On 3/3/2015 9:19 PM, Derald wrote:
George Shirley wrote:



We moved back to Texas after 24 years in SW Louisiana, town called
Sulphur. Had a very large backyard with a mature fruit trees, two
kumquat trees generally gave us about ten gallons of fruit, fig tree
almost that much, Japanese persimmon, two plum trees, one Ponderosa
lemon tree that was very fruitful too. We were basically one step up
from sub-tropical, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) heat
zone 9b, we're one zone down here at the new place so get a bit more
frost. In 8b our last frost date was generally around mid-February, here
it's mid-to-late March.
The most recent USDA remapping changed us from 9a to 9b. However,
the white shirts neglected to tell the weather sprites and nothing
really has changed.


We freeze a lot of vegetables. Generally I will slice and dice then put
on a bun pan and into the freezer for 1 hour, then vacuum bag. Do that
with peppers, okra, green beans, etc. For greens I blanch them for three
minutes in boiling water, drain the liquid off, put on a bun pan in a
serving size for two, vacuum pack and into the freezer again. Pulled
some Swiss chard out the other night from 2011, still like new
Yours is basically the procedure that I follow except for the
vacuum. I spread the stuff out on cookie sheets so that individuals are
separated. They freeze quickly and remain separate when packaged. I do,
however, vacuum pack dehydrated foods such as onion or celery but don't
use any of those "systems" that use plastic bags. In the 1990's DW&I
purchased and tested every countertop vacuum appliance that we could
find at retail. 100% of the bags, even brand name bags, failed within
just a few months. In many cases the failure was undetectable until one
opened the package. Most failed along the factory seams. I obtain a
higher vacuum than the Tilia ever achieved by using a high quality
bicycle pump (the repairable kind from a bicycle shop, not a Walmart
throwaway) with reversed valving (Had to add an external check valve
because the stock valve does not seal when reversed). Tape tabs over
piercings in the lids of the same Mason jars we used for canning makes
touching up the vacuum from time to time easy. The last time I used the
Foodsaver was to remove excess fluid through the fill tube of an
automatic transmission in '03 or '04; really.
I'm still using the FoodSaver but I don't buy bags from them. Find 50
foot rolls online and have only had two fail in service recently. My
main gripe with the FoodSaver is that the new ones eat about an extra
two inches of bag each time you seal one due to setting the vacuum
channel back that much. My first FoodSaver only used about a quarter
inch of bag but it croaked after several years due to bad construction
of hinges on the lid. Super glued that and it kept working until some of
the internal plastic died too. I'm looking on line for a better vacuum
sealer without all the foibles of Tilia.

I would not be without my pressure canner and assorted menagerie of
boiling water bath canners.
We still have ours, too, along with a motley assortment of pressure
cookers none of which ever gets used. However, a five or six quart
weight-regulated pressure cooker makes a fine retort in which to
evacuate multiple small jars at once. Attach the pump onto the cooker's
vent tube and let'er rip.

snip
I have a small closet in my office that is full
of canning jars, lids, rings, full jars of this and that, and most of
our canning pots and pans plus extra rolls of vacuum bags, etc. Once you
learn how to do it and do it the proper way so no one dies from eating
your stuff it becomes easy and, I think, saves lots of money instead of
buying more stuff that you don't know where it comes from. I have become
one of those who avidly reads food labels. I don't buy food canned in
certain countries and try not to eat anything that comes out of those
countries. I don't visit certain American restaurants because most of
their food comes from one or more of those countries. Home made is best.
Ironically, even at upscale restaurants the fancy dishes could come
frozen in a bright white box bearing the "Sysco" label.

Not many upscale restaurants where I live, mostly TexMex, sandwich
shops, etc. Do better cooking everything myself.

My kraut is working, made its own water and is doing well. Hit 81F here
today and if it stays hot there goes the kraut. Unless I put it in the
old fridge in the garage and keep it around 60F, if possible. What the
heck, it was only two five lb heads of cabbage, turn it into compost if
it fails as kraut.