I try to purchase good things at garage sales, etc. I recently moved and somehow in with my stainless steel pots and pans I spilled lamp oil in that box and the pots and pans have had this oil in them for 6 months. Can they be saved?

Margie in Indiana

Good news Margie! All you have to do is wipe the oil off your pots and pans, then wash them thoroughly in hot, soapy water. Rinse well and they should be good to go. One benefit of stainless steel is that it does not absorb materials into the pores of the steel. — Jackie

Canning burritos and raviolis

I was wondering if you can can burritos and raviolis? I didn’t see anything like this in your canning book.

Mark Wicks
Inverness, Montana

You can’t can burritos, but I’ve canned tamales with great success. Just make them up, wrap in trimmed corn husks, then gently tuck them into wide mouth canning jars, leaving about 1½ inches of headspace. Ladle boiling sauce over them, leaving 1 inch of headspace, then process at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes for pints (the most convenient size to can them in). Likewise, ravioli can be canned the same way. Only don’t pack too many raviolis into the jar; leave enough room that the sauce can boil around each one during processing. Use the same pressure and time as for tamales. Remember to consult our canning book for directions on increasing your pressure to suit your altitude if you live above 1,000 feet. — Jackie

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Every time I have grown pole green beans they have a lot of strings in the pod. I sure would like to have suggestions on a kind that is stringless.

Gail Erman
Palisade, Colorado

There are many stringless green pole beans. My favorite is Cherokee Trail of Tears (available through Baker Creek, among others). It starts out purple striped, but any purple goes away when you cook or can them. Other stringless varieties include Blue Lake Stringless, Fortex, and Kentucky Wonder. Be sure to give your pole beans plenty of water while they are filling out the pods and then pick them before the seeds get fat to have absolutely tender, stringless beans. — Jackie

Pressure cookers not made for canning

I have a 4-quart electric pressure cooker. I also have a large Mirro pressure canner to do large batch canning in. The electric pressure cooker has hi & low options. I wanted to use it for small batch canning. I did 4 pints kidney beans at low pressure for 75 mins & they sealed. Should I have used the hi pressure option instead? I just thought hi would turn the beans to mush.

Chris Stierwalt
Paragon, Indiana

Pressure cookers are really not made for canning. They are made for cooking meals. Better to use the canner for even small batches. If it’s too large to be handy, maybe you could pick up a smaller one, even a used one at a yard sale? — Jackie

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Is there a meals in a jar cookbook? New here and haven’t heard. Also, is there a “how to” book on planting heirloom veggies for planting in the South?

Cathy Thompson
Cherokee, Iowa

There are many meals-in-a-jar recipes to can in my book Growing and Canning Your Own Food. Most only require dumping out into a pan and heating for 15 minutes. This book covers planting and growing vegetables, fruits, and even raising meat animals! It also covers how to process and preserve all of these. I hope it will help you. A lot of folks say they can’t do without it. — Jackie

Storing homemade pasta

I am looking to make and dry my own pasta like spaghetti. I found lots of recipes for pasta but none of them store without going bad.

Alissa Holmes
Morganfield, Kentucky

Dry your homemade pasta VERY well and it should store as well as commercial pasta. Some homemade pasta is very thick and people don’t get it dry enough before trying to store it. Be sure it is dry, then store it in an airtight container. If you notice the slightest bit of condensation on the under side of the lid, immediately remove and dry several days longer. — Jackie

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I have 2 questions:
#1. I just canned some green pea soup. I followed the directions on-line for canning dried beans. My beans ended up in the bottom of the quarts in a solid glob. Are they safe to eat? I know you talk about noodles/rice and dense food. They all sealed and I have been able to shake some of the solid mass.

#2. I read online that if your fresh eggs have chicken feces on them you should discard them. That it has already contaminated the egg and no amount of washing will clean it. Jackie just about all my eggs are like that. Is it safe to keep eating them?

Ramona Berry
Newberry, South Carolina

I wouldn’t be afraid to eat your pea soup. The peas remain in solution with the liquid during processing, but when they cool, they settle into a glob; they have sufficiently heated during processing first.

You can read about anything online! Wash your eggs and don’t worry. The only way the poop could possibly contaminate the egg would be if it were cracked. What do you think commercial egg factories do with eggs with chicken poop on them? To keep your own eggs cleaner, use shavings in the nest boxes and also on your coop floor so the hens feet don’t pick up poop when they hop into the boxes to lay. Clean feet make for cleaner eggs! — Jackie

Hamburger rocks

Have you ever made hamburger rocks? (Dehydrated hamburger) If so, how safe is it to store and use? I’ve never dehydrated meat before but am thinking of trying it.

Glo Diliberto
Insinger, SK Canada

I haven’t made hamburger rocks. But I have dehydrated a lot of other meat. Choose hamburger that is very low fat so the fat doesn’t get rancid and you’ll be fine. Give it a try and see how you like the results. — Jackie

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Now I’m all primed for our first on-homestead seminar here, in May! (There still are a few spots so e-mail if you’d like more information.)

Today I’m kind of whipped from all the hurrying at the airports, sitting and sitting…and sitting waiting for connections. But I’m sure I’ll have more energy tomorrow. It was sure good to get home to my family and my own beddie! — Jackie

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