Under Pressure: Methods for Canning and Cooking
In a survival situation the three main things that a person needs if they are to live would be shelter, water, and food. Of these, food can often be the trickiest to reliably secure, with water and shelter tending to not move around too much once you have located a reliable source of either. Food sources, however, tend to either move around from location to location, as is the case with game animals, or be limited in supply and seasonally grown, as would be the case with any sort of crop. So what is a person to do if they want to make it through those harsh winter nights without starving? The answer is a process that many reap the fruits of every day, but very few know how to do themselves, canning.
The benefits of canning are evident at first glance. Food is stored in a sealed off, sterile environment, and is preserved for later consumption at any time. Through the use of canning techniques, surplus foods could be stored for years at a time, ensuring that no matter what there will always be a reserve of foods in a dangerous situation, such as drought or harsh winters. The list of benefits is innumerable. However, there is one important thing to remember before canning on your own. Canning is an amazingly helpful process that, if used effectively, can greatly expand the lifespan of your perishables. But, if not done carefully, canning can introduce nasty fungi and bacteria into your foods. One such bacteria that is capable of infecting your food with the terribly fatal botulinum toxin, commonly known for causing botulism. The toxin is the single most toxic substance known, and it is odorless, tasteless, and invisible to the naked eye, so be absolutely sure you know what you’re doing before performing home canning, and if you aren’t sure about something research it!
The first type of canning that is commonly used is a type known as the boiling water canner, named for its use of boiling water to help with the process. These canners are the most simple to use, and have less of a chance of equipment failure than the other popular method of pressure canning. However, as with everything in life there are tradeoffs, the biggest downfall of the boiling water method is that it can only be used in foods that are either naturally high in acidity, or have been altered to have high acidity through the use of vinegars, or citrus juices.
The boiling water canner is simple to use however, you merely place a wire rack that holds the jars into the basin of the canner, and then fill the pot with clean warm water. After that step, the food is prepared and the water is preheated, and then the jars are lowered into the water one at a time, very gently. Then, the heat is turned up so that a solid boil is achieved. If at any point the water level drops below at least an inch above the lids of the cans, add more already boiling water to the canner. Once the boil is steady put the lid over the canner and set a timer to the recommended length for whatever the product is that you are preparing. A good source to find the recommended times of many commonly canned items, or if a product can be reliably canned at all, is the USDA’s home canning guide. After the time is up, gently remove the cans, making sure not to tilt them unnecessarily, and allow them to cool at room temperature for at least twelve hours. After the cooling process is complete store all jars in a cool, dark place such as a cellar.
Now, the other commonly used method of canning is the pressure method. This method is much more prone to both user and equipment errors, so if you decide to go this route make sure to attempt to find a canner with the fewest features that could potentially go wrong in a survival situation, as once it breaks there is a very good chance it’s gone for good. Now, doom and gloom aside, the pressure canner is infinitely more versatile than the boiling water method as, thanks to the far higher amount of sterilization that the pressure provides, low acidic foods such as meats, fish, and others can be safely stored, greatly increasing the amount of preserved foods. Canning is one good way to preserve meat for big game. If you were to shoot an elk in a survival situation and didn’t have power to your freezer, you could eat for approximately three days before the meat starts rotting. With canning you can preserve the meat for many meals. Another way to preserve meat is to cut it up into very thin slices, hang the slices of meat on a string or rope in the sun. You can use pepper or powdered citric acid to put on the meat to keep the flies off and let it sun dry and turn the meat into jerky.
The way that the pressure canner will work can vary somewhat depending on the type bought, but basically they all share some simple characteristics. They will feature a lid that can be clamped on to the body of the canner to maintain a locked seal while the water heats, and there should be some sort of an overpressure valve which is a sort of fail-safe device that will allow venting of pressure if a problem occurs. Further than that, the basics are the same as the boiling water canner, the primary difference being that the introduction of pressure to the process greatly adds to the sterilization of the jars. Some basic tips to remember are to always keep the pressure at the recommended amount as, if it dips low enough, it can actually ruin the whole batch requiring a complete do-over. Also, when the process is done, make sure to allow the cooker to cool on its own, that means no popping the lid off or putting cool water on the canner. These sorts of quick cooling methods can actually damage the canner, and potentially the foods inside. If you make the decision to go the pressure canning route make sure to do your homework before relying on your pressure-canned goods in a survival situation. After all, what could normally be a simple case of food poisoning today could be a lot more serious when medical help is far less prevalent.
On the topic of using pressure to aid in survival, another handy general purpose tool is a solid pressure cooker. If you did go and get a pressure canner, your device also can be used as a pressure cooker. However, the opposite is not always true. Pressure cookers are not always large enough, or sturdy enough to double as pressure canners, so make sure to do your research before trying to make it function as one. The pressure cooker is a handy general purpose tool, it can be used to quickly do any number of tasks from boiling large amounts of water quickly, to provide potable drinking water, to quickly cooking large portions of food that might have taken far longer to make otherwise. You can use a pressure cooker when cooking wild game after hunting. If you were to hunt down deer, elk, rabbits and most other wild game the meat is usually very tough. Most people use a crockpot and have to cook the meat for twelve hours or so. With a pressure cooker you can cook the meat in less than two hours, and the meat will be as tender as crock potting it for twelve hours. Plus with a pressure cooker you don’t have to use electricity in a blackout scenario. Some people will throw away perfectly good meat because they don’t know that they can tenderize it so easy with a pressure cooker. A good pressure cooker should be sturdy enough to be cooked over a fire, and ideally have a pressure release valve, to eliminate the risk of potentially fatal pressure cooker explosions.
Home canning can be a great way to stock an emergency food ration in a survival situation. Even in the dead of a harsh winter or a severe drought, you will be nutritionally prepared for any eventuality. The addition of a pressure cooker, or the use of a pressure canner for the same, can not only give you more options in preparation, but also greatly improve the speed at which meals and water can be prepared. When using these techniques always be absolutely sure to be not only safe, but responsible with your materials. After all, it would certainly be a shame to survive for so long, only to be done in because carelessness caused a pressure cooker to burst in front of you, or for food poisoning to take its toll because of improperly canned items. However, with the right preparation and study, these two methods are invaluable to any serious survivalist.
Other emergency survival items to have on hand:
Candles
Oil lamps
Flashlights also solar flashlights, or hand cranking flashlight
Dutch oven – There are You Tube videos on how to use a Dutch oven
Camp stove
Charcoal grill
Candle heat cookers
A solar oven
Toilet paper
First aid kit
Rubbing alcohol
Dollar stores can be a good place to shop inexpensively for some items.