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  • From: SJC <indexer AT localnet.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Canned pumpkin
  • Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:18:23 -0400

Lisa K.V. Perry wrote:
.....If I understood correctly, even with pressure canning I stand a good
chance of the jars not
sealing or the pumpkin going bad or having a thin consistency.
Under any circumstance, a pressure canner is needed for pumpkin as its acid content is too low to make it safe for BWB. Consistency is neither here nor there as you can control that by draining the mashed pulp or not, although the last time I talked to the Purdue canning gal she definitely didn't recommend tinkering with consistency in order to try and can it. As James pointed out, it's difficult at best and why risk it, either from a standpoint of waste of time, effort, or material? I have none to waste of any of 'em..... :-)
My $64 question is how do you dehydrate pumpkin? Slice thin, puree into
leather or ?
I shred most of what I dry, slice some bit of it rather thinly. I blanch mine for just a bit, about 3 min or so. I've tried it unblanched and it does OK but really holds up better, esp the color, and longer if blanched. Then spread on trays and dry at a fairly low temp. Often I do it in the oven (I have gas, with pilot on it's just about right) because I don't have dryer out if I decide one is not going to hold up until I need it. I dry them plain, till brittle enough to break, then vac pack 'em.
Do you thicken it with something (a bit of ground flax seed or
?)
I don't usually make leathers, if that's what you are thinking, but occasionally I do some to give to neighborhood kids or to take as snacks for a road trip. I still don't thicken it; if it's a little runny, I'd just drain it a bit but you could add whatever for thickener, I guess. Play around with it. If I were doing leather I think I would add a bit of sweetener. I usually use honey, maple syrup, or cooked-down fruit juice, usually apple, for sweetener, any will do. Could also add any spices you'd like then, too. Sorghum is a good sweetener for pumpkin if you can get it where you are.
I'm here to learn.

While we're at it, what foods would you prefer to can (if any) v.
dehydrating?
When I'm deciding whether to can or dry something I try to have enough in cans that if I'm pressured for time (company shows up or whatever) I have enough things canned to just grab something and start cooking/baking/whatever. Drying, though, is cheaper, takes no more work and a lot of times less, and way less storage space, so that's my first-line attack for a lot of things. Apples I can for sauce, but everything else (pie slices, snacks, chopped for adding to baked goods, etc) I dry. Peaches I can just a few jars, dry all the rest. Pears I can sauce, dry for everything else. Zukes I dry, shredded or in "chips". Tomatoes are a mix.
Apples and tomatoes both, come to think of it: Wash fruit. Cut out bad spots. Dry a few really nice ones for treats/gifts. With the rest: cut into chunks with peels on. Steam for the juice. Run steamed fruit though food mill (Squeezo, Victorio, old-fashioned cone colander, whatever), can or dry pulp as applesauce, tomato paste, whatever, take skins from food mill and dry those. Then grind that into a powder that can be used wherever you want apple or tomato flavor. Cook juice down and can it. That way there is no waste except for actual core and seeds of apple, none for 'maters. There are some other fruits I do the same thing with: plums, some berries, etc. Pears I don't keep the peels.
Can you store in canning jars or how do you store or keep dehydrated foods?
Yes, in glass jars.
I don't have a vacuum sealer gadget.
Look for a PumpNSeal. That's the brand name. Was about $15 when I got the last one (first one burned in the last fire or I think it would still be working). It's a manual sealer and I use it for lots of things. Way I do dried foods: Make sure it's good and dry, put in clean jar. Using a used can lid is fine for this, so when I wash the lid from opening something I put it back to use for these. Make tiny hole (thumbtack works fine) in the lid, lay over that a small piece of electrical tape, but don't mash it down yet, use PumpNSeal to extract air, remove abruptly, lid will be "stuck" and tape will be sucked down into little hole. Make sure all of tape is stuck fast now with your thumb. That seal lasts for years. You're good to go. Easy, fast, cheap, no power needed.

They make can sealers for the electric vacuum pumps, but those things are a hundred dollars or so and they have to have electric, and then the part to seal cans/jars is an addon yet. The little PumpNSeal works fine. :-)

Having said all that, I take my elderly neighbor to the grocery store when her daughter is gone and we went last week. There I saw ZipLock makes some fancy, very expensive bags for a sealer. But the part that I really noticed was that they had a little vacuum sealer there, too, wasn't very much, maybe $4 or so, have forgotten exact figure. But ran through my mind that maybe it would work as well as the PumpNSeal for the above process. I didn't get one, but it might be worth trying out.

Have fun! Sun's out here, and it's about 45 or so, so going out to rake.

Susan Jane, in Maine





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