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Water bath canning - PEP BB Food.sand.waterbath

BB Food Prep and Preservation - sand badge
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This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Food Prep and Preservation

For this badge bit, you will be preserving food by canning it using the Water-Bath method. (CAUTION! Hot water is hot!)

Learn how simple and effective canning can be! A great BB for those who have never tried canning before or an easy BB for the established homesteader to knock out! You get to pick your own canning recipe and preserve at least 1 quart/32 oz/950ml of food.

Helpful videos:







Some supplies you may want to have on hand for this BB:

- One large pot
- A sauce pan
- A rack for the bottom of the pot (Something to lift the jars from sitting on the bottom of the pot)
- A wide-mouth funnel (for wide-mouth jars), a narrow-mouth funnel (for narrow-mouth jars), or a canning funnel
- Jar lifter or jar rack to remove the jars from the hot water (hint: metal tongs and hot glass jars don't play together!)
- Wide-mouth or narrow-mouth glass mason jars with matching rings and new seals (used seals/lids may not seal = not food safe)
- A ruler
- Ladle
- Non-metallic Spatula
- Clean rag or paper towel
- Towel lined tray or flat area for hot jars
- Labels
- Recipe of your choice and required ingredients: Choose a canning recipe for something you desire to eat ... later!


To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
 - You must use a water bath to seal the jars
 - You must preserve the amount of food equivalent to 1 quart (ie: 1 quart jar, 2 pints, or 4 half-pints)

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, you must provide:
  - A before photos of all of your equipment and ingredients
  - Your recipe of choice (link or post)
  - A photo of you filling the jars to the proper 'head' height
  - A photo of the jars in the water bath
  - A photo of your finished product! (Including a photo of the sealed lid and appropriate label)
  - Or make a video showing the above (less than 2 minutes duration)

Clarifications:
- All food prep and preservation BBs strictly prohibit plastic, teflon or aluminum touching the food at any point
COMMENTS:
 
Posts: 19
Location: South East Queensland, Australia
23
cat food preservation medical herbs greening the desert homestead ungarbage
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Approved submission
Got a lot of canning to do at the moment, so I thought this would be a good time to go for my canning BB. We have a lot of grumichamas to harvest, so I turned some into jam. I also had some brussels sprouts to preserve and was told that they were really nice pickled. Not all the jars sealed and it may very well be because of the head height, so I won't be surprised if I fail. But there is always more canning to do, so I'll get my badge bit!

My recipes are as follows:

GRUMICHAMA JAM
Based off this recipe: https://www.foragebyronbay.com.au/blog/grumichama-jam

Ingredients
  • 2.460kg grumichamas + a few mulberries
  • 2kg sugar
  • Strips of rind from 3/4 lemon
  • Juice of 3/4 lemon
  • 1/4 tsp citric acid
  • 24 cloves
  • 8 tsp gelatine powder (I had trouble getting the jam to set)


  • Method
    Place all ingredients into large pot
    Stir to dissolve sugar
    Simmer for 15 minutes
    Boil until setting point is reached - this didn't happen for me so I added gelatine as per the instructions on the jar
    Jar up picking out rind and cloves - do you know how hard it is to find 24 cloves in a big thing of jam?? Ridiculous, I found about 9. Didn't even bother with the rind.


    PICKLED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
    Based off these 2 recipes: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/220205/zesty-pickled-brussels-sprouts/
    https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/traditional-quick-pickled-brussels-sprouts-recipe


    Ingredients
  • 15 brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 1 tsp coarse salt
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • 1/4 tsp yellow mustard seeds
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 3 sliced chilies (I used Bishop's Hat)
  • 1 bay leaf


  • Method
    Cook brussels sprouts in boiling water until bright green - about 5 minutes
    Drain and rinse under cold water
    Bring water, vinegar and salt to simmer, simmer until salt dissolves
    Put peppercorns, mustard seeds, chilies, bay leaf and brussels sprouts into a sterilsed jar
    Pour hot brine over the top
    Seal and store.
    1.-Equipment-and-Ingredients.jpg
    Equipment-and-Ingredients
    2.-Equipment-and-Ingredients.jpg
    canning prep
    Ignore the honey in the background
    3.-Equipment-and-Ingredients.jpg
    scale
    4.-Head-Height.jpg
    Head-Height
    5.-Water-Bath.jpg
    Water-Bath
    6.-Water-Bath.jpg
    Water-Bath 2
    7.-Finished-Product.jpg
    preserved food
    The 3 jars on the right did not seal
    8.-Sealed-Lid.jpg
    labels
    :)
    9.-Not-sealed-lid.jpg
    unsealed jar
    :(
    Staff note (Mike Barkley) :

    I certify this BB is complete.

     
    steward
    Posts: 15522
    Location: Northern WI (zone 4)
    4855
    7
    hunting trees books food preservation solar woodworking
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    Approved submission
    I just pickled some beets today which, luckily, required a water bath canning operation.  Wow, it's like getting two BBs for one task
    Main-ingredient-was-24-lbs-of-beets.jpg
    Main ingredient was 24 lbs of beets
    Main ingredient was 24 lbs of beets
    Recipe-from-the-Ball-Blue-canning-book.jpg
    Recipe from the Ball Blue canning book
    Recipe from the Ball Blue canning book
    Equipment.jpg
    Equipment
    Equipment
    Remaining-ingredients-vinegar-sugar-water-allspice-cinnamon-salt.jpg
    Remaining ingredients - vinegar, sugar, water, allspice, cinnamon, salt
    Remaining ingredients - vinegar, sugar, water, allspice, cinnamon, salt
    Checking-head-space.jpg
    Checking head space
    Checking head space
    Canner-getting-emptied.jpg
    Canner getting emptied
    Canner getting emptied
    They-all-sealed-.jpg
    They all sealed!
    They all sealed!
    Labeled-and-done.jpg
    Labeled and done
    Labeled and done
    Staff note (Nicole Alderman) :

    I hereby certify this BB is complete!

     
    gardener
    Posts: 272
    Location: Idaho panhandle, zone 6b, 30” annual rainfall, silty soil
    208
    2
    foraging rabbit books chicken food preservation cooking fiber arts medical herbs bee seed sheep
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    Question on this BB: is steam canning acceptable? I’ve been doing water bath for years and recently switched to steam canning (since the USDA has finally blessed it as safe) because it uses less water and less energy. Seems like a reasonable permie choice!
    USDA reference
     
    Mike Haasl
    steward
    Posts: 15522
    Location: Northern WI (zone 4)
    4855
    7
    hunting trees books food preservation solar woodworking
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    Great point Shawn, yes I'd say steam canning (unpressurized) would count for this.  I'll run it past Paul before changing the top post.  Thanks for catching it!
     
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