Dry Pack Canning

Yesterday we spent part of our morning canning some rice in number ten cans.  We have access to a both a hand crank and electric canning machine.  Since we had quite a few cans to seal, we used the electric machine.

[/caption]

The canning process is very simple.  First, we fill a number of cans with product leaving the lids off.  I then put oxygen absorbers on top of the product in the first five or six cans. I never put out more  than six absorbers at one time.  We use the Ageless brand ZPT-300MBC.  This is a 300cc absorber that is designed for number 10 cans.  The lid is immediately placed on top of the cans.  These cans are then run through the sealer.  This is a simple process, place the can in the sealer and follow the directions.  This can vary with the manufacturer.

Once the cans are sealed check to be sure, the lip is properly formed, date the cans and store.

The oxygen absorbers, the blue oxygen absorber bag sealers and the cans were purchased from the local LDS Cannery.

There are many other sources for these products on the web.  I have both the mylar bag sealer and the can sealer and prefer the cans.  The bags while cheaper are not as reliable.  The seals do not work well with powdered products such as flour or dried milk.  The powder has to be cleaned off the area in which you make the seal and if you miss some the seal will not hold properly.  In addition, rats and other rodents can chew through the bags.  We have lost food due to the failure of mylar bags and rodents.

Howard

The post Dry Pack Canning appeared first on PREPAREDNESS ADVICE.