Canned Some Cheddar Cheese

[Penny_Plinker]

Krogers had it on sale 10-eight oz packages for 10.00. So that's 2.00 a lb which is a good price in this area of little competition. I had read a Jackie Clay article about how to can it by melting it into wide mouth pint jars. I used the oven to melt it although she said she used the top of her wood burning stove. I just packed it into the jars and put the jars in a bigger pan and placed in the oven at 250 degrees. When it melted down, had to add some more cheese to make it within an inch of the top. Then capped and processed it for 25 min in a boiling water bath canner. They all sealed, although it seems like the cheese is lighter in color.

I just thought the cheese would add some important variety to our emergency food stockpile. My daughter was visiting while i was in the middle of doing the cheese and she asked me what kind of emergency the food is for? Hell i really don't know?????? I just keep reading about everybody else getting prepared for SHTF situations. I guess it's for....A Katrina situation or food shortages/famine, or some kind of uprising from within or without. Anyway, we'll have cheese.

Penny

[gypho]

Okay, I have a question (maybe two) for ya...

First, was that REAL American cheese, or a "processed cheese food" product?

Second.... have you tried any of it since you canned it to judge it's taste?

Just wondering here...

gypho

[Penny_Plinker]

1. Yes, it was real cheddar cheese like comes wrapped in plastic in an 8 oz rectangular cube. If i follow your question right, it wasn't American cheese, as American isn't sharp and this is sharp cheddar.

2. No, i haven't opened it yet because i only canned it yesterday and i didn't plan to break the seal untill necessary, in other words, i'd want to be out of cheese before i used it. Like how you don't open your tomatoes when you have a bunch of them in the garden and i have a bunch of cheese in the fridge. Jackie Clay said it tasted fine after 2 years when she canned it. But I will open a jar of it tonight just out of curiosity and let you know. My husband likes to eat cheese with his popcorn so i'll let him test it.

I've been giving it some thought that i didn't give my daughter a very good reason on why we need to be prepared. That's because i don't think that much about it, i'm too busy preparing! Which is how it was back English class. I always took it on faith that the teacher was right, some day we'd need to know how to diagram a sentence. I tried to learn it, but i never have had a need to diagram a sentence or do algebra, either. But we do have a real reason to be prepared for a SHTF situation , because the example of katrina shows that when and if an emergency happens, our government isn't capable of taking care of the masses of people. People can be controlled to some extent by giving them what they want==food. but when there's none to give ,then nobody has a reason to obey and so that's when it's everybody for themselves and total chaos. And that's nothing against the government. Everybody just needs to be prepared with a stock pile of food and weapons to defend it. Sheesh, i'm sorry, sort of off the subject of the cheese, but i WILL let you know about how it tastes.

Penny

[gypho]

Ohhhh Ok thanks for clearing that up Penny P...

I may have to try that myself, my family loves cheese.

gypho

[Penny_Plinker]

Well, okay Gypho, you made me keep on wondering about the cheese so i went and opened a jar. It comes out of the jar okay, since i used wide mouths. It tastes about like a grilled cheese sandwich. It is a little bit rubbery, but not unpleasantly so and it's not crumbly like frozen cheese would be. Pretty much like the original product. You could use it cold and slice it or you could warm the whole jar use it like a spread.

I'm prob gonna get at least another ten pounds of that cheese before it goes off sale and can it up.

Penny

[gypho]

LOL!!! :D

I'd have done the same thing........ thanks for the info!

gypho

[Mysticdream44]

Ok I have a question :), you got the 10 for $10.00 cheddar cheese at Kroger, so how many jars did you get? Did you use pint or 1/2 pt? You may have said, but I forgot, I know you used wide mouth.

[Penny_Plinker]

Mystic, it was 10/10.00, but no limit so i bought more than 10. It took 13 eight oz blocks to make 7 pints, or six and one half pounds of cheese to fill 7 pints.

Penny

[MNMOM]

PennyPlinker,
I remember reading that same article of Jackie's, I would have to go and look and see if I can find it. Didn't she say that it tasted stronger after canning? I wouldn't mind a stronger tasting cheese, maybe it gets stronger if it sits for a while.

[Penny_Plinker]

MNMom, here is a link that may or may not work...

http://www.backwoodshome.com/advice/aj92.html

i hope the link works, but it might not because when you try to access this same article through the issues index it doesn't work. I only found it by going round about and doing a google search on canned cheese. But if it does work for you, then scroll down the page to see the article on canning cheese. Let me know if it works or not.

Penny

[MNMOM]

Thanks, the link worked, I think it's the last article on that page. Jackie said the one that she opened two years later had gotten a little stronger.
I'm going to have to try this.

[AuntJenny]

I have been meaning to try this..now to find some cheese on sale!! I am so glad to hear that it was a sucess for you. I would hate to live without cheese and I don't like it as well after freezing..besides frozen stuff always feels so vulnerable to me. Canned things seem more like they will be around no matter what. ;D

[kawalekm]

I bet the cheese coming out of the jar is just the perfect size for cheeseburgers. Just slice it and put in in-between the buns. It's good to know the cheese still tastes like cheese. I've had canned cheese and felt that it was only good for catfish bait. As for talking to your daughter or other people it might be a good idea to come up with a good reason up front just to mulify them. My experience has been once you start talking about "preparedness" people start getting really creeped out. They just don't want to admit that something can go wrong. Now, we live in the desert, and once while getting a haircut I cansually mentioned to the stylist that I filled a plastic barrel with water in the garage for "just in case". She got very upset with me. As if it was wrong of me to even think that something might go wrong. She was the typical "the government will take care of us type" with her head in the sand. The next time anyone sees you preparing mention some discreet event, like "the power went off last week and I lost all the food in the frig". People won't argue with that.

[debitaber]

well, I think I will try this tomorrow. this sounds great.

[Penny_Plinker]

I bet the cheese coming out of the jar is just the perfect size for cheeseburgers. *Just slice it and put in in-between the buns. *It's good to know the cheese still tastes like cheese. *I've had canned cheese and felt that it was only good for catfish bait. *As for talking to your daughter or other people it might be a good idea to come up with a good reason up front just to mulify them. *My experience has been once you start talking about "preparedness" people start getting really creeped out. *They just don't want to admit that something can go wrong. *Now, we live in the desert, and once while getting a haircut I cansually mentioned to the stylist that I filled a plastic barrel with water in the garage for "just in case". *She got very upset with me. *As if it was wrong of me to even think that something might go wrong. *She was the typical "the government will take care of us type" with her head in the sand. *The next time anyone sees you preparing mention some discreet event, like "the power went off last week and I lost all the food in the frig". *People won't argue with that.

Yeah, that's right, hadn't even thought of it but it is just the right size and shape for a cheeseburger. \

Well, word gets around and the other day my neighbor said (jokingly) "what are you putting all that food in your basement for, are you expecting the the Iranians are going to attack or what?" Then he says, "You know if something happens it's gonna be Marshall law and you can't keep me out." I told him i don't want to keep him out and i wasn't worried about any kinds of attack i just didn't want the garden stuff to go to waste, which was true. I've never went around talking about preparedness, etc, but just canning a lot of food and he thinks something's up with me. Must be it makes others feel uneasy that they're not doing anything themselves.

Penny

[Penny_Plinker]

well, I think I will try this tomorrow. this sounds great.

She has another article on how to can butter, but when you click on it it doesn't work.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/advice/ajo06.html

[MNMOM]

Penny,
I think you're right about the neighbor being uneasy about not putting enough up for himself, I bet in a SHTF situation, he'd be there to take what you have.
I think more people are thinking about bad situations happening now, more that ever, but some are just too lazy to do anything about it.