[or-roots] Canning on a Wood Stove

[Eugene Barnes]

I can recall as a child hearing, and in one or two 
cases reading about, canning disasters.  I believe
most had to due with opening the oven door.  Many
were blinded on explosions of the glass canning
jars.  My mother fell ill while canning and I finished
up, but was very hesitant to open that oven door,
even in 1943.  I used a broom handle from some
distance away.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Verdena Veelle 
  To: or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us 
  Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2004 2:46 AM
  Subject: [or-roots] Canning on a Wood Stove


  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


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