Maintenance on all things canning and preserving

[feather]

I don't usually do much maintenance on my canning or dehydrating equipment. I wash out the interior of the dehydrator when I'm done, wash down the trays and mesh, then when it is dry I put it back together and close it up until I need it again. I keep it in an unfinished cabinet we keep outside, covered in a tarp, so when the snow covers us, it is protected.

With the pressure canner, there never seems to be a season I don't need it. I haven't cleaned it up in a couple years, just a rinse and dry. But, since I've just run out of jars, I think I can put it away for a while. I soaked it all down in soapy hot water, cleaned the grooves in the top edge and lid, and then scoured the aluminum body inside, with a scrubby made of metal, and it became more smooth inside. I washed up the lid well, then took out the seal on the edge, coated it with vaseline and put it all back together. Once it is all dried out, I'll put it together and put it on a shelf in the basement for a while.

The shelves in the basement pantry are pretty clean, not any air circulation so little dust. I put all the venison on the second to bottom shelf and that is tough to tuck my head down under there to reach to the back corner of the shelf. I think I need a hook or a hook on a stick to drag jars out or push them in.

Anyone with ideas or hints for this kind of stuff?

[northerngardener]

What your are doing sounds very similar to what I do. I wash everything up and put it away in the basement.
Don't have any special hints, but I look forward to other comments.

[dustawaits]

My Mennonite friend gets tubs the size she needs , discards the lids for her pantry shelves.
She fills them with her jars and can just pull the tub out to see....

[solargeek]

feather, I actually thoroughly wash with soap and water all BWB canning pots (I use a spaghetti one for small loads, the normal size canner for 7 quarts, and then a huge Weck electric BWB also after each use. Since sometimes (rarely) a jar breaks, I just feel better knowing that it is immaculate when I pull it out. I find I can jams all year round (whenever I get sale fruit) so I do need the stuff.

With the dehydrator trays, I again soak in hot soapy water for about an hour each time, then air dry.

I don't use my Power Pressure Cooker XL for pressure canning (yet). I am guessing PPXL will pay the labs to test whether it is safe to use at some point in the future but as for now, it only cooks for me! Almost every day. I cannot believe how fast and easy it is. Chili in about 15-20 minutes if I have browned the beef; if not, maybe 25 minutes. And it tastes better than my long simmering chili..... all those years of crock pot and stove cooking done away with.

[Ozarks Tom]

We wash the dehydrator trays and mesh, then put them back in the machine and run it for a half hour. After all, it's a dryer, isn't it?

Even though the water looks clear most times in the pressure canner we wash it with soapy water after each session. I know no bacteria lived through the process, it just makes us feel better to know no film has developed.

[Daniel]

We take several medications that come with those silica packets inside. I save all these packets in ziplock freezer baggies. I use them for a variety of things. For my dehydrated foods, I drop one in the top, I keep some in with my camera bag ect. But one of the best things is when you wash and dry your jar rings. I keep mine in gallon zip storage bags, to prevent any rust toss in a few.

[Deleted]

www.amazon.com/Shower-Curtain-Rings-Hooks-Metal/dp/B002XM0QOI

One string with end tied to a hook...do one string two hooks

Two nails one for each hook how close...you chose.
Add rings when jars are cool. Just clean them slide clean ring thru one hook you take off of one of the nail.

When string is full make a home in a plastic bag hook go Thur the hole and hook hooks together.

Avoids dust