Thursday, March 6, 2014

CANNING ORANGES (2 useful videos)

Disclaimer: Before attempting to can foods, you should already have a good understanding of canning  and have the required equipment. Dangerous bacteria can develop in incorrectly processed canned foods. You should have sufficient knowledge to judge for yourself whether this information is reliable. Read full disclaimer below.
We live in Orange Country. Like many homes in Southern California, ours was built in an orange grove.

Not only is our climate and soil perfect to grow many types of citrus, but our property has old (almost historic) and mature orange trees left over from the old days when this was prime orange growing land.

Most varieties of orange trees (and citrus) in our area give a winter harvest, somewhere between December and April. We harvest the fruit gradually, because we only pick the fruit when it's fully ripe, still on the tree, but when it comes off by just lifting it slightly.

But if you have orange trees, you know that picking only ripe fruit does not mean that you will have only a few oranges at a time. A few oranges for me is anywhere from 20 to 80 lbs (at a time), depending on how often I check the tree! And that's way more than we could possibly manage to eat.

We give oranges to neighbors, friends, family, delivery people, etc., but we still end up with more than we could possibly eat fresh. There is no way I will let hundreds of pounds of delicious oranges go to waste, even though we do not really waste anything: what grows here stays here, even if it's to become compost. But rather than using the oranges for compost, canning or freezing can go a long way in ensuring that you have fruit from the garden year-round.

Our house came with an old ACME juicerator, so it's easy for me to make lots of orange juice, and freeze it, but with the amount we need to preserve, canning is more economical because you use energy to can the fruit, not to store it. Not to mention the fact that with so much to freeze, one huge freezer would not be enough. I hate to think what my electric bill would look like if I had multiple freezers...

Canned oranges it is, then!

I find it hard to find good, reliable canning information. Proven techniques to can various types of food, like Grand'Ma used to make. But while searching, I came across a couple videos and people who seem to know what they are talking about and share their experience on video to help others.

Check the videos below disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I cannot guarantee that the methods demonstrated in the videos are correct of safe. It is imperative that you educate yourself about canning techniques before attempting to can foods, so you can do it as safely as possible AND so the food you preserve is safe to eat and will not make you ill (eating improperly canned foods can lead to botulism, which can be fatal.)
The canning process also involves the use of very hot liquids as well as, in some instances, the use of a pressure canner. Pressure canners allow the jars to be processed at extremely high temperatures (much HOTTER than boiling water.) AND as they are removed from the canner, the canned food jars are not only SUPER HOT, but also under high pressure as long as they remain hot. 
Before attempting to can foods, you should already have a good understanding of canning  and have all of the required equipment. Dangerous bacteria can develop in incorrectly processed canned foods. You should have sufficient knowledge to judge for yourself whether this information is reliable.



I find the above video more useful overall, because it covers the actual canning of the fruit, but the following one is from Granny Miller, whose videos contain a wealth of hard-to-find details for the novice canning enthusiast. Be sure to check her other videos. I find them both useful and inspiring.



Happy Canning!!