My canning Journey

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Opened up a jar of soup. today. Everything was fine. Carrots and celery maintained their shape, but definitely soft. Potatoes perfect. Corn an beans, perfect. Overall taste, not Thebes soup I've ever had , but its a start, and more importantly, it worked. Between the potatoes and soup, I have more confidence with canning , so I plan on looking for other recipes to try. I'll do a lot of experimenting this winter, so I have full confidence when Im using my own fruit and veggies.
 
Did 3 more jars of small, whole potatoes.
2 jars russet
1 jar Huckleberry Gold ( a low glycemic potato)
Everything appeared to go as planned. I can hear the jars pinging as I'm typing this.

A got about 20 full sized. potatoes ( Yukon. gold and russet) which I'm hoping will last me through December.

Im going to open the canned potatoes one jars month just to see how they hold up over time. Assuming everything works out, this will allow me to have homegrown potatoes all year long.

I usually start harvesting mid June. I start with the buckets (about 5 gallon) which provide me with 5 - 6 potatoes. I used the buckets to plant potatoes when I run out of garden space. They are a little more high maintenance cause they can dry out if not tended to. I'll usually live off the potato buckets, 1 a week, until late August. Thats when the Red Norland and Yukon are about ready. Ill do my main potato harvest then. I sort the potatoes out by size. Big ones for baking, medium ones for soup, fries, typical cooking use, and the small. ones for roasting, home fries, potato salad. About a month later the russets are ready.

I grow way more than 2 people could use. I give some away, and store the others. Usually after a. few months they start to sprout ( I dont have a root cellar or anything that stays cool enough to delay sprouting. This is where the canning comes in handy. I can now can my excess for future use. I'm excited about this, cause years past I've tossed many away due to drying out, rotting or over sprouting. I've also made the mistake of throwing them in the compost, just to have them survived the winter , and have potato plants scattered around the garden, where they shouldn't be. I'm always stupid enough to think that I can just leave them and. they'll do fine. But what more than likely happens is I get poor potatoes from them and they also overcrowd the plants they are growing next too,
 

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I may have counted my chickens before they hatched.
I checked on my potatoes. They are still sealed, but the water is clouding up a bit. Is this normal ?
I was sure I answered this...but anyways, sorry for not answering it here. Yes the starch comes out, the water gets cloudy. More cloudiness for russets, less for waxy potatoes. The starch water can be used for thickening a sauce or soup.
 
I was sure I answered this...but anyways, sorry for not answering it here. Yes the starch comes out, the water gets cloudy. More cloudiness for russets, less for waxy potatoes. The starch water can be used for thickening a sauce or soup.
Just through me for a loop at first, cause I hadn't checked on them in a few days, and wasnt sure if it was normal. I waited a week to pop open a jar, and everything, looked, smelled and tasted cook. Now, having had eaten them, with no GI issues , I consider it a success ( and know what to expect next time around). I kinda figured it was the starch coming out, butt being the first time, and knowing the risks of failed canning attempts, just wanted to be sure. Thanks for the tip on uses for the starch water.
 
Just popped open a jar of tthe Huckleberry Gold potatoes that I canned whole a few weeks back. The consistency is fine. No difference than those that I had canned in large pieces. Although I do prefer my potatoes fresh, considering I can only store them for so long, then in the trash they go, this is a great way to extend the use of homegrown potatoes. ( I still have some russets and Yukon golds that are first starting to sprout now. Ill use them up over the next few weeks. My goal is to use my own fresh potatoes ( and not have to get store bought) through December. I started harvesting my potatoes from the garden on 7/2/22, so that means I'll go 6 months without buying fresh ones from the store.
 
Great job, Larry! Those canned potatoes would probably be good in a well-spiced soup.
One step ahead of ya :D. Put them in a 'throw together' mushroom barley soup for dinner. I agree, I think the more heavily spiced the better, as it would overpower the taste difference from the canning process, but it did work well in the mushroom barley soup.
 
One step ahead of ya :D. Put them in a 'throw together' mushroom barley soup for dinner. I agree, I think the more heavily spiced the better, as it would overpower the taste difference from the canning process, but it did work well in the mushroom barley soup.
Barley would overpower anything. Good job using your potatoes. Many people go to all the work of preserving food (canning or freezing) and never use it. They are so missing out on something good.
 
Barley would overpower anything. Good job using your potatoes. Many people go to all the work of preserving food (canning or freezing) and never use it. They are so missing out on something good.
Im kind of a beginner so I'm still in the learning process. My first priority s making sure Im doing things safely and correctly. I've been opening a new jar every few weeks, partially to make sure they are still good ( cause I still int trust myself) and partially to take advantage of what I've been doing. Definitely different than its fresh counterpart, so I'm learning how to use them in the best way. So far, so good.
 
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