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First time pressure canning yay!

Skydiver

Skydiver

So a few days ago I bought a pressure canner so I can make concentrates this year.

Me and the Momster were doing a batch of salsa with a hot water bath method, I figured why not use the Presto as just another big pot for that way, then decided to go freaking nuts.

We already had the salsa made and ready for canning when inspiration (insanity?) struck.

Decided to take two of the pint jars and make two pints of pain.

Put pretty much every pepper I'm growing in it.
between two pints of already tasty salsa I added:

1 Bhut Jolokia
1 Trinidad Scorpion
1 Red Devil's Tongue
1 Yellow Scotch Bonnet
2 Chocolate Habs
2 Orange Habs
1 Aribibi Gusano (very pungent pepper, more would have been too many I think)
3 Yellow short tabasco
1 Orange Thai

Already present in the salsa:
hot hungarian wax
sweet banana
giant marconi



Chopped up the peppers and got about a cup of minced death heat.
Portioned in half, so a half a cup of this horrific nightmare melange in each jar, filled to correct canning level.


Voiding the air in the canner or whatever the heck that stage before putting the weighted thing on is called.


The canner happily processing the two pints of hell and two pints of some homemade sauce.
Didn't know exactly how long to go, so I ended up using 10 pounds pressure for 20 minutes.



The final result. For some reason the camera made it look a lot more orange than it really is.


I'm tenatively calling it "Pan Capsicum".
I just wanted to make a ridonkulously hot bottle of salsa using every pepper I'm growing this year.
I just wish my fataliis and yellow devil's tongues had produced, would have loved to add them in.

So, good tasting salsa with terrifying levels of heat added, but all in all I'm happy with learning how to use the pressure canner.

I feel more comfortable with the idea of making the concentrates now.


Sooooo, two pints of this stuff, figure I'm gonna give it a few days on the shelf, then open one up to test it, if it's as good as I hope it is, booya.
 
great going diver...

advice for two things...you may be doing this but in case you aren't...

once the weight starts dancing and letting pressure escape, lower your temperature setting on the burner just so the pressure still makes the weight dance...if you don't, there is a possibility that the pressure canner can become overpressurised...you DON'T want that to happen...

if you are below 3000 feet elevation, pressure can at 10 psi for 10 minutes...(and I think you are below 3000 aren't you?)
 
OK, so what I thought was a slow rocking was too fast. I had backed the heat down to what I thought was low enough, but I'll go lower.

Yep, I'm at right around 1000 feet above sea level, so I will reduce my processing time accordingly.

Thanks AJ, you're the man.
 
Skydiver,

Did ya hear the lids pop? Or another way is to press down in the middle of the lid, it should pop back up.

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
Skydiver,

Did ya hear the lids pop? Or another way is to press down in the middle of the lid, it should pop back up.

Mike
Click to expand...

Yeah, everything pulled a nice seal.
I've been hot water batch canning my salsa for years now, this is just my first time with a pressure canner.

Got the basics of canning, this is like my next level stuff, figured I'd post here since it made me happy, and maybe get a few hints as to if I did anything wrong with pressure or time or whatnot.
 
Trust me I have learned from trial and error....make sure you keep proper head spacing and you put the proper amount of water in the canner. If you don't a jaror 2 may pop inside the canner quickly filling the room with pepper steam.....

you think pepper spray is bad? LOL....

anyway your concoction looks awesome but sounds like a big dose of "The Morning After....Ring of Fire" LOL.....
 
Looks great. I love Pressure Canning over Water Bath, it really puts my mind to ease knowing that it is killing ALL of the nasties that may be present. Plus it really cuts down on the time.
 
I don't mind canning but I prefer blanching - much quicker! But some foods don't blanch or dehydrate well and I'll take pressure over a hot water bath every time. The Ball Blue Book (Copyright 1937) sits on my desk during canning season!

Mike
 
I really can't believe I'm saying this, but I opened a jar of Pan Capsicum tonight and dug in, it was really tasty, but what would probably knock flat any of my relatives or friends, I thought to myself after eating it:

"needs moar bhut"

flavor is bangin, though, so I'm happy as hell.

Next year I'll probably just wave a tomato at a jar of pure bhut and choccy habs and call it salsa :rofl:
 
Really wish I had made a few more jars of this stuff.
First jar is long gone now and I'm catching myself staring at the lone remaining jar.
 
Skydiver,

How did you feel about Sunday's game?! First time this has happened since like 1998 or so!

A tip I learned the hard way: if at all possible, preserve way more than what you think you will need! It doesn't go bad.

Mike
 
Skydiver said:
Really wish I had made a few more jars of this stuff.
First jar is long gone now and I'm catching myself staring at the lone remaining jar.
Click to expand...

wordwiz said:
Skydiver,

How did you feel about Sunday's game?! First time this has happened since like 1998 or so!

A tip I learned the hard way: if at all possible, preserve way more than what you think you will need! It doesn't go bad.

Mike
Click to expand...

I am the same way. I always make plenty, but I never want to open that last one.

And Mike that game was awful. Pittsburgh played terrible both times they played this year. I still think they are the better team, but give Cincy credit. They are having a helluva year.
 
Jay,

The Steelers didn't play badly, the Bengals simply knew how to defend them and for the first time in years, had the players to get the job done.

I have very rarely had to open that proverbial last jar; I always seem to have a quart, pint or gallon or two left over. The exception seems to be carrots - I simply do not get enough of them to grow and produce, except two years ago. I love to slice and then dehydrate them, which works perfectly since I use them in soups. But the past two years have been dismal failures and I have had to resort to store-bought ones.

My biggest wish - an acre to grow stuff in!

Mike
 
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