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ok guys, need your help: does anyone have suggestions for pickling okra and keeping it from getting slimmy? I have got so much, we would have to eat it 3 times a week to get rid of it, (and lots more to come) Yex, I am learning to eat it but it will never be my real favorite and with so many choices for fresh veggies this time of year I don't want to eat nothing but Okra...So, pickling it will be my next thing. I do a few jars every summer; hubby will eat it for lunch, I just can't because of the slime.
I'm pretty ticked off right now. I've been wanting to can my own fruits and veggies so I went online and researched pressure canners. I finally decided on one and ordered it on Amazon.
I got it yesterday and the canner is fine. The problem is with the pressure gauge. It's highly recommended that you have the gauge tested for accuracy before you use it so you don't have any unfortunate explosions!
Not too long ago (and for decades before that) you used to be able to go down to the county extension office and they'd test it. Well, they don't do that anymore. Here in Minnesota, they don't even answer their own phone anymore. Iowa does!
I've called EVERYWHERE for the last two hours and nobody does it. My only choice is to take it to a calibration shop and they charge more to test it than I paid for the canner, $77! Now I have to take the time to wrap it all back up, send it back to Amazon and have to pay a RESTOCKING fee for the privilege.
I. Am. Pissed. Off.
PS. - Yes, I know I could mail it off to Presto in Wisconsin and they'd test it for free but that defeats the purpose. They'd just put in back in the mail again and all that jostling around NEGATES the testing because you can't tell how all that bouncing around affects the gauge. Besides, if that were a reliable thing to do, then why don't they have a quality control test for their pressure gauges to begin with, before they package them?!
Well, it definitely wasn't very simple, that's for sure. But, it SHOULD be simple!
As a last resort, I called the Presto Company and spoke to a very helpful woman who is now my adopted grandma. There IS a home test that they don't advertise or like to give out but, in my situation, they had pity on me and gave it to me.
What an ordeal! But, in the end, it will have been worth every gray hair.
Well, it definitely wasn't very simple, that's for sure. But, it SHOULD be simple!
As a last resort, I called the Presto Company and spoke to a very helpful woman who is now my adopted grandma. There IS a home test that they don't advertise or like to give out but, in my situation, they had pity on me and gave it to me.
What an ordeal! But, in the end, it will have been worth every gray hair.
I have a 23 quart pressure canner and it comes with a 15lb weight. She said to pour one quart of water into the canner, seal it, put it on the stove and give it time to pressurize. Once the 15lb weight starts jiggling steadily (like it should), look at the gauge. It should read 15lbs of pressure. If it doesn't, note what the difference is and keep that figure in mind when canning.
For example, if the pressure gauge reads 13lbs when the 15lb weight starts jiggling, it means the gauge is off (under) by 2lbs. So, if I'm canning something that needs 11lbs of pressure, I need to be sure to let the gauge go up to 13lbs to get a true 11lb reading.
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lol
Pressure Canning
