[or-roots] Canning on a Wood Stove

[Verdena Veelle]

My mother canned green beans (and everything else) without the benefit of a pressure
cooker.  As I recall this required 90 minutes of boiling in the canner.  I remember my
mother doing this on her wood stove which was outside and near the woodshed.  Much cooler
that way.  Not sure if it was an extra stove but must have been.  The green beans still
needed to be boiled for twenty minutes after opening to keep us from getting killed by
botulism.  Can't imagine that too much nutrients were left after that.   Of course she and
some of the neighbor women went to a farmer's to pick the beans if there weren't enough in
the garden.  I still have many of the jars that she used.

I can't imagine eating it today but one of my favorites was noodles cooked with the
chicken feet that she canned.  I am sure the claws were gone but not too sure about
anything else.  All I remember was at that time, it really tasted good.  Not to offend
anyone but she also served horse burgers to company who never knew the difference.  Tough
times make a lot of things taste better I guess.  She really knew how to make things to
eat with little or nothing.  She also taught one-room school.  Made tablecloths and
bedspreads, doilies by the dozen with crocheting.  I feel very lazy when I think about how
hard she worked.  She died when she was only 47 but apparently not because of the hard
work.  She had a problem with her pancreas.  I was only ten at that time.
Verdena Veelle