I love to "can" or "bottle" food. Especially in the fall. I love seeing the finished product sitting on the counter. This fall I have done peaches, tomato sauce, and potatoes so far. I may be done, but we'll see. There might be more food to drop in my lap that just "has" to be taken care of.
It's a hobby right now. I want to know how to do it in case I ever have to live off it. For now, it's enough to just know how. Most days I'm glad I can still get to the grocery store.
I canned some potatoes over the weekend. This was my first canning potatoes. They were from a 20# bag of Russetts I got at Costco. I ended up getting a full canner load of about 18 pints, using about 15# of the potatoes.
They looked great!
Only, today they're starting to look a little mushy & cloudy, and all of a sudden I'm not so sure that they're safe.
I opened a bottle tonight and it smelled funny & seemed slimy to me.
Then I opened a can of "diced potatoes" I bought at WalMart earlier this year. Hmm. The liquid was kind of cloudy too, just like my potatoes. Maybe it's just a "potato" thing.
Anyway, I had Clam Chowder for dinner tonight with the WalMart canned potatoes. It wasn't bad.
Why not my own canned potatoes?
I want to check with the local extension service before I eat any. Maybe it's also time to have my pressure canner checked too since I'm supposed to have it checked every year. Hmm. Maybe I should have done that BEFORE canning season started.
*sigh*
11 months ago
Thanks for sharing your hobby with those of us just learning! It WAS a great feeling to see all those cans on the counter after you got me started on those peaches! I hope the potatoes are still good. I'll look forward to your update after the visit to the extension office.
ReplyDeleteOk,I'm going to consider the potatoes "safe." A few google searches say the potatoes will go cloudy because of the starch.
ReplyDeleteHere are some great pictures.
http://momzoo.blogspot.com/2009/03/canning-potatoes.html