My First Time Canning and Pressure Cooker Experience:

 I think that I want a red and black kitchen.

Yesterday, I said to myself I said, "Okay, Kathy Matthews, today is the day ... you are going to learn to use your pressure cooker and get this canning project underway!"  And I did.  And 6 out of 7 jars turned out fine.  Yay for me!


Last year, I had bought the pressure cooker.  I have been gathering books on canning (my Kari girl gave me one for Christmas too), canning tools and canning jars.  I decided to can some stew that I had in the freezer as my test run.  I needed the freezer space, and figured that if some jars didn't seal right then we could just eat the stew.  The adventure begins:

#1 - I opened the box, took everything out and read the booklet.  Since it was my first time, I washed the pot with hot soapy water, and washed the rubber ring.  I looked through the little steam vent hole to make sure it wasn't blocked.  I was really careful, because this pressure cooker cost around $100.00 and I intend to use it for years to come.

#2 - I washed my jars, rings and lids in the dishwasher and hit the sanitize button, just to be sure.  I found this cool website on canning and cooking for your family and read up on my subject manner:  Foodie With Family  http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/blog/

I also like this website, Canning USA.com http://canningusa.com/, and the comments on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=2261906796&ref=ts

I heated up my stew in the big crockpot until it was really hot, and then put it into the jars. 

#3 - Here they are, nestled in and ready to go!  I put the liner on the bottom of the pan, and then the wire basket, and then the jars of stew.  I put in 3 quarts of water (using an empty canning jar seem to make the most sense on that one) and a little bit of white vinegar into the water.

#4 - Following the instructions, I canned!

#5 - Here they are, all done.  They were boiling for a longtime inside the jars, after I took them out of the pressure cooker.  When they were mostly cooled off, I checked the lids by taking the rings off and seeing if they were on tight.  One was not, so I put it in the fridge.

Now my mind is racing with the things that I can do next.  I am so excited about this, and though it took me awhile to get around to it, I know I will keep going and learning and having fun.  Plus, I'll be stocking up on our food supply, which is never a bad idea.