Pressure canning isn't just for garden produce

[Kaleva]

Last fall, my father-in-law gave me enough cabbage that I made into sauerkraut. Enough to fill 2 food safe 5 gallon buckets. My wife and I ate a lot of it over the winter and I gave some away to family members but still had quite a bit left. I didn't want it to go to waste so I looked on line on how to pressure can the excess. Easy peasy. Now have 18 quarts of canned homemade sauerkraut on a basement shelf.

While I had made the sauerkraut from cabbage from the garden, I thought this would be something I could make year round when I start running low and cabbage goes on sale at the local stores. This got me to thinking about the possibility of pressure canning ready made meals. Buying the ingredients when on sale and just enough to make about 7 quarts so it isn't a big job.

Looking up videos on line and reading articles, I see that it's rather a common thing for people to can soups, stews, chili and such. As the kids have grown and left home, my wife and I don't need to cook as much and a quart of chili, stew or a soup would be plenty for a meal for us. So my goal this year is to have made on the shelf about 30 or so quart bottles of various items.

Below are some YouTube videos and articles on making and pressure canning soups, stews and chili. Remember to follow the directions for your pressure canner!:

Chili Con Carne

Homemade Vegetable Soup- Pressure Canning

In the video below, the lady is using her pressure canner as a hot water bath.

This guy cooks a whole turkey in his pressure canner:

And then pressure cans turkey vegetable soup:

In summary, a pressure cooker is a versatile item to have in one's kitchen. One doesn't need a garden in order to use it and it has the potential to really help stretch out the food dollar.

[mopinko]

1. mushroom growers get a lot of use of theirs, too.

sterile medium is needed, and sometimes in pretty big quantities.
you can do chemical sterilization, too, but it is sketchy and cumbersome.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. My grandmother, born 1889, canned everything. Does anyone know if

you can pressure can small jars in an Instant Pot?

[Kaleva]

3. Pressure canned 7 quarts of black bean and lentil soup today

Every bottle sealed and I'm quite pleased.

My goal is to build a stock of canned soups, chili, beans, stews and even fish for a couple of reasons. The 1st is to have on hand a convenient meal on hand that just needs to be heated. A quart bottle is about the right size for a dinner for my wife and I. The 2nd reason is to have on hand a supply of ready made meals in case of an emergency.

[Kaleva]

4. Pressure canned 7 quarts of chili yesterday.

Going to have to get some more standard mouth quart bottles with lids and rings. I have a number of wide mouth quart jars with lids and rings but I want to save them for sauerkraut, beans and pickled beets.