm working towards
> curmudgeon!
>
> As for preserving, pretty much everything here is freezer preserving...
> Put up a nice batch of wontons recently, but we're eating the preserves
> at this time of year. I still have chard, green beans and fiddleheads
> in the freezer, and apple juice canned (mixed with soda water...
> delicious). Also a bunch of whitefish that are going to become
> fishcakes one of these days...
We're still harvesting chard, radishes, lettuce, spinach, and cabbage.
Green peas have bitten the dust.

I don't know if I've ever eaten whitefish although I've eaten about
every kind of thing that swims or flies. Growing up in SE Texas you
pretty much ate what you could catch, run down, shoot or stab. Armadillo
was easy to catch when I was eleven or twelve years old. We used to call
armadillo "possum on the half shell."
>
> Going to go drill some holes in the ice and see about pulling up some
> walleye, or pike, or perch. Burbot season is coming up in a week or
> two, so I'll be out trying for them, too. We call them "poor man's
> lobster". Ugly as sin, but they sure are tasty!
>
I've never seen any of those fish except the pike, caught one once on a
survival hike up no'th, pretty good but sort of bony. We used to catch a
lot of gar, sort of the southern pike I guess, they're pretty tasty too
and some get up to seven or eight feet long and I've heard stories of up
to eleven feet. I ever see one that long I will be able to walk on water
for at least several feet. What is a burbot, sort of a catfish or something?

Someone has opened the gate between where you live and where I live.
It's cold today with about a ten knot north wind blowing through. Had to
go out to the library today, visit my sick daughter, and then the
grocery store for odds and ends. Wore a light jacket and my very old
Navy woolen watch cap (which I dearly love), was still cold.

On 2/16/2015 2:52 PM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
> In article >, George Shirley
> > wrote:
>
>> I've never seen any of those fish except the pike, caught one once on a
>> survival hike up no'th, pretty good but sort of bony. We used to catch a
>> lot of gar, sort of the southern pike I guess, they're pretty tasty too
>> and some get up to seven or eight feet long and I've heard stories of up
>> to eleven feet. I ever see one that long I will be able to walk on water
>> for at least several feet. What is a burbot, sort of a catfish or something?
>
> Yes, pike are pretty bony. There are a few people around who can fillet
> them close to boneless, but they have Y shaped bones running their
> length that are touch to pull.
>
> Walleye are also called pickerel, but that's a misnomer. Very sweet
> white flesh. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walleye>
>
> I don't think gar and pike are related, but they do have a similar
> shape. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esox> Record size is 6', 77 lb,
> but most commonly kept here is in the 3-10 lb range. We have maximum
> allowable sizes here, with pike you're allowed to keep 5, but only one
> can be 75cm (about 30").
>
> Burbot sort of look like catfish, but are more closely related to
> salt-water cod. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burbot> You don't really
> find them below 40 degrees north latitude.
>
> Can you tell I'm itchy to get out on the ice?
>
> djb
>
I've seen burbot caught in streams and lakes in Alaska on TV so now I
know for sure what they are. I used to catch gar with a bow and a
fishing arrow when I was a youngster and we also caught them on rod and
reel using a short piece of artificial rope that was frayed along the
length. Gar would get the nylon rope (back then, now it's all plastic)
caught in their teeth and you just cranked them in. That was only for
small gar. Reckon I need to get my fishing partner grandson in on that
one as there are lots of gar in the bayous and rivers around here and
rope fishing is a fast way to get a lot of meat. Only limit is when they
get big as the state is trying to improve the giant gar population with
catch and release. Personally I'm not getting in the water with an
eight-foot long gar with all those teeth sharpened and well polished.

My favorite store bought fish is Haddock, very tasty. Had eaten cod a
time or two when I was stationed on the upper East Coast of US and when
I flew in and out of air stations in Canada's Atlantic coast areas. Also
very tasty. I absolutely do not eat any fish or shrimp that comes out of
China and don't particularly care for farmed fish of any kind. Just an
old geezer's foible I guess.

George

On 2015-02-15 16:50:45 +0000, George Shirley said:

> On 2/15/2015 7:57 AM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>> On 2015-02-14 20:56:57 +0000, Dave Balderstone said:
>>
>>> In article >, George Shirley
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.
>>>
>>> What does it mean if you just think about MAYBE going to see him?
>>
>> Means you haven't decided yet if you want to pay the price.
> Any fan over seventy should get in free. That's my feeling and I stand
> upon it. We've already paid our dues.
>
> When I was young I used to sing with a band. That's before cigarettes,
> whiskey, and women destroyed my ability to sing and/or think.
>
> Note: I didn't say I was a good singer but since everyone in the dance
> hall was drunk it didn't matter. Beat all the flesh off my fingers
> trying to learn to play guitar only to find out I was tone deaf and
> couldn't really play anything except a snare drum.
>
> Back to preserving, put up the pickled dirt clods yesterday and, today,
> realized I forgot to put some vinegar in the BWB and my lovely jars are
> covered with calcium and will have to be washed with vinegar. Drat!

I hate when that happens!

--
--
Barb
www.barbschaller.com, last update April 2013

On 2/16/2015 7:26 PM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> On 2015-02-15 16:50:45 +0000, George Shirley said:
>
>> On 2/15/2015 7:57 AM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>>> On 2015-02-14 20:56:57 +0000, Dave Balderstone said:
>>>
>>>> In article >, George Shirley
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Neil Diamond? Boy, you really are old.
>>>>
>>>> What does it mean if you just think about MAYBE going to see him?
>>>
>>> Means you haven't decided yet if you want to pay the price.
>> Any fan over seventy should get in free. That's my feeling and I stand
>> upon it. We've already paid our dues.
>>
>> When I was young I used to sing with a band. That's before cigarettes,
>> whiskey, and women destroyed my ability to sing and/or think.
>>
>> Note: I didn't say I was a good singer but since everyone in the dance
>> hall was drunk it didn't matter. Beat all the flesh off my fingers
>> trying to learn to play guitar only to find out I was tone deaf and
>> couldn't really play anything except a snare drum.
>>
>> Back to preserving, put up the pickled dirt clods yesterday and,
>> today, realized I forgot to put some vinegar in the BWB and my lovely
>> jars are covered with calcium and will have to be washed with vinegar.
>> Drat!
>
> I hate when that happens!
>
Came right off with a cloth wet with 5% white vinegar, can't tell I
screwed up at all.

On 2/16/2015 8:33 PM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
> In article >, George Shirley
> > wrote:
>
>> My favorite store bought fish is Haddock, very tasty. Had eaten cod a
>> time or two when I was stationed on the upper East Coast of US and when
>> I flew in and out of air stations in Canada's Atlantic coast areas. Also
>> very tasty. I absolutely do not eat any fish or shrimp that comes out of
>> China and don't particularly care for farmed fish of any kind. Just an
>> old geezer's foible I guess.
>
> I definitely stay away from asian farmed prawns, and farmed salmon over
> here. Causes too many problems passing disease and parasites to wild
> stock. Haddock makes great fish n chips, but I think my favorite fish
> up here is lake trout. Biggest I ever caught was over 30 lbs. The 5-7
> pounders are absolutely fantastic.
>
> There is a local fishmonger who brings in Louisiana prawns. I really
> like those, but for good shellfish you need to be by a coast.
>
Prawns? Folks in Louisiana catch "crawfish," aka "mud bugs," actually
crayfish. Pretty expensive nowadays but used to only cost a dollar a lb
and were very good boiled up with potatoes and lots of cayenne in the
water. A forty lb bag would feed maybe eight or ten normal people but
only about four Cajuns. Louisiana and Texas former rice farmers now farm
crawfish and grow some rice for them to eat the grass. Drive down
Interstate 10 in Louisiana and SE Texas and you can see acres of traps
sticking up out of a couple of feet of water.

Down here my favorite fish is fresh caught catfish or bream, a sort of
sunfish. Used to get lots of shrimp out of the Gulf but not so much
anymore. When I was a young man used to take a throw net and hit the
canals near the Gulf and bring home a nice five-gallon bucket or two of
Gulf white or brown shrimp. Used to buy them from the local shrimpers at
the dock, fresh from the sea, thirty cents a lb for jumbo shrimp,
cheaper for smaller ones. Of course that was fifty years ago. Everything
has gone up because the dollar has gone down. Heck, I remember 25 cent
hamburgers, nickel cokes, fifteen cent malts. Of course when I was a
little boy a dime was a fortune, buy you a Grapette drink (no longer
exists) and a Baby Ruth bar.

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> On 2015-02-12 12:33:45 +0000, The Cook said:
>
>> On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:13:42 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
>>> gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
>>> folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
>>> meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
>>> they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
>>> packaged foods. I don't see a big difference — I'd rather cook food
>>> fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
>>> thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>
>>> --
>>
>> The only reason I can think of for taking something out of the freezer
>> to can is if it was on sale and you wanted to stock up but didn't have
>> time to can it. If it was more than a few days, chances I would just
>> take it out of the freezer and cook it. I try to can or freeze things
>> that are fresh, from my garden or the local farmers market where I
>> know who grew what and when. To me the difference in opening a can of
>> something I canned as opposed a box or jar from the store is that I
>> know exactly what things went into my jar or freezer bag and I can
>> pronounce all of them.
>
> Oh, I get that part for sure but some of the stuff they talk about
> canning boggles my mind. Pumpkin water. WTF? And I gotta tell you
> that a lot of the pictures don't impress me one whit €” stuff like 2
> inches of headspace, jars 3/4 full. A lot of them do pressure canning
> and I don't. Some of the newbies want to just jump right in and one
> took some offense because instead of answering a (not so simple)
> question with a (long) answer, I'll post a link to the information on
> the NCHFP site. "I can look it up myself." Really? Then, uh, why
> don't you? I'm getting old, Susan! And going to see Neil Diamond in
> April. :-)
>


Howdy. Long time, no see.

I just got back from Hawaii -- I love saying that -- and thought I'd
check in at r.f.p, and lo-and-behold Barb is in town! (I'm sorry about
your rough year)

I got kicked off a canning and preserving Yahoogroup a few years ago
because the queen bee posted something unsafe and I corrected her, along
with references from USDA and NCHFP. She didn't like that one bit.
Maybe you remember it.

The only reason I can see for thawing something out just to can is to
free-up freezer space. I have canned meat before, and it's handy to
have around, but it also gets kind of a "dogfood" taste to it. It's
much better to just cook it fresh or from the freezer. I've canned
dried beans before, so I'm not going to cast stones at their silliness.

Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
....
> The only reason I can see for thawing something out just to can is to
> free-up freezer space. I have canned meat before, and it's handy to
> have around, but it also gets kind of a "dogfood" taste to it. It's
> much better to just cook it fresh or from the freezer.

yeah, almost any canned meat in metal reminds
me of canned dogfood.

i would not mind to have some canned well in
glass for emergency storage, but i think i much
prefer it dried instead.


> I've canned
> dried beans before, so I'm not going to cast stones at their silliness.

wow!

again for emergency rations it would be ok, but
i'd not do it on a regular basis, not when there
are a lot of smaller beans that cook up fairly
quickly.


songbird

songbird wrote:
>
> yeah, almost any canned meat in metal reminds me of canned dogfood.
>
> i would not mind to have some canned well in glass for emergency
> storage, but i think i much prefer it dried instead.
>


Mine was beef chunks packed in bouillon, canned in glass Mason
jars. It still tasted a little off. Not spoiled, just not quite
right. It was easy to cover up tho', just mix it with something that
had tomatoes in it (make soup) or sour cream and noodles (Stroganoff,
sort off.) I think I still have one jar left.

Bob

On 2/17/2015 3:47 PM, zxcvbob wrote:
> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>> On 2015-02-12 12:33:45 +0000, The Cook said:
>>
>>> On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:13:42 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> I read and occasionally post to a Facebook canning group. Ye gods and
>>>> gartersnakes. There are a lot of heavy-production pressure canning
>>>> folks there and it is not uncommon to see one talking about thawing
>>>> meat from the freezer so it can be canned. Seems odd to me. Or
>>>> they'll talk about opening jars for supper but scoff at boxes and
>>>> packaged foods. I don't see a big difference — I'd rather cook food
>>>> fresh. <scratching my head and figuring I must be older than I'd
>>>> thought if I can't wrap my head around the idea>
>>>> --
>>>
>>> The only reason I can think of for taking something out of the freezer
>>> to can is if it was on sale and you wanted to stock up but didn't have
>>> time to can it. If it was more than a few days, chances I would just
>>> take it out of the freezer and cook it. I try to can or freeze things
>>> that are fresh, from my garden or the local farmers market where I
>>> know who grew what and when. To me the difference in opening a can of
>>> something I canned as opposed a box or jar from the store is that I
>>> know exactly what things went into my jar or freezer bag and I can
>>> pronounce all of them.
>>
>> Oh, I get that part for sure but some of the stuff they talk about
>> canning boggles my mind. Pumpkin water. WTF? And I gotta tell you
>> that a lot of the pictures don't impress me one whit €” stuff like 2
>> inches of headspace, jars 3/4 full. A lot of them do pressure canning
>> and I don't. Some of the newbies want to just jump right in and one
>> took some offense because instead of answering a (not so simple)
>> question with a (long) answer, I'll post a link to the information on
>> the NCHFP site. "I can look it up myself." Really? Then, uh, why
>> don't you? I'm getting old, Susan! And going to see Neil Diamond in
>> April. :-)
>>
>
>
> Howdy. Long time, no see.
>
> I just got back from Hawaii -- I love saying that -- and thought I'd
> check in at r.f.p, and lo-and-behold Barb is in town! (I'm sorry about
> your rough year)
>
> I got kicked off a canning and preserving Yahoogroup a few years ago
> because the queen bee posted something unsafe and I corrected her, along
> with references from USDA and NCHFP. She didn't like that one bit.
> Maybe you remember it.
>
> The only reason I can see for thawing something out just to can is to
> free-up freezer space. I have canned meat before, and it's handy to
> have around, but it also gets kind of a "dogfood" taste to it. It's
> much better to just cook it fresh or from the freezer. I've canned
> dried beans before, so I'm not going to cast stones at their silliness.
>
> Bob
I've never canned meat. Always freeze it if not cooked fresh. I have
been using vacuum sealers for about 25 years and found them to be one of
the best food preserving gadgets I've ever used. On number 4 now and,
when this one fails, will move to another brand that has a good
reputation. I don't buy their bags either, I get generic seal bags
online in 50 foot rolls at about half the major brand cost and have only
had one failure to seal in the last several years and I think that one
was my fault. Vacuum sealed meat and vegetables come out as good as
fresh to me. We're eating stuff we harvested and froze in 2011 and 2012
and it's still good. Hey, I pressure canned dried black-eyed peas
showing Barb how easy it was some years ago. We ate them all too and
they were good. If it fits in a jar I probably have canned it. <G>

Good to hear from you Bob, we're eating that jar of crab apple jelly one
biscuit at a time. It is very good.

George

On 2/17/2015 7:50 PM, George Shirley wrote:

> I've never canned meat. Always freeze it if not cooked fresh. I have
> been using vacuum sealers for about 25 years and found them to be one of
> the best food preserving gadgets I've ever used. On number 4 now and,
> when this one fails, will move to another brand that has a good
> reputation. I don't buy their bags either, I get generic seal bags
> online in 50 foot rolls at about half the major brand cost and have only
> had one failure to seal in the last several years and I think that one
> was my fault. Vacuum sealed meat and vegetables come out as good as
> fresh to me. We're eating stuff we harvested and froze in 2011 and 2012
> and it's still good. Hey, I pressure canned dried black-eyed peas
> showing Barb how easy it was some years ago. We ate them all too and
> they were good. If it fits in a jar I probably have canned it. <G>
>
> Good to hear from you Bob, we're eating that jar of crab apple jelly one
> biscuit at a time. It is very good.
>
> George


I have about one biscuit's worth of blackberry jelly left, then it's
time to open the pear jelly. 8-)

Bob

On 2/17/2015 9:27 PM, zxcvbob wrote:
> On 2/17/2015 7:50 PM, George Shirley wrote:
>
>> I've never canned meat. Always freeze it if not cooked fresh. I have
>> been using vacuum sealers for about 25 years and found them to be one of
>> the best food preserving gadgets I've ever used. On number 4 now and,
>> when this one fails, will move to another brand that has a good
>> reputation. I don't buy their bags either, I get generic seal bags
>> online in 50 foot rolls at about half the major brand cost and have only
>> had one failure to seal in the last several years and I think that one
>> was my fault. Vacuum sealed meat and vegetables come out as good as
>> fresh to me. We're eating stuff we harvested and froze in 2011 and 2012
>> and it's still good. Hey, I pressure canned dried black-eyed peas
>> showing Barb how easy it was some years ago. We ate them all too and
>> they were good. If it fits in a jar I probably have canned it. <G>
>>
>> Good to hear from you Bob, we're eating that jar of crab apple jelly one
>> biscuit at a time. It is very good.
>>
>> George
>
>
> I have about one biscuit's worth of blackberry jelly left, then it's
> time to open the pear jelly. 8-)
>
> Bob
Still have plenty of both in the canning pantry, drop by for a refill
while you're in Texas.