[Blindtlk] canning food

Thu Jul 31 16:12:45 UTC 2014

Yes, I was a member of the blind cooks list for a while.  that's where I 
connected with the gentleman who is blind and pressure cans food.  He was 
able to give me a few helpful hints.  I unsubscribed from the cooks list. 
It's just way too much mail for me to keep up with.

thanks!
Julie

-----Original Message----- 
From: cheryl echevarria via blindtlk
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2014 8:55 AM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] canning food

Sounds wonderful Julie.
I am not sure you know this a number of years ago, the NFBNET.org had put up 
a blind cooks list, the website is
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-cooks_nfbnet.org
Many might find this interesting. and yes they have an active list.

Cheryl Echevarria, President
National Federation of the Blind's Travel and Tourism Division
A proud division of the NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND - "Live the life 
you want"www.nfbtravel.org
631-236-5138
cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the 
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the 
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles 
between blind people and our dreams. You can have the life you want; 
blindness is not what holds you back.

Cheryl Echevarria is also the owner of Echevarria Travel 
www.echevarriatravel.com; 631-456-5394 or reservations at echevarriatravel.com 
and  has partnered with Braille Smith. www.braillesmith.com for all her 
braille needs.  Gail Smith is the Secretary of the NFB of Alabama

> To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
> Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 07:02:58 -0500
> Subject: [Blindtlk] canning food
> From: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>
> 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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> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> blindtlk:
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