Preserving Q&A

This is part three of our four-part series where I’m answering your questions on all things modern homestead and pioneer living! In today’s episode, I’m doing a preserving Q&A (with a bonus sourdough question).

A woman wearing a linen apron standing in front of a dehydrator.

Welcome to the Pioneering Today Podcast! This is episode #371. You can find episodes #369 and #370 (parts one and two of this series) at the following links, where I answered your gardening questions and your livestock questions.

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]

Preserving Questions:+−
Sourdough Question:+−
- How do I know if my sourdough starter has gone bad?
Everything Worth Preserving
More Articles on Home Food Preservation

Preserving Questions:

Can you preserve meat and other foods by dehydrating without a dehydrator?

Yes, you can dehydrate fruits and vegetables using an oven. Simply set your oven to 170 degrees F and place your food on an oven-safe tray until it’s completely dry.

When it comes to meat, I wouldn’t feel comfortable unless I was using a dehydrator where I can control the temperature. This is my personal opinions, however I also know people dehydrated meat for many years before there were ovens or dehydrators.

If you’re not using an oven (or a sun oven) as a dehydrator, then dehydrating food gets to be a bit more tricky.

There are plenty of fruits and vegetables that can be dehydrated without an oven, depending on your weather and how humid you are, simply by using the sun. But when it comes to meat or items that may spoil (or grow mold) before they’re completely dry, those really need the assistance of an oven or a dehydrator.

To dehydrate without an oven, many people will use screens to sandwich the food so it has air circulating all around it, but so that the flies can’t get to it. I’ve also heard of people laying a window over a screen to create more heat. And still yet, other people have used their cars parked in the sun to act like a makeshift oven (this is also a great method if your yard is prone to flies).

Be sure to check out my tips for dehydrating at home here.

Azure Standard

Since we’re on the topic of dehydrated foods, Azure Standard, who is the sponsor of this podcast, actually offers many dehydrated foods that you can buy in smaller quantities.

Sometimes I’m not certain I’ll actually like or use a specific dehydrated food, so I don’t want to spend my time dehydrating a large portion of that food if it will sit unused on my pantry shelf.

I like to test it out by buying it in small quantities first and Azure Standard is the perfect place. Right now, Azure Standard is offering you a great discount (for first-time customers only) of 10% off your order of $50 or more with coupon code “Pioneering10”.

One of my staples from Azure Standard is their organic onion powder. This year, in particular, I had a pretty bad onion crop, but I also don’t tend to grow enough to make my own out of what I grow, so I stock up in bulk from them.

Is steam canning safe for canning meat?

No, a steam canner is not a safe or approved method for canning meat. I have had my steam canner for a number of years now, and love using it for canning, but they should only be used for water bath canning recipes.

Steam canners are safe for canning any acidic recipe that’s also safe for water bath canning. There are a couple of things you do differently when finishing your recipes, so be sure to check out some of my tutorials for steam canning, the pros & cons of electric canners, as well as this post on the USDA canning safety rules and whether we should trust them.

colander of cherries and jars of homemade cherry pie filling on white counter

How much water in a pressure canner when double-stacking?

When you’re double-stacking in a pressure canner, you can use the same amount of water as if you had a single stack.

The only thing you need to keep in mind when filling your pressure canner is how long the pressure canner needs to be running for your specific recipe. If you’re processing something with a long processing time (say 75 minutes), you’ll want to make sure you’re up to about three or four inches of water inside your pressure canner before you add your jars.

If your processing time is much shorter, you can get away with about two inches of water.

This holds true whether it’s one jar, a single layer, or double-stacked with jars.

The important thing to remember is to make sure you have a rack between the layers of jars. Don’t just pile them on top of the jars below without separation.

Two pressure canners and jars of home canned food sitting on a kitchen counter.

Canning Smoked Fish

When I gathered these questions for this podcast, I was on Instagram, and I shared a photo of some canned smoked salmon. I was then asked how to can smoked salmon, so here’s how…

When canning smoked fish, you don’t actually smoke it the same as if you were just going to eat it after smoking. You only half-smoke it to where it’s not completely raw, but it’s also not hot to the touch, then you can it from there.

Favorite Pressure Canner

My favorite make and model for a pressure canner is the All-American. I’ve tried other brands, but the All-American is a great quality and I love the way it cooks.

Before I had a gas stove, I also found that the All-American would hold its pressure much easier than other models without me constantly turning the burner higher and lower during the processing time.

Upclose shot of a pressure canner with jiggler.

Should my pressure canner have to be constantly adjusted during the cooking time?

Though your pressure canner shouldn’t have to be constantly adjusted, it may need a few adjustments, especially when it’s just coming up to pressure.

Having to constantly adjust it could mean that you’re bringing it up to temperature too quickly, then needing to find the right temperature to maintain the pressure.

If this is the case, try bringing it up to pressure a bit slower by using a lower temperature.

The other thing to consider is your stove. It could be that you have a faulty burner, as I’ve experienced this myself.

Waterbath canner with jars covered with water.

Can you steam can in a pressure canner?

Yes, however it’s not really what I would call steam canning.

I’ve seen where people will put their jars into the pressure canner and place the lid on, however not tighten down the lid. Then, once the steam starts escaping from the pressure canner they’ll start their time.

This sounds good in theory, however I’ve never seen it deemed safe from a tested source.

What I have done instead is to use my pressure canner as a water bath canner. I demonstrate how to do this in my Home Canning With Confidence course. If you’re looking for more information and tutorials on canning, I highly recommend checking out that course.

But to do this, I simply fill the canner as I would a water bath canner, until my jars are completely submerged, then use a cookie sheet as a lid.

Sourdough starter in a jar with a loaf of bread in the background.

Sourdough Question:

We have a bonus sourdough question that I tossed in here with the preserving questions since I didn’t get enough to merit an entire sourdough Q&A.

Be sure also to check out my bread baking class, where I cover sourdough baking, my post on how to make a sourdough starter, my beginner sourdough sandwich bread recipe, and even my chocolate sourdough bread recipe (it’s a must-have for the holidays!).

If you’ve purchased a dehydrated sourdough starter, you can also learn how to rehydrate a sourdough starter here.

Sourdough starter in a jar on a counter.

How do I know if my sourdough starter has gone bad?

Honestly, you’ll know! There’s a difference between a strong fermented smell and a putrid rotten or rancid smell. Sourdough starter can smell like vinegar or a strong alcoholic smell, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.

It can also build up a dark liquid layer, called “hooch,” and that’s also harmless. Sometimes the top of the starter will even turn gray and get firm. All you need to do is pour off the liquid and/or scrape off the thick gray layer, feed it and continue with daily feedings until it’s bubbly and active again.

What you don’t want to see is pink, gray, green, or black fuzzy mold. Also, if it smells putrid, like you may get sick after smelling it, those are signs that your starter has gone bad.

Trust me when I say, sourdough starters are extremely resilient and I’ve neglected mine for an extremely long time without them going bad (like, forgetting them in the back of the refrigerator for months on end!).

Everything Worth Preserving

If you’d like more tutorials and information on preserving, be sure to check out my book, Everything Worth Preserving. It is shipping now, through the publisher, and it covers the nine food preservation methods that you can safely preserve food at home.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

The Norris Farmstead is ready for booking! A while back I shared in a podcast episode how my husband and I purchased an old 40-acre homestead. We’ve since renovated the house, begun renovating the land, and turned it into a farm-stay. Listen to the planning our farm-stay episode here. And if you want to check out the farm-stay and book a night with us, visit the Norris Farmstead website here.
To follow along on the renovation journey, be sure to check out this post on our new 40-acre homestead journey. (Spoiler alert, next week, December 21, 2022, I’ll update that post with a before and after video tour!)
Verse of the Week: Proverbs 1:2-4

Pantry shelves lined with home canned food.

Preserving Q&A

Preserving Questions: