"Getting back to simple home cooking"
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Ask Jeanne
Do you have any questions? Click here and it will send you to the cookbook/contact page. I have a comment section there. Simply ask your question and I will post it with an answer to help you out.
Question: Can you hot water bath meats and vegetables? I heard you can.
George
Answer: No. Or to be more firm on this, absolutely not! Meats and vegetables are low acid foods that need higher temperatures than you can get from hot water bathing to kill all the bacteria. I've read in several articles on line that people use a hot water bath for this but you're just playing Russian Roulet. It's just plain unsafe. Don't risk your families health on it. Always use a pressure canner to can meats and veggies.
Question: I canned some veggies but didn't have time to leave them in for the full amount of time it called for. They all sealed just fine. A friend said they are not Ok to eat? What do you think?
Cindy
Answer: Just because your jars are sealed doesn't mean they are safe to eat. There is a reason for the amount of processing time to can food. It takes that long to kill the bacteria. I would chalk this one up to a learning experience and dump your veggies. Remember you can't taste some kinds of bacteria. Better safe than sorry.
Question: I have a crockpot question. When I put my vegetables in the bottom of my crockpot under the roast, the roast doesn't want to get done enough. Even though I've heard that's how to do it.
Shirley
Answer:Try putting the roast on the bottom and see if that works better. My guess is you have a crockpot instead of a slow cooker. The difference is a crockpot has heating coils only on the bottom so tends to cook hotter on the bottom, where a slow cooker has heating coils on the bottom and the sides and cooks more evenly.
Question: I would like to use dry beans, cooked in recipes instead of canned, because they're more economical. Do you know the equivalent amounts?
Sam
Answer: For a 14-16 ounce can use 1 1/2 cups cooked beans. For a 19 ounce can use 2 cups of cooked beans.
Question: I can't seem to get my little toddler to eat vegetables. Any ideas?
Lynette
Answer: Try making him green smoothies. Put greens (spinach or kale,etc) in a blender with a cucumber or other veggie and his favorite fruit (60% fruit and 40% veggies). Add some water and blend. My grandson loves them because he can't taste the veggies, only the fruit.
George
Answer: No. Or to be more firm on this, absolutely not! Meats and vegetables are low acid foods that need higher temperatures than you can get from hot water bathing to kill all the bacteria. I've read in several articles on line that people use a hot water bath for this but you're just playing Russian Roulet. It's just plain unsafe. Don't risk your families health on it. Always use a pressure canner to can meats and veggies.
Question: I canned some veggies but didn't have time to leave them in for the full amount of time it called for. They all sealed just fine. A friend said they are not Ok to eat? What do you think?
Cindy
Answer: Just because your jars are sealed doesn't mean they are safe to eat. There is a reason for the amount of processing time to can food. It takes that long to kill the bacteria. I would chalk this one up to a learning experience and dump your veggies. Remember you can't taste some kinds of bacteria. Better safe than sorry.
Question: I have a crockpot question. When I put my vegetables in the bottom of my crockpot under the roast, the roast doesn't want to get done enough. Even though I've heard that's how to do it.
Shirley
Answer:Try putting the roast on the bottom and see if that works better. My guess is you have a crockpot instead of a slow cooker. The difference is a crockpot has heating coils only on the bottom so tends to cook hotter on the bottom, where a slow cooker has heating coils on the bottom and the sides and cooks more evenly.
Question: I would like to use dry beans, cooked in recipes instead of canned, because they're more economical. Do you know the equivalent amounts?
Sam
Answer: For a 14-16 ounce can use 1 1/2 cups cooked beans. For a 19 ounce can use 2 cups of cooked beans.
Question: I can't seem to get my little toddler to eat vegetables. Any ideas?
Lynette
Answer: Try making him green smoothies. Put greens (spinach or kale,etc) in a blender with a cucumber or other veggie and his favorite fruit (60% fruit and 40% veggies). Add some water and blend. My grandson loves them because he can't taste the veggies, only the fruit.
Question: I have a couple of old cookbooks that have some really good recipes I would like to try but it says cook in a moderate oven. How hot is moderate?
Karen
Answer: Moderate usually means 350 degrees. I've made several recipes that call for a moderate oven and use this degree of heat and have had really good results.
Question: My roasts don't get as tender as I would like them to in the time listed on the slow cooker recipe.
Judy
Answer: If the roasts are more than 2 1/2 lbs. try cutting them in half. They will cook faster and get more tender.
Question: I have made some slow cooker dishes but the meat doesn't look or taste like it does if it was cooked in the oven. Any way to improve this?
Anna
Answer: I've found that if I brown the meat in alot of my slow cooker recipes, it has a nicer appearance and also better flavor.
Karen
Answer: Moderate usually means 350 degrees. I've made several recipes that call for a moderate oven and use this degree of heat and have had really good results.
Question: My roasts don't get as tender as I would like them to in the time listed on the slow cooker recipe.
Judy
Answer: If the roasts are more than 2 1/2 lbs. try cutting them in half. They will cook faster and get more tender.
Question: I have made some slow cooker dishes but the meat doesn't look or taste like it does if it was cooked in the oven. Any way to improve this?
Anna
Answer: I've found that if I brown the meat in alot of my slow cooker recipes, it has a nicer appearance and also better flavor.
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