Canning and Bulk Foods

Canning

Claire and I intend to live with minimal electricity this summer which for us mean no refrigeration.  We spent the last several years teaching ourselves how to dry fruits, vegetables, and herbs.  However, we've always wanted to expand our knowledge in preserving food, thus, we decided to give canning a try!  We purchased a 23 quart pressure canner from the internet and while I visited Claire in Chicago this January we tested it out.  My Mother had warned me that canning is time consuming but I didn't truly understand this until we tried it for ourselves.  We spent three days in the kitchen preparing the food, preparing the equipment, and processing the jars.  In those three days, we canned nine jars.  The jars were packed with pickled three bean salad, bread and butter pickles, lemon cucumber pickles, and chicken noodle soup with a homemade broth. 

When I returned to Minneapolis, my Mother and I pulled out her old pressure canner and a box full of glass jars.  She welcomed me to use whatever I pleased, however, I needed to purchase new lids.  My first attempt canning at home was with my friend Phillip.  He agreed to help in exchange for the experience.  To begin, we peeled, de-cored, and sliced eight pounds of granny smith apples.  Next, we made two different types of syrups.  Syrup number one was for spiced apples.  It consisted of water, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Syrup number two was for candied spiced apples.  It consisted of water, granulated sugar, and cinnamon red hot candies.  After the sugar dissolved (about 10 minutes) we added the apples to both syrups.  As the apples soaked in the syrups, we sterilized the jars and lids by soaking them in hot water.  We then packed the jars with the apples and syrup, sealed them, and placed them in the canner.  The jars processed in a water bath (no pressure) for 20 minutes.  When finished, we placed the jars on metal racks to cool and awaited the sound of the relieving “PING” telling us the jars had successfully sealed.  

Two days later, my Mother and I gave it another go but this time with tomatoes.  We placed 20 medium sized tomatoes in boiling water for 60 seconds and then pealed the skins off.  Next, we cut all the tomatoes into quarters.  After the jars were sterilized, lemon juice and salt were added to each one.  The jars were then packed and processed in a water bath for 90 minutes.

Claire and I both had a lot of fun canning and we learned some valuable lessons along the way (patients is a big one).  Fresh food is generally expensive in winter so we didn't get to can as much as we would have liked.  However, we plan on having a garden this summer and now that we know how to can, we will be able to preserve cheap meals for the following winter.  Canning is time consuming and takes a lot of energy, however, if it works (all of our jars sealed) it can be extremely rewarding.   

Bulk Food 

To avoid making numerous trips to the nearest grocery store (10 miles away) Claire and I decided to purchase certain foods in bulk.  We used bulkfoods.com because they have a good selection and there is no minimum order.  Our purchase included 25 pounds of brown rice, 10 pounds of dried fruits, 10 pounds of whole wheat pasta, and two pounds of active dry yeast (I bake frequently).  Whole wheat flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, olive oil, and canned fruits and vegetable are some of the other bulk items we purchased from a grocery store.