31 July 2017 Bean Juice

[Durgan]

http://durgan.org/2017/July%202017/31%20July%202017%20Bean%20Juice/HTML/ 31 July 2017 Bean Juice
Eight pounds of green beans, 3 pounds of carrots, 3 pound of beets were made into juice. Called bean juice since it was the predominant vegetable. Beans are tedious to pick since the plant must be held while the bean pod is removed to prevent disturbing the root. The slurry after going through the 2 mm mesh food mill left almost no residue. The juice is most pleasant. Annotated pictures depict the procedure.

 

[headfullofbees]

I could drink a pint of that a day.
It looks and sounds delicious.
I also think a little celery/celeriac or even parsley would suit, but fantastic as it is.
How did you decide on the ratios?

 

[Durgan]

I could drink a pint of that a day.
It looks and sounds delicious.
I also think a little celery/celeriac or even parsley would suit, but fantastic as it is.
How did you decide on the ratios?

Ratios were decided by what was available. Ideally 15 pounds of produce to process is about perfect for my facilities at one time. More could have been added, but by the time I picked the 8 pound of beans on my knees my interest waned and I forgot adding the few herbs that I grow. I was also hose watering selected plants and got distracted. The juice is truly refreshing and nutritious.

 

[reimonc]

Looks delicious. Would love to try your recipe.

 

[headfullofbees]

Ratios were decided by what was available. Ideally 15 pounds of produce to process is about perfect for my facilities at one time. More could have been added, but by the time I picked the 8 pound of beans on my knees my interest waned and I forgot adding the few herbs that I grow. I was also hose watering selected plants and got distracted. The juice is truly refreshing and nutritious.

I'd like to give it a try.
I like fruit juice, but sometimes it's just too sweet. and acidic.
I grow all three, and often have over-abundance.
canning in this country is prohibitively expensive, so I'll probably freeze the veg & cook in small batches, when I'm preparing food anyway, or pickling beetroot.
I sowed 600 "Boltardy" seeds on Sunday; it'll be my last beetroot crop of the year.

 

[Durgan]

A large pot. At first process about five pounds total max ten to fifteen. About one pound of produce makes a liter of juice. Few plants have enough juice so cover any material with water to make a drinkable texture. Cook gently until soft about 20 minutes boiling. Blend into slurry by a hand blender or in an upright blender. Strain through a screen or a mechanical food mill strainer. I find a 2 mm mesh screen is ideal. Store the strained juice in the refrigerator for max of about 5 days.

For long term storage it must be pressure canned, which is dead simple, safe, once a few techniques are mastered. I am an expert and never had any product spoiled. I have probably done 3000 liters over ten years so speak from practical experience. Each year I do around 500 liters of all and sundry.

The best and most simple pressure cooker is the PRESTO 23 liter, which processes 7 jars at one time. Pressure canning is not common in the UK and for that matter it is not all that common in NA. The silly recommendations by the manufacturers and University know it all's have scared people off. The method is far superior to water bath for long term storage at room temperature using the slurry/juice method, which is my innovation for preservation.

 

[Durgan]

Pressure Canning (My Method)
Posted on August 26, 2015 by Durgan
My Method of Pressure canning.
Only plant material is pressure canned.The produce to be canned for long term storage at room temperature is:
Washed,cut into smaller pieces, added to a large cooking pot, covered with water to make a drinkable texture. Cooked until soft, about 20 minutes. When soft, blended into a homogeneous slurry with a hand blender.The slurry is then strained through a food mill or screen usually about 2mm mesh.The residue from the food mill or screen is usually put through a Champion Juicer to recover the maximum nutrients. This product usually a small amount makes a fine soup base or can be mixed with the food mill juice.

The juice obtained is them placed in liter jars,which are placed in the pressure canner. The pressure canner, a Presto, handles 7 one liter jars per batch.The canner is set for about 50 minutes, without the rocking weight in place until steam pours vigoursly out the vent. This usually takes about 30 minutes or more.Then the weight is installed and when it starts to rock indicating 15 PSI, the 15 minute timing commences.At the end of the timing interval, heat is turned off and the pressure cooker is allowed to cool naturally.Lids are checked for seal and any not sealed are re-pressure canned with a new lid, or the jar of produce is used within a few days.I reuse the lids if not damaged and the failure rate is similar to using new lids each time, very minimal.

Water in the pressure canner is 3 liters. The gasket surface is lightly oiled by running the finger over the surface with kitchen vegetable oil. This extends the life of the gasket to years before replacement is required.The lid of the pressure canner should never be used like the lid on a normal pot. Such will overheat the gasket and dry it out, and will necessitate early replacement.

Th chosen, 15 PSI and 15 minutes, is justified as being an overkill method and the product is not considered, since it is of the same overall homogeneous texture in every case due to being blended into a slurry.

I have processed over 2000 liter jars of virtually most food produce and ingested all with no spoilage or ill effects. Use the method at you discretion.

 

[Durgan]

https://www.amazon.com/Presto-01781-23-Quart-Pressure-Canner/dp/B0000BYCFU Presto 01781 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker

The pressure gauge is redundant, since the weight is 15 PSI but apparently the gauge is on all models.

I use the canner for normal cooking. It is often a bit large but acceptable. My product never touches water but is in a colander insert. This prevents bubbling and the safety release is never blocked, and all is steam cooked.

 

[Durgan]

I place all produce in colander similar to this one. The handles are removed, so the colander will fit into the pressure cooker. with sharp blow from a hammer, since they are only spot welded. A foldable butterfly steamer insert will also suffice.

Butterfly Steamer pot device.

 

[headfullofbees]

That pressure canner is £210 inc. postage approx. 350 loonies and 12 canning jars another £30 (50 bucks.)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Presto-01781-23-Quart-Pressure-Canner/dp/B0000BYCFU

 

[Durgan]

Rip off. Any sealing jars around one liter are suitable. A pressure canner lasts forever but 350 is out of line.

 

[headfullofbees]

I've found another smaller one, and if a 15psi regulator will fit it, I may still be able to have a go.
I like to grow my own pasta sauce and salsa (bar the oil, of course). Would your method work for that, given they will be lumpy?

 

[headfullofbees]

See you have pears there.
An allotment buddy preserves his pears in (de-fizzed) lemonade.

 

[Durgan]

Pear slurry/juice is the sweetest of all the canned fruits. I do about 40 liters when they come into season. This is two bushel baskets. They grow well in my area.

I know from well established experience that I can preserve any plant product by the slurry/juice method and pressure canning.

Trying to pressure can in chunks can be iffy, hence the internet full of caveats.

My method also enhances digestion since it is almost partially treated as an aid for preliminary consumption. Also all and sundry are palatable.

The 15 PSI for 15 minutes is the worst case scenario and all cases are covered IMO. A homogeneous slurry has no hot and cold spots which can harbor germs in solid food.

Anything pressure cooked is slush to some degree, so my slurry/juice method just insures that it is complete mush in palatable form.

 

[Durgan]

I've found another smaller one, and if a 15psi regulator will fit it, I may still be able to have a go.
I like to grow my own pasta sauce and salsa (bar the oil, of course). Would your method work for that, given they will be lumpy?

The weighted regulator is just a weight which sits over an orifice. One size fits all. The problems with a small pressure container is it might be difficult to get the jars in due to height.

There is nothing magical about pressure canner. Any pressure vessel can be pressure cooker or canner. Convention has established 15 PSI as the home standard. It means the ingredients will reach 240F which kills all pathogens if done properly. It is a lot easier than water bath methods that only reach 212F meaning one must consider the acidity to kill stubborn pathogens.