RE: canning...
I’ll probably try that one of these days. Both of our mothers passed last year (wife’s and mine). One of the things I “inherited” was my mom’s canning setup. A Mirro 16 qt cooker, probably 18-20 boxes of jars, boxes of lids & rings, some other stuff. Doing it that way is a lot cheaper. Heck, we’re still eating her canned green beans from the early 2000’s.
Next purchase will probably be a good dehydrator.
You probably know but others might not. Test old lids because after several years, they will not seal properly and you don’t want to get sick. If a jar doesn’t seal, process it again with another lid or put it in the fridge to eat in a few days.
A MUST BUY is the Ball Blue Book https://www.amazon.com/All-Ball-Book-Canning-Preserving/dp/0848746783/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476623882&sr=8-1&keywords=ball+blue+book+of+canning+and+preserving . The rules have changed since the mid 70s so don’t rely on old info. It goes without saying get the print version, not the kindle.
The only person on the internet I’d trust for such, and even then verify with the Ball book, is Susan from https://www.youtube.com/user/imstillworkin . She does her research and explains the hows and whys.
On general cooking, a great how and why book is https://www.amazon.com/Shirley-O-Corriher-Cookwise-Hardcover/dp/B01FMVZPSS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1476624311&sr=8-4&keywords=cookwise+by+shirley+corriher
I hit Safeway on Wednesdays, which is when they clean out the meat case from the big weekend stock-up. They often have stew meat, steaks and roast that “expire” that day at 50% off. I buy whatever they have that looks good and either freeze it right away or just cook it up. When I get enough to fill 6 or 8 jars, I’ll can it in beef broth. It makes even cheap cuts tender and flavorful and stores for years. It also make it very simple to whip up a quick lunch or dinner of pot roast or noodles and beef cubes with gravy.
The trick is to can things you’ll use regularly so your stock is kept fresh. Label everything and check jars for compromised lids.
I re-use the screw on rings, but always use fresh lids.