# Bacon.



## derum (Dec 29, 2008)

As a Brit living in the USA, one of the few things I miss is back bacon. I prefer it to the bacon generally available here (I would call it streaky bacon), purely because it is less fatty.
I recently discovered how easy it is to cure bacon at home, using the Wiltshire cure method, and how satisfying it is to eat your own home made bacon.
Sausages next!


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

And then onto confit. :beer: And have you tried home canning?


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## derum (Dec 29, 2008)

Oldsarge said:


> And then onto confit. :beer: And have you tried home canning?


I have not. Would that be for fruits?
I have made butter, but can never get the salt quite right.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

So far it's mostly vegetables that I make into home style pasta sauce--by the gallon. I have so much left from the last two years that I probably won't make any this year, maybe even next. I guess I'll have to progress to jams and jellies given how many berry plants I have around the house.


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## derum (Dec 29, 2008)

Jams would be fun to make. I will try to source some Blackberries.
And homemade pasta sauce..... no comparison with the shop bought nonsense.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Get yourself one of these. All-American is the standard of the trade and has been since the '30's. And the included instruction booklet makes things really easy.


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## Clintotron (Mar 24, 2015)

While I abstain from pork, I can absolutely admire one making one’s own foodstuffs. I’m more inclined to brew something, and, as such, I plan to produce my own mead in the near future. It sure is hard to divvy up the real estate in a 27’ travel trailer. Libations are priority, so the kids may have to sleep in the bathtub when the family comes to visit. Time will tell.


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## derum (Dec 29, 2008)

My apologies, I thought that canning meant putting in cans, I didnt realise that it covered jars too. an English/American mis-step!
Can you use a normal (electric) pressure cooker, or are they not man enough for the job?
I did make a Rhubarb chutney and stored it in sterilised mason jars. It was utterly delicious, and didnt really last long enought to worry about going bad


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Oldsarge said:


> Get yourself one of these. All-American is the standard of the trade and has been since the '30's. And the included instruction booklet makes things really easy.


Growing up, I watched my Mom can the majority of fruits, vegetables and occasionally meats that made their way to our dinner table. She used equipment that was somewhat more basic than the options featured above. The wife and I have done a bit of canning, but not nearly so much as what I remember growing up.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

I have kept chickens for their eggs (I was vegetarian at the time) a most pleasant hobby which yielded delicious rewards.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

derum said:


> My apologies, I thought that canning meant putting in cans, I didnt realise that it covered jars too. an English/American mis-step!
> Can you use a normal (electric) pressure cooker, or are they not man enough for the job?
> I did make a Rhubarb chutney and stored it in sterilised mason jars. It was utterly delicious, and didnt really last long enought to worry about going bad


I would definitely stay away from trying to can in a pressure cooker. Once you see how brawny a pressure canner is, you will understand. You can pressure cook in a camper but not the reverse.


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## derum (Dec 29, 2008)

Oldsarge said:


> I would definitely stay away from trying to can in a pressure cooker. Once you see how brawny a pressure canner is, you will understand. You can pressure cook in a camper but not the reverse.


Your input is much appreciated.
My homework shows that a boiling water bath is ok to use for acidic foods, as it is the acidity of the ingredients as much as the heat of the processing that preserves the food. For sweeter tomatoes and other non-acidic foods only a pressure canner is recommended. I will start off simply with a batch of chutney in a boiling water bath. I have ordered a pressure canner as suggested and when that arrives I will try some pasta sauces.


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## Clintotron (Mar 24, 2015)

derum said:


> Your input is much appreciated.
> My homework shows that a boiling water bath is ok to use for acidic foods, as it is the acidity of the ingredients as much as the heat of the processing that preserves the food. For sweeter tomatoes and other non-acidic foods only a pressure canner is recommended. I will start off simply with a batch of chutney in a boiling water bath. I have ordered a pressure canner as suggested and when that arrives I will try some pasta sauces.


Please build a separate topic and post your results with pictures when the time comes. Self sufficiency with food, drink and heirloom-able items piques my interest greatly.

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## Clintotron (Mar 24, 2015)

Clintotron said:


> Please build a separate topic and post your results with pictures when the time comes. Self sufficiency with food, drink and heirloom-able items piques my interest greatly.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Hopefully, by then, I can add a mead entry to build the concept among our forum friends.

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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

I have been toying with canning. My mother passed away before I could get her to teach me some of her methods. We always canned tomatoes, okra, and peppers. Plus, every year, my mother would "put up" several Mason jars of scuppernong and muscadine jelly. These are some awesome southern wild grapes that people also make into wine. However, the best jellies, imho, are made from the relatively scarce mayhaw berry. Mayhaw jelly, when properly made, would be tantamount to the ambrosia that sustained the gods of Olympus. @Reuben.


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## Clintotron (Mar 24, 2015)

drlivingston said:


> I have been toying with canning. My mother passed away before I could get her to teach me some of her methods. We always canned tomatoes, okra, and peppers. Plus, every year, my mother would "put up" several Mason jars of scuppernong and muscadine jelly. These are some awesome southern wild grapes that people also make into wine. However, the best jellies, imho, are made from the relatively scarce mayhaw berry. Mayhaw jelly, when properly made, would be tantamount to the ambrosia that sustained the gods of Olympus. @Reuben.


There was a Mayhaw festival in the town in which I'm currently working. I forgot about it and missed the one-day celebration. That was May the 5th and I'm STILL kicking myself.

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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

For the last several years I've grown huge quantities of paste tomatoes and turned them into a number of flavors of red sauce. I have made up a dozen pints pure vegan and given them to my nephew and niece-in-law for Christmas. This year I think I'll just give them a pressure canner.

BTW, you can make a very interesting red sauce from ripe bell peppers. It seems to be a Provençal specialty and quite good. I still have 21 half pints of red sauce on the shelves plus another dozen half pints of chili verde and green tomato sauces. With all the berry bush/vines on the property I think it might be time to attempt sugar free jams and jellies.

I also canned four quarts of duck sauce. You want to make up some serious soup next winter? Can your own stock! White beans in duck stock--man oh man!


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## derum (Dec 29, 2008)

Oldsarge said:


> For the last several years I've grown huge quantities of paste tomatoes and turned them into a number of flavors of red sauce. I have made up a dozen pints pure vegan and given them to my nephew and niece-in-law for Christmas. This year I think I'll just give them a pressure canner.
> 
> BTW, you can make a very interesting red sauce from ripe bell peppers. It seems to be a Provençal specialty and quite good. I still have 21 half pints of red sauce on the shelves plus another dozen half pints of chili verde and green tomato sauces. With all the berry bush/vines on the property I think it might be time to attempt sugar free jams and jellies.
> 
> I also canned four quarts of duck sauce. You want to make up some serious soup next winter? Can your own stock! White beans in duck stock--man oh man!


I love tomatoes, but sometimes tomato pasta sauce causes me acid stomach, so your suggestion of red sauce made from bell peppers is intriguing. I can not eat tomato ketchup (I like it on bacon sandwiches, shoot me), but I have found that banana sauce from the Phillippines (readily available here) is almost identical in taste and texture. (And colour, oddly).
I make my own stocks in the pressure cooker from carcass or bones. I guess canning would eliminate the need to freeze/refrigerate?


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## Clintotron (Mar 24, 2015)

derum said:


> (I like it on bacon sandwiches, shoot me)


I just had a belly laugh from this. Haha!

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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

derum said:


> I love tomatoes, but sometimes tomato pasta sauce causes me acid stomach, so your suggestion of red sauce made from bell peppers is intriguing. I can not eat tomato ketchup (I like it on bacon sandwiches, shoot me), but I have found that banana sauce from the Phillippines (readily available here) is almost identical in taste and texture. (And colour, oddly).
> I make my own stocks in the pressure cooker from carcass or bones. I guess canning would eliminate the need to freeze/refrigerate?


Get someone to make a tomato sauce for you utilizing yellow tomatoes. That will greatly reduce the acid content.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Clintotron said:


> Please build a separate topic and post your results with pictures when the time comes. Self sufficiency with food, drink and heirloom-able items piques my interest greatly.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Self sufficiency is definitely a seductively attractive consideration and it is clearly doable. I remember as an adolescent going down in our basement and seeing literally hundreds of quart sized mason jars, filled with all manner of fruits and vegetables (and to a lesser extent meats) sitting on a series of wooden shelves that ran the length of the entire wall. We were not well to do, but we were also never hungry and it gave me a very real sense of self satisfaction knowing that I had played a small part in putting it there!


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## derum (Dec 29, 2008)

There was a popular TV sitcom in the UK in the 70’s called “The Good Life”. It was basically centred around an architect and his wife who gave up work to become self sufficient in suburbia.
It was memorable for introducing us to the delightful Felicity Kendall, the basis of many a boys fantasies....


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

drlivingston said:


> Get someone to make a tomato sauce for you utilizing yellow tomatoes. That will greatly reduce the acid content.


This is good advice.


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## derum (Dec 29, 2008)

drlivingston said:


> Get someone to make a tomato sauce for you utilizing yellow tomatoes. That will greatly reduce the acid content.


Are they seasonal? No-one in Houston seems to stock them, only the odd store with yellow cherry tomatoes.


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## Reuben (Aug 28, 2013)

drlivingston said:


> I have been toying with canning. My mother passed away before I could get her to teach me some of her methods. We always canned tomatoes, okra, and peppers. Plus, every year, my mother would "put up" several Mason jars of scuppernong and muscadine jelly. These are some awesome southern wild grapes that people also make into wine. However, the best jellies, imho, are made from the relatively scarce mayhaw berry. Mayhaw jelly, when properly made, would be tantamount to the ambrosia that sustained the gods of Olympus. @Reuben.


Running low?


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

Reuben said:


> Running low?


Low? Brother, I have been out for a while. I just try not to appear greedy.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

derum said:


> Are they seasonal? No-one in Houston seems to stock them, only the odd store with yellow cherry tomatoes.


Nah... Just check out your local H-E-B market.


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## derum (Dec 29, 2008)

drlivingston said:


> Nah... Just check out your local H-E-B market.


I did, no luck in any, or whole foods.


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