Food Storage
- I have tried pressure canning chicken 4 times now. I've done 2 batches cooked chicken and 2 batches raw chicken. All 4 times most of the water cooked out of the jars. Is this supposed to happen and is the chicken safe for us to eat?
- I just inherited a pressure canner. It's pretty well used and I'm a little nervous about using it. I've never done pressure canning before. Is there a place where I can get it checked out for safety, and how do I learn how to use it.
- I just prepared pesto today containing basil, pine nuts, garlic, italian cheeses, and lemon juice, pretty much in that order from largest quantity to smallest. For how long could I keep this in my freezer before the oil will go rancid or the pesto will otherwise be inedible. Seems to me that I kept some a while back for 6 months, and after eating it I got sick, though this could be coincidental.
- I know that I should add lemon juice to bottled tomatoes and tomato juice, but my husband hates sour stuff. Is there an alternative that isn't sour? Is there a recipe for 'V8' that is more palatable?
- I used the approved recipe for canning apple pie filling, including leaving a 1 inch headspace. However, after taking out the jars I noticed that filling had bubbled up out of the jars during processing. The lids seem sealed, but how can I be sure they are safe? Should I have left a larger headspace than 1 inch???
- I've read that dry pack food storage products expire within x amount of years depending on the product. My parents purchased a LARGE quantity (over 100 cases of #10 cans) of assorted dry pack 28 years ago from Desert Supply Company; wheat, cornmeal, powdered milk, eggs, instant potatoes etc. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with throwing it all out. Can you please confirm that this is wasted product or is there anything salvagable.. and if so for how much longer would it be good? It has been stored in a dry/dark cool basement.
- Is it safe to bottle butter? I went to a class and they said it was "canning butter" yet we didn't process it.
- Is it save to eat weevil?
- This is a food storage question. I have called Iams and Purina re cat food storage. They could not tell me how long I could store their dry food product in an oxygen free envirenment. I would like to store the food in 6 gallon buckets to which an oxygen absorber has been added. I have several members in my ward who are interested in this answer. Do you have any experience with this?
Garden
- Do you have tips on pickling vegetables?
- I left my carrots in the ground over winter this year without mulching them. Now it is May and they have resumed growing. We pulled a few out and, other than a little bit of woodiness they seem to be okay. Is it safe to eat carrots that have been left so long in the ground with no mulch?
- I understand that Ace 55 tomatoes are low in acid. Is it unwise to use them for canning even if Lemon Juice is added?