How to Use A Pressure Canner Safely
Canning and preserving food goes hand-in-hand with homesteading and self-sufficiency. And for the most part, it’s pretty safe and straight-forward.
Whether you’re water bath canning pickles, jams, jellies and fruits, dehydrating, fermenting or freezing, all of these methods are pretty easy and unintimidating for even the most inexperienced homesteaders.
As long as you follow tested recipes and proper procedures, there’s very little chance of anything going wrong during or after the preserving process.
But pressure canning can seem like a whole different ball game.
The pros & cons of pressure canning
There are a lot of pros to pressure canning. Once you learn how to use a pressure canner safely, the sky’s the limit when it comes to what you can preserve: Vegetables, meat, seafood, combination meals like soups and sauces, bone broth… Pressure canning opens a whole new world of possibilities when it comes to what you’re able to safely can at home.
But pressure canning also evokes fear in lot of people, to the point where many never bother to try it. And it’s not hard to understand why….
Is pressure canning dangerous?
Pressure canning has got a bad rap for being dangerous and even fatal. Stories of pressure canners exploding in the kitchen or improperly canned food killing people with botulism have scared many people off from ever trying pressure canning at home themselves. And I, admittedly, was one of these people for a long time.
But I knew I had to overcome the fear once and for all if I was ever gonna level-up my homesteading (and meal prep) game, and I just so happen to have a hand-me-down Mirro pressure canner that I inherited so I really had no excuse not to be pressure canning.
Last year I finally gave it a go. I pressure canned green beans for the first time. And ya know what? I didn’t die. And in fact the whole process was very anti-climactic (except for the part when I hid around the corner as it started rattling, just in case it blew up).
I had the chance to experience first-hand just how non-threatening pressure canning could be. And in the end I had half a dozen pints of homegrown, home-canned green beans that were safe to sit on the shelf until I was ready to add them to home-cooked meals. But there was still the dreaded threat of botulism to contend with. And with a one-year-old baby at home, I was still apprehensive to actually eat the beans I canned.
After doing extensive research, I felt assured that my beans posed no danger. Because as long as you follow the rules and a tested recipe, your home-canned food will be perfectly safe.
In fact, in 100% of the cases I found in my research, botulism from home-canned food was either caused by water bath canning a food that should have been pressure canned, or by not following the instructions and pulling food out of a pressure canner too early.
If you simply follow the steps in a tested pressure canning recipe, your food will be safe to eat.
Alright, I felt confident at this point that my green beans would be safe, so I opened up a jar and added them to some macaroni and cheese for my daughter and I to enjoy.
And we didn’t die!
How to safely pressure can foods at home
I decided to give pressure canning a go again this year. This time I canned up some pumpkin, and even though I remembered pressure canning being a rather pleasant experience last year, I was still a little nervous to try it again. Maybe I just had beginner’s luck?
I made sure to read and re-read every step before I began, and I even did a test run to check everything was working correctly (which it was). Again, when the gauge began to rattle I stepped back and peeked around the corner into the kitchen, just in case;) But again, nothing happened, and the whole process was pretty uneventful. Whew!
At last it was time to just go for it. So I chopped up a pie pumpkin and set to work preparing it for the canner.
I read and re-read all the steps once more and finally it was time to put the pumpkin in the jars and process them. I readied my jars, filled them up, measuring out a perfect one-inch of headspace at the top of each one, and then I placed them in the pressure canner with a few quarts of water, locked down the lid and let the canner heat up enough to start steaming.
Finally, after letting the canner vent for 10 minutes, I placed the weighted gauge on top and got it rattling, adjusting the temperature as needed until the rattling slowed to a few times per minute.
And then I waited. I tidied the kitchen and started writing my post about pressure canning pumpkin as the canner gently rattled away. After the better part of an hour it was time to turn off the heat, depressurize it and remove the jars from the canner to let them cool on my counter-top.
It worked, again! And I got all giddy about the beauty of home-canned jars of organic pumpkin lining my countertop. Because I’m a geek like that (and I’m guessing maybe you are too if you’re here right now;)
I haven’t had a chance to eat any of the pumpkin yet as I’m saving it for when pumpkins are out of season (hence why I canned pumpkin to be enjoyed later in the year), but I feel confident that it’s safe knowing that I followed a tested recipe and didn’t skimp on any of the steps. And in the end, that really takes the fear out of pressure canning. Because there’s truly no reason to be scared of it, as long as you play by the rules:)
The rules of pressure canning
So, what are the rules of pressure canning?
Valid question.
Here are some simple rules for pressure canning safely at home:
- All low-acid foods MUST be pressure canned, not water bath canned. Low-acid foods include red meat, seafood, poultry, vegetables, mushrooms and tomatoes, (although there are water bath canning recipes for tomatoes that use the addition of lemon juice to bring the acidity up to safe levels). So basically if it’s an animal or a vegetable, you gotta pressure can it. If it’s only fruit (ie. apples, berries, cherries, peaches, grapes, etc.) or is pickled in vinegar, it’s most likely safe to water bath can.
- You must use a pressure CANNER, not a pressure cooker, for at-home pressure canning. You can use a pressure cooker/canner, but never a pressure cooker on its own. Your pressure canner must have a pressure gauge on it and not simply a valve like many pressure cookers have. And no, you can’t pressure can in an Instant Pot. Maybe someday, but not today.
- Familiarize yourself with your particular make and model of pressure canner. This is one of those rare situations where you want to actually read your owner’s manual. Familiarize yourself with your canner and how it operates. Find out exactly how much water you should add to your particular size of canner and how to lock it and operate it properly. If, like me, you have an old hand-me-down canner and don’t have a copy of the owner’s manual, you can Google your make and model and find the manual online. Make sure older canners have all of their parts and replace any old or damaged pieces, especially broken locking mechanisms or gaskets.
- Always follow a tested, up-to-date recipe and don’t skimp on any of the steps. Canning is a science, not a creative endeavour. While you can get more creative as your understanding of the science of canning evolves, always start by learning the basics first. Don’t be a rebel (or lazy) when it comes to doing things by the book in this case. Your personal health and safety and that of your loved ones isn’t worth the risk.
- Breathe. You’ve got this.
I also recommend doing a test run to get comfortable with using your canner before you’ve got a batch of something inside. Bring it up to temperature and get comfortable using it and adjusting the heat to get a nice, rhythmic rattle going with your gauge.
Learn how long to wait to properly depressurize your canner before removing the gauge and unlocking the lid. And of course, always use oven mitts when canner is hot and open your canner lid away from you so you don’t steam-burn your face.
Parts of a pressure canner
It’s useful to know the parts of your pressure canner and their function too…
Gasket: This is the rubber ring that sits between the lid and the canner and seals it.
Vent Pipe: This is the vent where the steam escapes from. The weighted gauge sits on top of this during processing.
Overpressure Plug: This is a last-ditch safety mechanism that prevents the canner from exploding if it does build up too much pressure. The plug will pop out and let the extra steam escape.
Weighted Gauge: This is the gauge that sits on top of your vent pipe during processing. It has 3 holes corresponding to 5, 10 and 15 lbs. If your recipe calls for you to process your food at 10 lbs. of pressure, you place the 10 lb. hole over the vent pipe and the weight will start jiggling when the pressure inside the canner reaches 10 lbs. of pressure.
Many newer canners have a dial gauge and/or a weighted gauge for more specific processing temperatures, although the standard pressures required for most recipes are still 5, 10 and 15 pounds.
Canning Rack: This sits on the bottom of your canner so your jars don’t directly touch the bottom of the canner. Same as a water bath canner.
* The locking mechanisms on my Mirro Pressure Canner are on the lid and lock into place when the handles slide inline with each other. (I would link to the one I use but it’s an old version and I can’t find it anymore… This Presto pressure canner is very similar, but since it’s newer it has a dial gauge too).
The locking mechanisms on the popular All-American Pressure Canner are wing nuts that you screw down to lock the lid on.
Canning tools I use and love
I have a few canning tools that I use all the time whether I’m pressure canning or water bath canning. The jar lifter, the funnel and the scoop are essentials in my eyes. The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving is my go-to resource for safe home canning recipes (mine is actually “Bernardin” brand because I’m in Canada, but it’s the same book). Almost all of the canning recipes you’ll find on this site are safely adapted from recipes in this book.
The book has 400 canning recipes including pretty much everything you could possibly think to preserve in a jar. I highly recommend making the investment and getting yourself a good, reliable canning recipe book. Clearly I feel more than comfortable endorsing this one:)
Step-by-step pressure canning instructions
Okay, okay. Enough of the preamble. You’re ready to dive in and begin. Here’s the step-by-step process for pressure canning…
- Follow all of the rules outlined in the previous section. Get your canner out and ready to go, familiarize yourself with how it works. Double-check your owner’s manual to find out exactly how much water you need to add to it. Make sure you know what exactly you’re canning, and find a tested recipe from a source you trust. My personal go-to’s are the National Centre for Home Food Preservation and, of course, my canning bible: The Ball Complete Book of Home Food Preserving.
- Clean your jars and bands with hot soapy water. Keep your jars hot. The nice thing about pressure canning vs. water bath canning is that you don’t need to sterilize your jars when pressure canning. Just keep them hot so they don’t crack when you fill them with hot food. You can achieve this simply by filling them with hot water after washing and leaving them in the sink or by leaving them in a hot, steamy dishwasher after a clean cycle.
- Prepare your canner, if you haven’t already done so. Place the canner rack in the bottom and add your water. The general rule is that you should have 2-3 inches of water in your pressure canner, but I follow my owner’s manual to be sure, which tells me exactly how many quarts of water to add. (This makes it easy because you can simply use quart-sized Mason jars to measure out your water and fill your canner). Don’t turn the heat on just yet.
- Prepare the food you’re going to be canning. If you need to chop vegetables and cube meat, I recommend doing this before preparing your jars so that they don’t cool down in the time it takes you to do food prep. At this point you can cook or prepare your food according to the recipe and get it ready to be packed into jars.
- Add prepared food to jars, leaving the specified amount of headspace at the top. Generally you want to leave a generous one-inch of headspace at the top of your jars when pressure canning, but check your specific recipe to be sure.
- Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, place lids on top and screw down bands. Just as you would when water bath canning. Then place your jars in the canner.
- Put the lid on your pressure canner and fasten it shut. Turn heat on high and allow heat and pressure to build up. Don’t put your gauge on yet. First let it get hot enough that steam starts to vent out of the spout. Let it vent for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes of venting steam, put your weighted gauge on the spout at the weight of pressure specified in your recipe (usually 10 or 15 pounds of pressure, depending on how high above sea level you are). Tip: Use oven mitts to put your gauge on as steam can be very hot!
- Wait until your gauge starts rattling consistently and then set a timer for the amount of time the recipe calls for. Then turn heat down until your gauge stops rattling constantly and starts rattling on and off a few times per minute (usually around 3 or 4 times per minute). This is where you want to keep it for the duration of processing time. I find seeing my burner to somewhere around medium heat get my gauge rattling just the right number of times per minute.
- Once the clock has run out and the processing time is up, turn off the burner. Let your pressure canner cool completely on the burner until the pressure has been reduced to zero. If your canner has a dial gauge, it will help to tell you once the pressure has returned to zero. But never rely solely on the dial gauge. Always make sure the weighted gauge has stopped rattling completely before removing and use oven mitts to remove.
- Let canner vent until there is no steam coming from the canner spout. Then remove lid carefully (away from your face) and let jars sit in the canner for another 10 minutes.
- Remove jars from canner and let cool completely on a towel on the counter before storing.
And that’s it! You did it!!!
That wasn’t so scary, was it?
Pressure canning tips & tricks
It’s helpful to know how to properly care for your canner to get the longest life possible out of it. It’s also useful to know how to handle some common problems.
Caring for your pressure canner:
- Always dump water out of pressure canner after using and dry before storing
- Add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water in your pressure canner if you have hard water and want to prevent water stains on your canner and jars
- Replace parts regularly to keep everything in good, safe working order
- Check your owner’s manual for any specific maintenance tips for your make and model
Common pressure canning problems
1. Help! My pressure canner has cooled completely but I can’t get the lid off!
No worries. This usually happens because the gasket is old and needs some lubricant. It’s probably a sign that you should order a new gasket, but in the meantime, as long as you are sure your canner is totally cooled but the lid is still stuck, give the lid a few gentle taps with a hammer and try to loosen the lid again. You might need to repeat this several times or wait another few minutes and try again. Rub a little bit of olive oil over the gasket to help prevent this in the future.
2. Help! There are little air bubbles floating to the top of the jar after I pull my jars out of the canner. Does this mean the jars didn’t seal or that my food’s unsafe to eat?
Take a deep breath. I had a freakout about this and then did some research and talked to some very trusted canning sources who assured me there is nothing abnormal or dangerous about this, and now I’m assuring you:) It’s actually pretty common for air to still be releasing after you’ve finished processing your jars. They could even bubble for up to an hour or two. There’s no need to be concerned unless it’s been going on for days or something. Then it’s possible something your jars is fermenting or spoiling so best to toss it out.
3. Help! I noticed the headspace in my jars went down and/or I lost a lot of liquid out of my jars. Are they still safe to eat?
This is called siphoning, and it’s very common. As long as the jar is still at least half full with liquid and your lids sealed, your food is still safe to eat.
If you have any other canning questions, make sure to drop them in the comments section below!
Wishing you homemade, homegrown, homestead happiness 🙂
CATEGORIES
8 Comments
Submit a Comment
ABOUT ANNA
You Might Also Like
15 Emergency Preparedness Items For Bugging Out
* This article contains affiliate links. For more information, please read my Affiliate Disclosure. Emergency preparedness is an important part of self-sufficiency, and self-sufficiency is a natural part of homesteading, so naturally the topic of preparedness...
How to Safely Can Meat For Long-Term Food Storage
Whether you have a surplus of beef from your own livestock, some wild venison meat from a recent hunt, or you found a great deal on some beef, pork or lamb from a local farm or even the grocery store, learning how to safely can meat at home is an easy way to preserve...
I’m all about practical gifts; Gifts that will truly make life easier and contribute to my and my family’s wellbeing. And our family includes our animals!
One of the ways we make sure our chickens are taken care of is by letting them free range during the day, but making sure they’re locked up and safe from predators at night. But who wants to be up at the crack of dawn to open the coop, or wake up to a bloodbath because you forgot to close the coop the night before?
(The answer is obviously no one… No one wants that).
Automating our homesteading tasks as much as possible allows us to worry about other things and saves us a ton of time. Plus, it makes sure that things get taken care of, whether we remember or not.
Using an automatic chicken door has been a GAME CHANGER for us. It’s one of those lesser known homestead tools that can make all the difference, and I’m always recommending one to anyone who keeps chickens!
This chicken door from @chickcozy_ is so easy to install and use too, and right now you can get one for a steal during their Black Friday sale!
Save over $40 off an automatic chicken door, plus use my coupon code for an ADDITIONAL DISCOUNT!
Don’t forget to check out their chicken coop heaters too, which are also on sale right now:)
Whether you’re shopping for yourself or looking for the perfect gift for the chicken lover who has everything (which might also be yourself;) the @chickcozy_ automatic chicken door is one Christmas gift that won’t soon be forgotten!
Comment “Chicken” below for more info and to get my exclusive coupon code! 🐓
#chicken #chickens #chickendoor #chickcozyautodoor #chickcozy #chickensofinstagram #chickensofig #chickenlover #homesteadlife
Yes, you read that right…
Modern Homesteading Magazine is coming to an end.
This decision has not come easily, but there’s a season for everything, and more and more I’m feeling called to transition out of this season and into the next in both life and business.
And so this final farewell issue is bittersweet. On the one hand, it’s the first ever annual issue, with 100 pages packed with brand new content that celebrates the best of the past 32 issues!
And it’s the first issue I’ve ever offered in PRINT!
But on the other hand, it marks the end of an era, and of this publication that I’ve absolutely had the pleasure of creating and sharing with you.
If you’re a digital subscriber, you will not be charged a renewal fee going forward, and will continue to have access to the digital library until your subscription runs out. As part of your subscription, you’re able to download and/or print each issue of you like, so that you never lose access to the hundreds of articles and vast amount of information in each issue.
Rather than subscribing, you can now purchase an all-access pass for a one-time fee of just $20, which gives you access to our entire digital library of issues.
Plus, for a limited time, when you purchase an all-access pass you’ll also get a gift certificate for a second all-access pass to gift to someone else.
I’m also still taking preorders for the print version of this special edition issue, but only for a few more weeks!
When you preorder the print issue, you’ll also get a digital copy of the special edition issue (this issue only), and will receive a print copy in the mail later this year (hopefully by Christmas so long as there are no shipping delays!)
Click the link in my profile or visit modernhomesteadingmagazine.com to check out the latest issue, purchase an all-access pass to the digital library and/or preorder the print issue today!
Thanks to everyone who has read the magazine over the past 4 years. I’m humbled and grateful for your support, and can’t wait to share whatever comes next:)
#modernhomesteading #homesteading #homesteadersofinstagram
It’s easy to romanticize homesteading, but the truth is that those homegrown vegetables, those freshly laid eggs, that loaf of bread rising on the counter, and that pantry full of home-canned food takes time, effort and dedication. It doesn’t “just happen” overnight!
But if you work on learning one new skill at a time and gain confidence in it before moving onto the next, one day you’ll be looking back and marvelling at how far you’ve come.
That’s where I’m at now. Life today looks a lot different than it did 10 years ago, when our homesteading and self-reliance journey was just beginning.
Back then we still lived in our city condo and were just beginning to dabble in all of this stuff. But my husband Ryan and I felt a sense urgency to start pursuing a more self-reliant lifestyle, and we committed to taking small steps, one day at a time to make that vision a reality.
Over the years we’ve continued to put one foot in front of the other, adding new skills and tackling new projects along the way that have helped us get to where we are today.
While there’s always more we want to learn and do, as I look around me right now, I’m so grateful that we took those first steps, especially considering what’s happened in the world over the past few years!
If you’re also feeling the urgency to take the first (or next) steps toward a more self-reliant life, this is your final reminder that today is the last day to join The Society of Self-Reliance and start levelling up your homesteading and self-sufficiency skills so that you’ve got what it takes to:
• Grow your own groceries
• Stock your pantry
• Create a natural home
• Get prepared
• Learn other important life skills like time management for homesteaders, goal setting and how to become your own handyman
And more!
If you’ve been feeling called to level up your self-reliance skills (because let’s be honest, we’re in for a wild ride these next few years with everything going on in the world), now is the time to heed that call.
Link in profile to enroll before midnight tonight, or go to thehouseandhomestead.com/society
#homesteading #selfreliance #selfsufficiency #homesteadingskills #preparedness
There are so many reasons to grow your own food at home:
💰 Saves you money at the grocery store
🍴 Healthier than conventionally grown food
🔑 increases your overall food security
🫙 Gives you an abundance to preserve and share
But perhaps the number one reason is because it just tastes better!
Not only does food taste better when it’s freshly picked or allowed to ripen on the vine, there’s something about putting in the work to grow something from a tiny seed and then getting to see it on your dinner plate that just makes it so much more satisfying than anything you’ll ever buy from the store.
Plus, having to wait all year for fresh tomatoes or strawberries or zucchinis to be in season makes that short period when they’re available just that much more exciting!
With the world spinning out of control and food prices continuing to rise, it’s no wonder more people are taking an interest in learning to grow their own food at home. But that also means changing our relationship with food and learning to appreciate the work that goes into producing it and the natural seasonality of organically grown fruits and vegetables.
(It also means learning to preserve it so you can make the most of it and enjoy homegrown food all year long).
In my online membership program, The Society of Self-Reliance, you’ll learn how to grow your own food, from seed to harvest, as well as how to preserve it so you can enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor all year long!
You’ll also learn how to grow and craft your own herbal medicine, detox your home, become your own handyman, and so much more (because self-reliance is about more than just the food that we eat… But that’s a pretty good place to start!)
The doors to the Society are now open for a limited time only. Click the link in my profile or go to thehouseandhomestead.com/society to learn more.
#foodsecurity #homegrownfood #homesteading #selfreliance #selfsufficiency #homegrownfoodjusttastesbetter
If you’ve been watching events unfold over the past few years and you’re feeling called to start “cutting ties” with the system and begin reclaiming your independence, The Society of Self-Reliance was made for you!
When I first launched this online membership program last year, my goal was to create a one-stop resource where members could go to learn and practice every aspect of self-reliance, as well as a space to connect with other like-minded people pursuing the same goal. And that’s exactly what you’ll get when you join!
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn inside the Society:
🌱 Food Security and Self-Sufficiency: Learn the art of growing and preserving your own food, ensuring you and your loved ones have access to nutritious meals year-round.
🌿 Natural Living and Herbal Medicine Mastery: Discover the secrets to creating a low-tox home and and to growing, making and using herbal remedies to support your family’s health, naturally.
🔨 Essential Life Skills: Learn essential life skills like time management, effective goal setting and practical DIY skills to become more self-sufficient.
As a member, you’ll enjoy:
📚 Monthly Video Lessons: Gain access to our ever-growing library of video lessons, with fresh content added each month.
📞 Live Group Coaching Calls: Participate in our monthly live group coaching calls, where we deep dive into a different self-reliance topic every month, and do live demonstrations and Q&A’s.
🏡 Private Community: Join our private community forum where you can ask questions, share your progress, and connect with like-minded individuals.
I only open the doors to The Society once or twice each year, but right now, for one week only, you can become a member for just $20/month (or $200/year).
In today’s world, self-reliance is no longer a luxury, a “cute hobby,” it’s a necessity. Join us inside The Society of Self-Reliance and empower yourself with the skills you need to thrive in the new world!
Link in profile or visit thehouseandhomestead.com/society to learn more.
#selfreliance #selfreliant #selfsufficiency #selfsufficientliving #sustainableliving #modernhomesteading #homesteadingskills #preparedness
Got out for an early morning harvest today. Been up since 3am, contemplating life, the future and the past, the order of things…
There is a rumbling right now, not just in North America, but around the world. Many of us can feel it, and know we are on the precipice of something big.
I’d been hearing about this new song that’s become an overnight viral sensation, written by an (until now) unknown singer named Oliver Anthony. His new song Rich Men North of Richmond has had 14 million views on YouTube in the past week alone, so I decided to check it out.
I also saw a clip of him playing a Farmers Market last week, and anything that has to do with Farmers Markets always has my attention;)
I can’t tell you how many tears I’ve already cried listening to that song. If you’ve heard it already, you probably know what I’m talking about, and if you haven’t, I highly recommend giving it a listen. All I can say is it’s been a while since a song resonated so deeply with me, and in this strange new world, I know I’m not the only one.
One of the lines in Anthony’s song is “Livin’ in the new world, with an old soul,” and that’s something I think so many of us in the homesteading community can relate to.
Trying to cling to better days; To a simpler time; To the old ways, all while doing our best to get by in the new world.
The world has changed drastically in the last few years especially, and it’s set to change in immense ways over the next few years. Today I’m feeling thankful for people like @oliver_anthony_music_ who give a voice to what so many are feeling right now.
Know that if you’re feeling it too, you’re far from alone. And while the future may feel uncertain and even a little scary, remember that if we stand united, we the people are a force to be reckoned with.
(Continued in comments…)
Another garlic harvest in the books!
Garlic is easily one of my favourite crops to grow. It’s pretty much a “set if and forget it” crop. We plant in the fall and leave it to overwinter, fertilize a couple times in the spring, start watering only once the ground starts to dry out, and then harvest in the summer. We can even plant a fall succession crop after our garlic if we want so it really makes great use of garden space all year round.
Over the years we’ve managed to become completely self-sufficient with garlic. We now grow enough to eat all year (and then some!), plus we save our own seed garlic and usually have extra to sell or give away. And around here fresh, organic garlic ain’t cheap, so it’s a good cash crop for anyone who’s serious about selling it.
It took me a few years to really get the hang of garlic, but it’s one crop I’m now very confident with (knock on wood, because it’s always when we make statements like this that next year’s crop fails! Lol.)
A while back I compiled a comprehensive guide to growing, harvesting and using garlic both as an edible and medicinal crop. This is usually only available as part of a paid bundle (or in the fall 2022 issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine if you’re a subscriber;), but for a limited time I’m offering it for free, no strings attached!
Plus you’ll also get access to my step-by-step video lesson on planting garlic so you can set yourself up for success with your garlic crop this year.
Comment “Garlic” below or head to thehouseandhomestead.com/garlic-guide to get your free copy!
.
.
.
#garlic #garlicharvest #homesteading #selfsufficient #selfsufficiency #selfsufficientliving #selfreliance #homegrown #groworganic #growfoodnotlawns #gardenersofinstagram #homesteadersofinstagram
Going through photos and videos from our trip to the @modernhomesteadingconference and the vast majority are of our daughter having the time of her life!
Even if I personally got nothing else out of this gathering (which I most certainly did), watching her discover her own love of this lifestyle outside of what we do at home made my heart grow three sizes!
Homesteading is about so much more than homegrown food and self-reliance. It’s about passing on invaluable skills and an understanding of and respect for our connection to the land that provides for us to the next generation.
Being around so many other kids and families who are also pursuing a homesteading lifestyle helped show our little one that this is a movement that is so much bigger and greater than what our own family does on our little plot of land. This is a lifestyle worth pursuing, with a community unlike any other.
Glad to be back home and more excited than ever to involve my kids in everything we’re doing. But also, I think I speak for my whole family when I say we can’t wait to go back someday!
.
.
.
#homesteading #modernhomesteading #raisinglittles
If you’re simply looking for ways to save a little extra cash this summer and live well for less, here are 12 tried and tested frugal living tips for summer that you can use to save money this season without sacrificing a thing.
Head over using the link in my bio!
https://thehouseandhomestead.com/12-frugal-living-tips-summer/
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#houseandhomestead
#momentsofcalm
#pursuejoy
#simplepleasuresoflife
#thatauthenticfeeling
#findhappiness
#artofslowliving
#simplelifepleasures
#lifesimplepleasure
#simplepleasuresinlife
#thatauthenticlife
#authenticlifestyle
#liveanauthenticlife
#livinginspired
#savouringhappiness
#livemoment
#localgoodness
#simplelive
#lifeouthere
#enjoywhatyouhave
#frugallifestyle
#homesteadingmama
#offgridhomestead
#modernfarmhousekitchen
#crunchymama
#rusticfarmhouse
#farmhouseinspo
#farmhouselife
#modernhomesteading
#backyardfarmer
A brand new issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine just dropped!
In this issue:
🌱 How to forage and use five common edible and medicinal weeds
🏠 A sustainable, affordable alternative to traditional homes, greenhouses and more
👨👩👧👦 Tips for managing a homestead while raising a family (big or small!)
🫙 What to focus on when preserving food for true food security
🌹 How to grow and arrange your own cut flowers at home
🍓 The many ways to preserve summer berries (including 5 delicious recipes!)
💇How to make your own all-natural herbal hair care products at home
🧑🌾 Why “community sufficiency” is the new self-sufficiency
And more!
Visit modernhomesteadingmagazine.com (or click the link in my bio) to subscribe or login to the library and read the latest issue.
Plus, be sure to check out all of our past issues as well! There’s a wealth of information in our library on everything from farming and gardening to cooking and canning to herbal medicine, natural living and so much more!
*** This will be the last quarterly issue! ***
This little magazine has grown so much over the past 4 years and 32 issues, and now it’s time for another exciting evolution.
I’m excited to announce that we will be moving to an even more robust annual publication with the intention of offering the first ever print edition this fall if there is enough demand.
I’m also excited to announce the brand new Modern Homesteading Magazine blog, which is currently under construction and will be launching soon. While we will still be maintaining digital subscriptions, the blog will be accessible to all, free of charge, so that more people might benefit from the empowering and increasingly important information that we cover in each issue.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this issue happen! @homesteadingfamily @oatsandhoneyhomestead @omnivore.culture @thetaylor.leigh @doeraydesign (and more who don’t have IG pages;)
And a HUGE thank you to everyone who has subscribed over the years. Modern Homesteading Magazine would never have become what it is today without each and every one of you.
#homesteading #modernhomesteading #selfsufficiency
If you’ve ever grown your own garlic, you might have noticed the spiral-shaped shoots that suddenly pop up in the centre of the stem, usually about a month or so before the garlic bulbs themselves are ready to be harvested.
These are garlic scapes, and believe it or not- they make delicious pesto! Get the recipe through the link in my bio- https://thehouseandhomestead.com/garlic-scape-pesto/
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#houseandhomestead
#homesteadmom
#homesteadmoments
#homesteadingskills
#homesteady
#thehomestead
#thehomesteadlife
#summeronthehomestead
#suburbanhomesteading
#lovemyfarm
#modernhomesteader
#countrygal
#country_living
#urbanhomesteading
#selfsustainableliving
#homesteaderslife
#garlic
#garlicscapes
#garlicscapespesto
#granolamom
#urbanhomesteader
#homesteadlifestyle
#farmerslifeforme
#backyardhomesteading
#homesteadingfamily
#sustainablelifestyles
#happyhomesteading
#homesteadersofamerica
#homesteaders
This honey and chive blossom vinaigrette is a frugal, easy and healthy homemade salad dressing that pairs beautifully with fresh garden salads all season long.
Get the recipe through the link in my bio.
https://thehouseandhomestead.com/chive-blossom-vinaigrette/
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#houseandhomestead
#herbalgarden
#gardenherbs
#herbsfromthegarden
#freshherbsfromthegarden
#gardenfreshherbs
#chiveblossoms
#homesteadmom
#homesteadmoments
#homesteadingskills
#homesteady
#thehomestead
#thehomesteadlife
#summeronthehomestead
#suburbanhomesteading
#lovemyfarm
#modernhomesteader
#countrygal
#country_living
#urbanhomesteading
#selfsustainableliving
#homesteaderslife
#seasonalrecipes
#eatinseason
#liveseasonally
#eattheseasons
#seasonaleats
#summersbounty
#eatseasonal
Ugh
I was about five minutes maybe ten shy of finishing a batch of chick peas and the flame blew out allowing pressure to drop before I saw it. I was able to quickly raise it back and processed an additional ten minutes. Is that okay?
Hi Michael,
While it *might* be okay, I wouldn’t recommend risking it. The official guidelines state that if the pressure drops you need to start the process over again from the beginning. Otherwise I would just pop the jars in the fridge and plan to eat soon. I know how frustrating this is as one of my burners went out last year in the middle of pressure canning a big batch of beef stew. I ended up freezing it all instead. Murphy’s law, right?!
Thank you for bringing out the safety of using a pressure canner. I’ve been using a pressure canner for years. My husband is a retired tool & die maker, he looked over the canner and from his way of looking at the pot it’s next to impossible to blow up. Unless you do what the “Boston bomber” did to modify a pressure canner. Under normal conditions and proper use it is very safe.
I got a all american old style canner, its new was never used by the previous owner, can someone explain how to use it?
Hi Beverly, I also have a glass top stove, should I forgot the idea of pressure canning????
I had a glass top stove, it came with the house. I was shocked to learn I wasn’t supposed to use cast iron, or even a water bath canner on it. What kind of an idiot would make a stove you can’t use cast iron on?
I used both of these yes it did scratch the top.
It was a happy day when this stove broke and I replaced it.
my weighted gauge never jiggled? Why and also some of the lids expanded on the jars. Help first time using a mirro pressure canner. canning beans.
Hi Beverly,
If the weight never jiggled then it could be that your pressure was too low or that your vent pipe was clogged, although if it were clogged then the pressure would have probably built up and popped out the overpressure plug. You can check the vent pipe by looking through it to see if you can see light through the other side. If not then clean it with a pipe cleaner.
My guess, though, is that the pressure was too low. What heat/temperature did you have it on? Also, what type of stove are you canning on? Most canners don’t work well on glass top stoves as the heat automatically switches off and back on again so they don’t maintain a consistent temperature. Also, some canners with a slightly concave bottom don’t sit flat on glass top stoves so this could be the reason.
I’ve never heard of lids expanding on jars. Could you explain in more detail? I would immediately store the beans in the fridge and use them soon. Don’t let them sit on the shelves for safety reasons or toss them. Better safe than sorry.