# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Cooking, Food Storage, & Preserving >  A Canning Question.

## Winnie

Someone I know who is relatively new to canning has been canning defrosted frozen Sweetcorn kernels and green peas. I have had a googlefu and can't find any reliable info on this practice. Now I'm not sure whether this is safe or not, peronally I wouldn't, but I don't want to open my mouth and be called out on it, but neither do I want to say nothing and maybe have a catastophe happen that I could have prevented. I have asked her where she got the idea from and she said 'the internet'

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## crashdive123

I don't do a lot of canning, but found this.  http://www.healthycanning.com/canning-corn-kernels/

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## Fixit

It should not be a problem as long as they are pressure canning the recommend time. A lot of people stick their garden produce in the freezer in the summer rush and then can it in the winter when it slower.

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## LowKey

Anything pre-frozen is going to get mushy and will lose flavor. There's nothing out there that says you can't can frozen veggies. You can can frozen meats so not sure what the issues might be with veggies. Personally, I'd do them separately though.

I'm not so sure I'd use the microwave to thaw the corn as in the link Crash provided. 
I'd use the hot pack method given here, being sure to extend the cook time to account for the frozen stuff to "heat through":
http://www.freshpreserving.com/recip...le-kernel-corn
and here:
http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/sweet-green-peas

The food needs to be warmed through so it processes for the correct amount of time.
You must use a pressure canner and adjust times for your altitude.

Assuming you mean green sweet peas. I vaguely recall a sort of mushy pea type food (kinda like fried pea soup) while visiting in the UK which is totally different. Even pressure canning, thick mushy stuff isn't usually recommended as it can't be heated through even under pressure.

Bearing in mind this is "off recipe" and hasn't been lab tested,
Use at own risk:
You have to pressure can process for the longer of the two vegetables you use. 
I notice that the processing time is missing for the green peas on that link.
In my Ball Book, Corn is  55 minutes for pints and 85 minutes for quarts.
while Peas are only 40 minutes for pints or qts. 
So if doing a quart of mixed, you do em 85 minutes. 
That still sounds like some pretty mushy peas...

Edit: I'm seeing "mixed vegetable" times as high as 90 minutes for quarts on line.

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## Winnie

Thanks for the clarification folks, maybe it's the English Google search function or something, but I didn't find any links and I learned something today. I've only canned fresh veg and I don't bother canning peas, I freeze or dehydrate them. I hate tinned peas!
Lowkey, Mushy peas.... now we're talkin'! I wouldn't can them at home though.

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## LowKey

I liked the mushy peas, had em with fish and chips somewhere in Cornwall, but couldn't help wondering how much better they'd be made with a touch of bacon grease. LOL.

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## hunter63

Peas porridge, hot, peas porridge cold....peas porridge in the pot ...9 days old....
Bhohahahaha.....
BTW, mashed potatoes will only hide so many canned peas....

Mom says, "Sure you can, can frozen corn.....Same as fresh"

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## ronjnk

We use "Putting Food By" as our canning and food preservation bible.   I agree with what LowKey wrote. I would add that not only do you lose food quality but I strongly believe you lose nutritional value too by the additional processing. Those frozen vegetables that are being thawed likely went through a blanching process first. There's also a great website (National Center for Food Preservation)  http://nchfp.uga.edu/  which is an excellent reference source.

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## Wise Old Owl

I agree with LowKey, we bring in "Cleopatra seed corn" or Sweet Corn from the local farm and process 75-100 ears in two-three hours each year - the corn is stripped, hair removed and with a special tool the corn is cut off the ear after blanching. - It could be canned at that moment but would add another three to four hours of time to the process. So we use thick tupperware about forty containers and put it up in the freezer. We would pull a container out per week in the winter months as a mouth watering side with butter to dinner.

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## Rick

I guess the question really is why can if it's frozen? You are already preserving the food by freezing it. Granted, you can extend the shelf life but she should consider how many she is canning for vs. just keeping frozen food. Now that there is just one of me it just doesn't make sense for me to can like I used to or in the same quantities.

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## LowKey

WiseOldOwl, I do the same thing. A couple hours for 2 or 3 weekends when the corn is at its peak. The canner and the lobster pot get filled for blanching, then everything goes outdoors to be 'zipped' off the cob (juice goes everywhere so I've been banned from inside the house with that part.) Then it goes in the freezer. Nothing beats that sweet corn taste in the middle of winter.

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## kyratshooter

Only time corn sees a Mason jar in Kentucky is when you are drinking it!

And its a b$%&# trying to get that Bourbon to freeze!

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## natertot

Tried to rep you on that one Kyrat! That was good.

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## Winnie

> I guess the question really is why can if it's frozen? You are already preserving the food by freezing it. Granted, you can extend the shelf life but she should consider how many she is canning for vs. just keeping frozen food. Now that there is just one of me it just doesn't make sense for me to can like I used to or in the same quantities.


My sentiment exactly. I still can't see the point in preserving twice and I would guess the texture would leave quite a bit to be desired.

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## Old Professor

Some things are simply better frozen than canned and corn is one of them!  I do can tomatoes and green and yellow wax beans. I am not particularly fond of peas, so I don't mess with them.

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## hunter63

> We use "Putting Food By" as our canning and food preservation bible.   I agree with what LowKey wrote. I would add that not only do you lose food quality but I strongly believe you lose nutritional value too by the additional processing. Those frozen vegetables that are being thawed likely went through a blanching process first. There's also a great website (National Center for Food Preservation)  http://nchfp.uga.edu/  which is an excellent reference source.


Plus one on that....we do as well.

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## hunter63

> Some things are simply better frozen than canned and corn is one of them!  I do can tomatoes and green and yellow wax beans. I am not particularly fond of peas, so I don't mess with them.


We do as well...like peas but like fresh snow peas....or frozen.

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## Winnie

I'm a big fan of Putting Food By too. That is my preserving bible I think it was Lowkey put me on to it several years ago. 
I think this canning frozen veg all came about because she just wanted to have stuff canned, anything at all. 
Like the rest of you, I believe some things can better than others. I have never canned corn as it's so expensive here, far too expensive to put in a jar and I can't grow enough to eat fresh and have extra for preserving apart from the odd few for the freezer.

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## Rick

If she wants to can have her can meat. Protein can always be used and it has a short freezer life. I've canned some weird things like brats. But they come out fine. Hamburger does great too. My fav is chicken, though. Can the left over broth as well. It's great for the stupid cold that sneaks up on you. All the meat I can has been cooked prior to canning.

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## Winnie

> If she wants to can have her can meat. Protein can always be used and it has a short freezer life. I've canned some weird things like brats. But they come out fine. Hamburger does great too. My fav is chicken, though. Can the left over broth as well. It's great for the stupid cold that sneaks up on you. All the meat I can has been cooked prior to canning.


I can Hamburger and yep, we love home canned chicken too AND I only can cooked meat as well! (you been peeking in my cupboard?)

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## voyaginator

I am currently looking for a canner and pressure cooker. Not too big to be used on a small stove top, but good quality.
Any recommendation for a good canner / pressure cooker ?    :Winkiss:  
Thanks

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## Wise Old Owl

> Only time corn sees a Mason jar in Kentucky is when you are drinking it!
> 
> And its a b$%&# trying to get that Bourbon to freeze!



UH "can" I hang out with you?

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## Wise Old Owl

> I am currently looking for a canner and pressure cooker. Not too big to be used on a small stove top, but good quality.
> Any recommendation for a good canner / pressure cooker ?    
> Thanks



Pressure cookers were kicked to the curb when microwaves really hit twenty years ago... many still hit the farmers markets... in Europe they still backpack a small one.. not sure why. I have no trouble finding dutch ovens and pressure cookers at farmers markets...

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## kyratshooter

> I am currently looking for a canner and pressure cooker. Not too big to be used on a small stove top, but good quality.
> Any recommendation for a good canner / pressure cooker ?    
> Thanks


We have lots of canners here.  Jump to the link below and I am sure someone will respond as well.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...essure-canners

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## LowKey

Can't beat the All American pressure cooker. Not gasket to wear out. 
Any old large pot will do for a no-pressure steam canner. Any of the Ball starter kits will do. You can usually pick those up at any aggy store or even Walmart these days. But any large pot that will let you get an inch or two of water over the top of the jars when submerged will do. If you don't use a jar rack though, be sure to put a wire grid of some sort on the bottom of the pot so the water can get under your jars.

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## kappydell

Hmmm.  Canned peas ALWAYS are mushier than frozen.  Canned vegetables are often hot packed which would be the equivalent of blanching anyway.  Don't see anything bad with canning frozen veggies if you like them the results, just thaw completely before re-packing.  As far as losing nutrients, ANY processing and cooking causes nutrients to go into the cooking/processing liquid, so throwing away the water loses nutrition even from fresh foods.  Just save that canned food 'juice' and eat it (soups, gravies, or drink it) and you go a long way to recovering those losses.  

Personally, I prefer to dehydrated frozen veggies for long term storage - it cuts the peeling, cutting, and blanching time out of the dehydrating job.

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## kappydell

as far as a combination pressure cooker/canner I have used the mirro 4-qt size in the past.  BUT it only takes half pint & pint jars and only a few, so it really isn't worth the effort for canning.  The electric ones are not recommended for canning, their heat regulation is questionable.  I still like my old pressure cooker for cooking, though....microwaves cant tenderize tougher (but more flavorful) meats they just make them tougher still.  Dry beans are another thing pressure cookers excel at. I LIKE being able to cook a pot of pintos in 20 min, myself.  
The pressure cooker also is a usable autoclave if you need to sterilize medical stuff (instruments, home made dressings, etc) too.  Look at the thrift shops in areas going from rural to urban - lots of grandmothers' pressure cookers end up there and even bigger canners if you get there when they first come in.  Some university extension offices can check the gauges for accuracy (they rarely get "off") but you can buy the weighted gauges instead to replace them.  I find the weights are much easier to use and you can hear whether they are working while you do other things in the kitchen (peeling & dicing) whereas with a gauge you have to stand there and watch it much of the time.   Pressure cookers are cool tools.

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