[Blindtlk] canning food

[David Andrews]

Years ago I read a book, in Braille, from NLS on 
canning and pereserving.  I suspect they have 
done various books, braille and/or audio over the years.

Dave

At 07:02 AM 7/31/2014, you wrote:
>About a year ago I started thinking about 
>pressure canning food.  You know like your 
>Grandma used to do, storing garden veggies for 
>use in January.   I asked on this list if anyone 
>knew any blind people using pressure 
>canners.  that led me to the cooking list and 
>one person who had some helpful info.  A couple 
>of weeks ago I finally purchased a canner.  I 
>got a Presto 16 quart, which was the least 
>expensive option at WalMart.  I left it sit in 
>the box because well...honestly it freaked me 
>out.  I mean we are talking about pressurized 
>steam and food born illnesses, what could 
>possibly go wrong? *smile*I really did want to 
>can food, it was a stretch for me though. 
>Finally yesterday I got it out and canned some 
>corn.  It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought 
>it would be.  It is totally doable by a blind 
>person.   The particular model I bought does not 
>have a visual pressure gauge.  It has a weighted 
>valve cover.  There are rings that slide onto 
>the weight, the more rings means more weight and 
>therefore more pressure needed to make it 
>move.  You can hear and feel the steam and 
>various valve mechanisms to know when to put on 
>the weight, when it has reached pressure and 
>when it has depressurized so you can open 
>it.   I did two batches of corn last night.  The 
>first one my sighted teenage son helped 
>with.  Mostly because I wasn’t certain if I 
>could manage it completely nonvisually or what 
>alternatives I could use.  Figuring out 
>blindness alternatives on the fly is usually no 
>big deal for me, but to be honest the pressure 
>canner had me a little concerned.  I didn’t 
>want to get stuck wondering if some valve or 
>another was doing what it was supposed to while 
>sorting out how I could assess the situation 
>nonvisually.  A mistake could have been really 
>bad. We managed the first batch pretty 
>handily.  There were only a few very minor 
>snags.  Getting the lid on turned out to be the 
>most difficult part.  It’s not really a 
>blindness issue, just a tricky lid.  I’m going 
>to take a closer look at it today when it’s 
>cool and I can take my time.   Also recognizing 
>when the various valves do something, what that 
>means and what it sounds like required that 
>first batch to fully make sense.  I also 
>discovered that having some kitchen tools 
>specific for canning would be really helpful.  A 
>wide mouth funnel and jar puller would have been 
>a big help. Then my son went over to his friends 
>house, because he is a teenage boy and because 
>pressure canning is kind of boring compared to 
>just about anything involving his friends.   So 
>I was left entirely on my own for the second 
>batch.  No problems at all.  I think it was 
>easier the second time around because I knew 
>what to expect. I have 14 quart jars of sweet 
>corn sitting on my kitchen counter and probably 
>another 7 will be canned today.  That is a lot 
>of corn!  Did I mention my husband is a 
>farmer?  Yeah, so we have some corn!  *smile* 
>Thanks to all of you for your help and 
>encouragement!  Pressure canning has been 
>something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, 
>but was honestly very afraid.  You guys have 
>helped me to get honest with myself and to not 
>let my blindness stop me.  Thank you! Julie 
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         David Andrews and long white cane Harry.
E-Mail:  dandrews at visi.com or david.andrews at nfbnet.org