Canning your own meats and shelf life in Tropics

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Comix Bay

"Food "canned" in glass only have the lid that can rust through which would be easier to see and prevent."

We used glass lids on our sealers with rubber ring seals. Have used metal, but try to keep contents a bit lower so as not to touch lid.

Ted
Comox, BC

Are you using lids from Weck, or the jars with a rubber seal that locks in place?

The US seems to use different lids compared to the rest of the world. The US lids are designed to be used once and thrown away. The USDA seems to be VERY concerned about any chance of contamination. They do not have instructions for preserving hard boiled eggs for some reason even though you can go to any little store in the US South and find pickled hard boiled eggs sitting on the counter.

The instructions I use say to leave an air space between the lid and top of the food. I think the gap is about 3/4 inch for quart jars of soup. I don't know for sure, but I think the gap was to minimize the chance of rusting the metal lid and maybe keeping the food from popping the lid seal.

Later,
Dan

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Sailor647

According to the University of Minnesota Extension Service:
Storing Canned Food : Storage : Preserving and Preparing : Food Safety : Food : University of Minnesota Extension

Storing Canned Food
Jan Rasmussen, Extension Educator Revised 2011 by author; reviewed May, 2014 by Kathy Brandt, Extension Educator — Food Safety.

There are limits to how long food quality can be preserved. Why? Several factors limit the shelf-life of canned foods.

• Cans or metal lids on glass jars can rust. When rust is deep enough, tiny holes open in the can or lid that may let spoilage agents in.
• Shipping accidents that dent or crush cans cause problems.
• Can corrosion. Food reacts chemically with the metal container, especially high-acid food like canned tomatoes and fruit juices. Over several years, this causes taste and texture changes. It eventually lowers the nutritional value of the food.
• Temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit are harmful to canned foods. The risk of spoilage jumps sharply as storage temperatures rise.
• At prolonged storage temperatures above 75 degrees, nutrient loss in canned foods increases.
• Light can cause color changes and nutrient losses in foods canned in glass jars.
• Never use foods from containers with these spoilage warning signs: loose or bulging lids on jars; bulging, leaking or badly dented cans (especially along the top, side and bottom seams), or foods with a foul odor.

To store canned food wisely, follow these guidelines:

• Temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit are harmful to canned foods. Store in a cool, clean, dry place where temperatures are below 85 degrees between 50-70 degrees is good) but not freezing temperatures.
• Rotate foods so the oldest is used first.
• Try not to keep canned foods more than one year.
• Use canned meats and seafood within 12 months.
• Use low-acid canned foods within 8-12 months.
• Use high-acid foods within 12 to 18 months.
• Foods stored longer will be safe to eat if the cans show no signs of spoilage or damage but may deteriorate in color, flavor and nutritive value.
• Canned fruit juices can be stored up to 3 years.

The Ball Blue Book Guide to Home Canning and Freezing is a time tested source. I've home-canned for years, but not yet on the boat. There are other threads on this forum that have discussed the topic. Stay safe!

Best of Luck!

Thats a lot of instructions , i think ill stick to brownie cooking.

[Rustic Charm]

Im not understanding the desire to 'can' food anyway 'on a cruising' boat?

Food is relatively cheap in most places. Seafood is even cheaper. Why on earth fill your boat up with cans and jars for a year

[Lizzy Belle]

Haha, I often wonder the same thing. Many cruisers manage to return home after a couple of years and still have food on board they bought before ever leaving ...

Maybe it's due to "eat what we're used to" versus "eat what the locals eat"?

[NornaBiron]

Dried pulses are mucn easier to carry than jars of home canned foods when on long passages. Easy to cook with a pressure cooker too.

[Symphony]

i think a reason for canning is that some people like cooking and projects. We always canned fruits when I was young, not because we couldn't buy them but - just because. we'd prepare everything then have a day of canning. My parents would buy large amounts of fruits from farms at harvest time, cheap - but what do you do with it all. Can it!

we enjoyed eating our own stuff.
I look forward to having enough time to do it again and am happy for the great info in this thread.

[estarzinger]

We canned for 20 years.

Beth did it because she needed very low sodium, and with canning she could get/make exactly what she wanted/needed.

It is also a way to store meat and such at much lower ongoing energy cost (and thus lower energy production requirements) than a freezer. So no extra engine/geneset run time.

I believe the primary reason high temps (+100 degrees) can be a probkem is that it might build up enough pressure to break the lid seal. That's the primary thing you look for - if the lid is still vacuum sealed and you have to pry it up then the food is good. I think we had less than 5 jars in 20 years where there was any question at all about quality. Don't think our bilge (where the jars were stored) ever got +90F, in Polynesia they may have gotten to low 90's.

[Comix Bay]

Originally Posted by dannc

Are you using lids from Weck, or the jars with a rubber seal that locks in place?

The US seems to use different lids compared to the rest of the world. The US lids are designed to be used once and thrown away. The USDA seems to be VERY concerned about any chance of contamination. They do not have instructions for preserving hard boiled eggs for some reason even though you can go to any little store in the US South and find pickled hard boiled eggs sitting on the counter.

The instructions I use say to leave an air space between the lid and top of the food. I think the gap is about 3/4 inch for quart jars of soup. I don't know for sure, but I think the gap was to minimize the chance of rusting the metal lid and maybe keeping the food from popping the lid seal.

Later,
Dan

No, different type lids. Ours are just plain glass Mason Jar lids, you place a rubber ring/seal on the rim, and turn down a metal ring which holds them (glass lid & rubber seal) in place. They are getting harder to find as the years pass.

As for doing 'Pickled Eggs', I made them in 3 doz batches, for our local Legion to sell at the bar. Put them into a vinegar brine with cloves, into a gal glass jar. The vinegar preserved them, would sell out on a Fri or Sat night.

Another hint or piece of useless info that may help, wash down your fruit & veggies (strawberries, blueberries, radishes, tomatoes, green onions, et al) as soon as you get home with a mild solution of vinegar and water, also put a tsp or 2 of vinegar on a piece of paper towel and place into a seal able container with your block of cheese, prevents mold on the produce. My green onions, cheese and radishes keep for weeks. Keep them as cool as possible. Bilge should be good, depending on water temp.

Ted
Comox, BC

[dannc]

Why can?

If the food has been canned, all you have to do is reheat, and if you had too, you could just eat at room temperature.

Lately, I mostly can "beans" but it is soup with spices, broth, onions, fresh garlic, carrots and celery. If I have left over ham, then I used white Navy beans other wise we used small kidney or black beans. Sometimes I put in beef or pork depending on our mood and if we have left overs. If I have smoked a pork loin on the grill, and I do mean wood SMOKED, not cooked with gas or coal, the meat is diced up and put in the soup which is VERY good. Usually the smoked pork gets eaten but if we have left over and I am making soup, in it goes.

We can make a quart of soup last a couple of days/meals and in many different ways:

• Eat as soup with bread to use up a bunch of the broth. Whole bread is better since a little slice will really fill you up.
• Eat as soup but add rice.
• Eat as soup but add pasta.
• Put the beans on rice with very little broth
• Put the beans on pasta with very little broth.

To change it up even more, even if using the same starch, add cheese and/or black olives, green olives, peppers, even fresh sweet onions. Cheese can really change the dish. A sharper yellow cheese vs a mild white cheese makes a difference but dear old Parmesan cheese works well especially with white beans with ham over pasta. Black beans are good with hot sauces and Mexican cheeses.

This fast, healthy, cheap but good tasting food that is made in 2 gallon batches. A little bit of work lasts for a very long time. To eat, we just open a jar, reheat and maybe make pasta or rice. Very quick to do. No food prep, no cooking, no clean up, etc.

Later,
Dan

[dannc]

[QUOTE=Comix Bay;2059908]No, different type lids. Ours are just plain glass Mason Jar lids, you place a rubber ring/seal on the rim, and turn down a metal ring which holds them (glass lid & rubber seal) in place. They are getting harder to find as the years pass.
/QUOTE]

That is interesting. I have never seen or heard about those type of lids. I have seen the jars that have metal fasteners with glass lids but not a lid that would fit on Mason jars. Somewhere I read or heard that the USDA did not think the rubber rings were safe to use. I suppose because it is possible for the rings to degrade over time? Seems like rings could be made that would last dang near forever but the USDA is very particular about this stuff.

[QUOTE=Comix Bay;2059908]
As for doing 'Pickled Eggs', I made them in 3 doz batches, for our local Legion to sell at the bar. Put them into a vinegar brine with cloves, into a gal glass jar. The vinegar preserved them, would sell out on a Fri or Sat night.
/QUOTE]

Yep, I have read similar recipes. Some people put in hot peppers and such into the vinegar. Here, the like to use beet juice so the eggs take on a pinkish color. The pink eggs are usually right next to the pickled pigs feet.

Originally Posted by Comix Bay

Another hint or piece of useless info that may help,...
Ted
Comox, BC

That is not useless info.

Thanks,
Dan

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Lizzy Belle

Maybe it's due to "eat what we're used to" versus "eat what the locals eat"?

I'd never eat what the locals eat! Don't think I have been anywhere where the local food is better than what I can cook on the boat from easily available fresh produce and (usually) imported meat.

Most countries locals eat a huge amount of starch and carbohydrates as their obesity shows. I can't eat that as I need to watch my blood sugar for health.

I have a freezer that takes about 2 weeks supply of meat... but after that its back to canned or preserved.

In supermarkets the canned stuff is pretty bad, so for some people home canning could be fine.
Or for USA people buy a case of tins from Brinkman Farms. They can meat for cruisers.

https://brinkmanfarms.com

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Don't think I have been anywhere where the local food is better than what I can cook on the boat from easily available fresh produce and (usually) imported meat.

I was thinking canning makes sense when going somewhere where there is little fresh produce available (at a reasonable price).

As long as that's available, I'm a happy gal as I eat mostly veggies with beans, rice, couscous etc. And fruits.

Meat, I don't eat much anymore. Tho every now and again, I'll remember who raised me and how, and I'll sneak in a huge, juicy T-bone steak or something

[Sailor647]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

Thats a lot of instructions , i think ill stick to brownie cooking.

It was a copy and paste. For information for the OP.

I like brownies...

[newhaul]

How else do you keep all the extra fish you caught the freezer only holds so much. The ball canning lids are easy to find in the cooking aisle of just about every grocery store in the US . Most stores have sales of the stuff around harvest time.
If you have problems finding the stuff here is a mail order for them
http://www.freshpreserving.com/products

[RaymondR]

I tend to can for a number of reasons.


I was without onboard refrigeration for a fair while and used to can a couple of dozen ready meals to use when cruising.


I can some meat and vegetables to use as emergency supplies when I go to remote areas.


A lot of the stuff we buy these days comes from overseas and some is packaged by the sort of people who will put melamine in baby formula to raise the protein value are likely to get up to any sort of mischief. I know what is in the stuff I can.


I carry a supply of Mason jars in case my fridge goes down and rather than either throwing out a lot of thawed food or eating it up in a hurry my plan is to go into a canning frenzy.