Canning Pumpkin!

As I sit here writing this blog, I am also in the process of canning pumpkin for the very first time. My time typing is often interrupted by running to my pressure canner (which I am also using for the first time) to be sure my pressure remains at 11. (pause for checking canner... I just checked and my canner was approaching 12. It needed to be at 11, so I turned down my fire but it seems it was very low and I am afraid of it going too low..... so it looks like I'll be pausing more than I originally thought--- sorry folks).

In any case, back to the pumpkins. I purchased 4 sugar pumpkins from the farm a few weeks ago. I hadn't gotten around to canning them until today. Boy am I glad I didn't do it before today. My kids have gone to grammas and so I had all day today to fool with these new gadgets. (Pause for checking canner.... still good) I first cut the pumpkins and fished out the seeds and guts. Although the taste of pumpkin and squash is AWESOME, I sometimes wonder why it takes so much muscle and effort to get the damn things to their cooking stage. I almost chopped my fingers off too many times to name. The one thing that is both annoying and interesting to me is when you first cut open a squash--- it starts oozing what look like beads of sweat, but it is a sticky but slick nectar. This nectar makes them a hazard for cutting as it is quite easy to slip and slice something off..... however I find that part very magical.... like the beading its way of saying, "yes I am alive" or as if out of some horror show, "NO! DON'T EAT ME!!". No other fruit or veggie does this, just squash. (pause for checking canner.... slight adjustment needed, it was at 12 instead of 11) Don't you find this amazing? I sure do. Mother Nature never lets me down with her variety of life.

Back to pumpkins- I cut the four up into chunks and put it on the stove with a bit of water. Boiled the hell out of it and then sent it through a medieval looking device. It was my moms and it basically takes squishy fruit and veggies and grinds them up into a thickish paste. I LOVE using this thing. It really grinds up the good stuff and spits out the rinds and unusable parts. I then added that "paste" into a big pot and boiled it again. Until my jars were done being sanitized. (pause for checking canner.... it is running a bit high, but I think it is still OK).

Now during this time, the prep did not go as smoothly as I have let on. I do not have a manual to the medieval grinder, not good, so I was running from memory, also not so good. I had a slight memory of last year me standing out on my porch, grinding tomatoes. It seems with evolution comes thicker countertops and thicker tables. My old grinder needed a thin table. So today I improvised and used a 2 foot table which belongs to my kids. With some additional help from the hubby and a few phone calls to see if anyone else could remember how to put it together, I got her working. Then I turned my attention to begging hub man to put my pressure canner together. It had been a birthday present from him last year and I still hadn't put it together. He begrudgingly obeyed and a few minutes later I was testing it out. I also endured some heckling as to why I was just getting around to using it..... afterall, "it was expensive". MEN!

In the meantime, my jars were done, my pumpkin puree paste was boiling and I had just OKed my pressure canner..... life was good. So I unloaded some jars onto the table and began filling them (not before raising the temp on the pumpkin so high that it suctioned the lid of my pot right on. I had to bang it with a wooden spoon to free it!) . And I am going to stop here to explain something (but not before checking my pressure canner again!!! I feel like a pregoid running to the bathroom every 5 minutes!) The USDA claims that because pumpkin puree is so thick, pressure canning is unable to raise the temp enough in the middle of the jars to kill all of the bacteria. Now, people have been canning pumpkin puree to use in pies, cakes and cookies for ages, so what has changed? Government intervention. With all of that in mind, I used precautionary measures while still preparing my pumpkin in the most user friendly form. First, I canned most of my pumpkin into 4 ounce jars but followed the instructions and cooking times as if my jars were pints. Second, the 5 or so pints I have canned are for my use only- I plan on using them to bake up pumpkin yummies. Let me just say this. If a microbe can live being steamed for 40+minutes, then boiled again, then put into hot jars and pressure canned for 55 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure then baked again in a 350-400 degree oven, my friends that is one microbe I don't think could be stopped by anything! (pause... less than 15 minutes for my first batch!!!) The USDA does its job and tries to protect people, but without getting into a lengthy discussion of my beliefs, I'll just say this--- If someone is unwilling to eat my stuff, I will totally understand but I believe some things are not meant to be messed with- especially food stuff!

I am logging off this blog for now so that I can clean up the pumpkin dishes and prepare to remove my first batch from the canner!!! I believe I will be using this pressure canner more often! Afterall, it was the first "microwave" if you will!