Country Living in a Cariboo Valley

Homesteading in BC

How to Use a Pressure Canner

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Once you learn how to use a pressure canner, you’ll be amazed at the kinds of meals you can set aside in your food pantry.

Learning how to use a pressure canner can be a nerve wracking experience. But, once you get used to it, you will become much more comfortable with using your canner.

I’ve been using a pressure canner for years. And yes, I was really nervous when I was learning. And that’s OK! 

How to Use a Pressure Canner

If you’ve never canned a single thing in your life, I would really suggest you start by learning how to can using a water bath canner.

It is the easiest way to learn how to safely can food at home. And there are a lot of different foods like fruits, jams, jelly, and pickles that can safely be water bath canned.

Although some foods can be safely canned in a water bath canner, other foods NEED to be canned using a pressure canner.

These include food like any kind of meat or fish. Soups, stews and chili are just some of the foods that need to be pressure canned. 

Learning how to use a pressure canner properly will give you confidence with your food safety.
We use our pressure canner outside on a propane burner.

Canning Food Safely

Food safety is so important to me and it should be important to you too. You never want to open a jar of home canned food and have to wonder if it is good to eat.

Sometimes you can see signs of spoilage, but sometimes you cannot. You don’t want to feed anyone food that has not been safely canned.

These concerns have made me very particular about how I go about canning and storing food.

I take ZERO shortcuts, I make sure my equipment is clean and my canning lids and seals are in good shape.

jars filled with salmon ready to be canned
We try to pressure can jars of smoked salmon and trout every year.

When I look at my stocked pantry, filled with home canned foods like lamb stew, green beans, carrots, beets, pickles, jams, jellies and a lot of other items, I get such a sense of pleasure.

A week's worth of home canned food ready to be put into the cupboard.
A week’s worth of home canned food. Shopping is easier when you only have to go to your pantry.

Pleasure because I know exactly what is (and what isn’t) in my home canned food. A true sense of satisfaction because I love the look of all those pretty jars on the shelf.

And I know I can feed my family good healthy food that is safe to eat.

Are you as careful as I am when it comes to preserving food? If not, you should be!

Never take a chance – it is not worth it if someone you love gets sick, or even worse, dies from incorrectly canned food tainted by botulism, which is more likely with low-acid foods (like mushrooms, onions, chicken, potatoes, etc). 

Water bath canning is a fine option for foods that are higher in acid (think tomatoes, pickles, fruit), but any pressure-canning recipe that features a low acid food will be better off in a pressure canner.

You can get more information about the differences from sources like the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

What are the Different Types of Pressure Canners?

Pressure Canners – Weighted Gauge or Dial Gauge

There are two different types of gauge canners to choose from. One is a weighted pressure canner and the other is a gauged pressure canner.

Each have their own set of pros and cons. Below are a few key differences between each to help you determine which pressure canner you’d like to use.

How to Use a Pressure Canner with a Weighted Gauge

A weighted pressure canner on a propane burner
This is a weighted gauge pressure canner. The weight will jiggle when the canner is under pressure.

The weighted gauge pressure canner can release any pressure that goes above your desired pressure level. The downside is that a weighted gauge cannot measure the pressure.

It simply keeps track of what level you want the pressure at and keeps it at that pressure.

A weighted gauge will fit over the air vent tube and jiggle to release the steam as the pressure starts to go above your desired pressure level.

You need some way to monitor pressure because canning at too low of pressure can result in food that won’t be canned well enough for long term storage.

Key Features of the Weighted Gauge Canner

  • Regulates the pressure inside your canner.
  • The open vent is the same one that fits the pressure regulator.
  • Continuously allows air to be released to maintain pressure.
  • Doesn’t need you to check for accuracy, in fact, you can’t check it.
  • Not as flexible with adjustments as the dial gauge pressure canner.

Here’s a good quality weighted gauge pressure canner – over 1400 reviews for you to research.

How to Use a Dial Gauge Canner

A dial gauge pressure canner
This is a dial gauge pressure canner. You can keep an eye on the gauge to check the pressure.

The dial gauge pressure canner lid has a dial that allows you to monitor, measure, and change the pressure during the process of pressure canning. This looks similar to a knob you’d see on your kitchen stove.

The dial gauge has a needle that shows you where the temperature is during the process of canning.

A dial gauge pressure canner will allow you to measure the pressure during the process of pressure canning.

This is an excellent option for someone starting off with pressure canning because they can see the pressure and have a bit more control as they learn the process of pressure canning.

Key Features of the Dial Gauge Pressure Canner

  • Features the pressure inside, displays this for you to see during the processing time.
  • Must be checked regularly to ensure accurate pressure is maintained.
  • More flexibility than a weighted gauge.
  • Has dead weight to close or open vent for pressurizing.

Here’s a good quality dial gauge pressure canner for the price. Over 8,000 reviews – go over and take a look!

a venting pressure canner on a stove

If you’ve always wondered how to preserve your own food, this guide has all the tips you need!

The Process of Pressure Canning

The purpose of knowing how to properly use this canner is so that you’re able to feel confident about serving your family food that’s been stored properly.

Pressure canning helps preserve your harvest so that it has a longer shelf life for storage in your pantry or other food storage space.

Here are some tips and must-know parts of pressure canning to help guide you in canning and storing food properly. 

Clean the pressure canner and make sure it’s working properly. Make sure all of the vent pipes are clear and free of mineral build-up.

Check the manufacturer’s directions on appropriate burners, but generally speaking, you’ll want to make sure your gas range doesn’t go over 12,000 BTUs.

Place your cleaned pressure canner in the center of the burner. Put the rack and hot water inside your pressure canner.

If you don’t have an exact measurement for how much hot water for the food you’re about to can, just make sure it’s 2-3 inches high in the canner.

Some foods, like smoked fish, require more water. This is because meat and fish need to be canned for 100 minutes and you don’t want the canner to run out of water.

Be sure to check with USDA requirements on how much water is needed for the food you’re planning to can before starting.

  • For hot packed foods you’ll want to bring the water inside your pressure canner to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • For cold packed foods you’ll need to bring the water inside your pressure canner to about 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Loading the Canner

Get your canning jars ready with the food inside, lids and bands secured.

Take a look at this post which shows you what to do to prepare your jars for canning.

This will be what we refer to as “fitted jars” in the next step of the pressure canning process.

You’ll fill the jars with food leaving about half to one-inch headspace between the food and the lid of the canning jar. Screw the lids on tight.

Next, you’ll place your fitted jars on the jar rack in your pressure canner. You should use a jar lifter during this process and keep the jar lifter securely positioned below the ring band of the lid.

Always keep the jar upright to avoid food or liquid spillage during the process.

Start to steam your fitted cans for ten minutes. You’ll turn the heat on high, if not already on high, and leave the vent pipe or petcock open.

When you see steam beginning to escape from the pressure canner, you’ll want to start the timer for 10 minutes.

You’ll need to put the weighted gauge on or close the petcock, depending on which pressure canner you’re using.

Always wear a heavy oven glove when you do this! Protect yourself from the steam coming from the canner.

  • Adding Weights to the Pressure Canner
    • Read the recipe and instructions for canning this particular food to know which measurement of weights you’ll place on your regulator.

 

Building Pressure in the Canner

The pressure canner will begin to pressurize now, once it reaches the appropriate pressure level, you’ll begin timing based on how long the food needs to be pressure canned for.

If you’re using a weighted gauge you’ll know when the pressure has reached optimal pressure when the weighted gauge starts to jiggle or rock.

Pay close attention to keeping the pressure at the recommended level for the food as per USDA guidelines to ensure safe food storage.

Once the pressure canning process is complete, it’s time to safely remove the pressure canner from the heat. Allow the pressure canner to cool naturally.

Forced cooling may cause your food to spoil thus ruining food and having to start the entire process over.

Note: It usually takes longer for the pressure canner to cool down than beginners seem to think! Just let it cool on its own, at least one hour. 

Older canners will need you to be more careful about removing the weighted gauge once the pressure canner is cooled, as some steam may still roll out.

Newer pressure canners will have a lid lock that unlocks once the pressure canner is cool enough to open.

Removing Jars from the Canner

Use a jar lifter to remove each of the cans from your pressure canner one by one, being mindful to keep your jars upright to avoid food spillage.

Place the jars on a towel or cooling rack with at least one inch spacing between each jar. Don’t crowd your jars!

Now is the time to leave the canning jars alone for 24 hours so that they can cool completely. Once the jars are cooled completely, you can handle the process of making sure the bands are removed and the middle of the lid is pushed down to fully seal your food.

If you find that some of the cans wouldn’t seal properly, place them aside or in your fridge and use these cans first.

It’s best to be safe than sorry when it comes to pressure canning the food you’ll be eating and serving to your family!

Most Common Pressure Canning Mistakes

There are some common pressure canning mistakes that people make during their first time with this process.

As a means to help you have a successful batch of pressure canned food, I wanted to give you a list of common mistakes to help you avoid making them during the process of pressure canning:

  • Not adjusting the pressure canner timer and pressure due to higher altitude. If you live more than 1000 feet above sea level, you’ll need to adjust the pressure and add more time to the process. Check your manual.
  • Overfilling the jars. You need to leave about half to one-inch space in the jars between the top of your food and the rim of the jar.
  • Using cracked or chipped canning jars. Inspect your canning jars before use for any minor or major damages. Only used canning jars that are free of cracks and chips.
  • Not using enough water in the water bath. The jars must have at least 1-2 inches of water surrounding them inside the pressure canner to ensure safe food canning.
  • Not letting the pressure canner cool naturally. It’s important you leave the pressure canner alone until it naturally depressurizes before doing anything with your cans that are inside.
learning how to use a pressure canner
Check out this step by step guide on how to use different kinds of pressure canners!

FAQs about Pressure Canning

Can You Use a Pressure Canner on a Glass Top Stove?

Sometimes. It depends on the make and model of your stove.

We do our pressure canning on a propane burner on our front porch. We have a glass topped stove and some glass stoves are not equipped to handle a pressure canner.

Since we have the ability to do our canning outdoors, we  just don’t want to take the chance using the stove.

Check your stove manual and if in doubt, use one of these propane burners instead. 

Bonus: Canning outdoors keeps your kitchen and house much cooler in the summer.

How Much Water to put in a Pressure Canner?

 You need to have at least 2 inches of water in your pressure canner. The one thing you do NOT want to happen is to run your pressure canner dry!

So put in extra – as an example when we can meat (remember, 100 minutes at 15 lb pressure here for us), we add 4 1/2 quarts of water to the canner.

Where to Buy a Pressure Canner?

You can buy a pressure canner on Amazon. Take a look at the number of reviews and take the time to read through some of the reviews.

The best pressure canner companies are:

These are all good quality pressure canning brands.

Is a Pressure Cooker the same as a Pressure Canner?

No, a pressure canner and a pressure cooker are NOT the same thing. However, you can use a pressure canner as a pressure cooker.

You can NOT safely use a pressure cooker as a pressure canner.

Food we Can Using a Pressure Canner

Filling jars with lamb stew to be canned
Canning lamb stew. All meat needs to be pressure canned.

If you are going to can anything with meat in it, it MUST be pressure canned.

I’ve had my pressure canner for over 10 years and it still works great. I’m replacing the gasket this year and ordered it through Amazon.

So, if you’re new to the idea of preserving your own food, don’t be afraid. If I can do it, you can too. Just remember to always think of Safety First!

Now that you know how to use a pressure canner, it’s time to get started canning!

By the end of this year’s harvest, you will be able to put your own home canned jars of great food in your pantry. 

More Articles about Food Preservation:

Are you new to the idea of self sufficiency? Here is how to get started providing for your family by growing your own food and raising some of your own meat!

 

originally published August 2017; last updated August 2022

Grow Enough Food for a Year

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Ever wondered how to grow enough food for a year? We’ve got you covered!

Our BEST SELLING book to grow your own food is on SALE this weekend only! Grab it today and save BIG!

Grocery store prices continue to climb and having a backyard garden where you can grow some of your own food is becoming more and more important every year.

And it is possible to grow a year’s supply of food, at least vegetables and fruits to satisfy your family’s needs.

While we are able to have a very big dedicated garden area, you certainly do not have to have the room for that. 

So whether you have a city sized yard or even smaller, it’s possible to grow a garden and have almost a continuous harvest of fresh food.

You will need to be as efficient as possible with the space you have – practice companion planting and succession planting, vertical growing, the use of cold frames or maybe a small greenhouse, but it can be done.

Self-sufficiency to at least some degree, is becoming more important every year, with the changes in our current world. 

Even if you have only a small garden plot, put it to use, plant some seeds and make this the year to start harvesting lots of different varieties of vegetables.

Every year we grow enough food here for us to eat all year round. Even though we have a short growing season, we pack a lot into those few months.

If you live in a more moderate climate than us, you can easily plant TWO gardens a year, instead of one. 

So, whether you live in a northern climate or a more moderate climate with a longer growing season, you can learn to grow the food your family loves to eat.

Grow enough food for a year includes harvests of radishes, beans, greens and more
You CAN grow enough food for your family!

 

How to Grow Enough Food for a Year

This book is all about growing food for your family. And in this book is everything you need to know to grow a backyard vegetable garden.

Whether you are growing in one garden space or using a container gardening system, this book has what you want to learn.

This book covers:

Information and important links to this site’s posts to provide all the details for growing:

  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Tomatoes
  • Carrots
  • Leafy greens like Spinach, Kale, Lettuce, all kinds of Salad Greens
  • Zucchini
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Green beans and pole beans
  • Peas
  • Beets
  • Cabbages
  • Peppers

In addition, the book covers:

  • How much room do you need to grow the vegetables?
  • Where to find your gardening zone
  • Can you grow what you want where you live?
  • Eating Seasonally
  • Unique Ways to Grow Vegetable Crops
    • Community Gardens
    • Container Gardening
      • Rain Gutters
      • Hanging Baskets
      • Containers and Totes
      • Container Sizes for Growing Vegetables
    • Vertical Gardening
      • Trellis
      • Wooden Pallets
      • Netting
      • What Vegetables to Grow in a Vertical Garden
    • Microclimates
    • Garden Soil
    • Vegetable Seeds
    • Planting (and Thinning) the Garden
    • Watering
    • Fertilizing
    • Mulching
    • Weeding
    • Succession Planting
    • Ongoing Maintenance
    • Determining What to Plant for Your Family
      • Worksheets
    • Food Storage Ideas and Possibilities
    • Resources
      • Growing your Vegetables
      • Storing your Food
      • Preserving Food

 

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A growing garden and harvested potatoes and carrots.

Healthy, organic and very inexpensive – plant a vegetable garden this year!

Grab your book and make this THE year you grow a garden!

 

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AND…. don’t forget to check out our comprehensive Vegetable Garden Planner, full of worksheets – grab it for only $4.99

 

 

More articles about growing food for a year

Learn about raising chickens for eggs and meat with these articles.

Read about growing grains and feed for homestead livestock.

Learn about raising weaner pigs to butcher size, including pig pen ideas and pasturing pigs.

You can find our complete list of articles on Preserving Food here. Includes freezing, canning and pickling fruits and vegetables.

National canning guidelines and more safety information can be found here.

 

 

Packets of seeds set aside to grow enough food for a year

 

 

book cover with lots of fresh vegetables and fresh fruit
Click to save to your Pinterest board.

 

Originally published Jan, 2021; latest update Jan 2025

How to Find Free Firewood for Your Wood Stove

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Finding free firewood can save thousands of dollars every year!

 

Filling the woodroom – it’s one of our Top 5 “W” chores every spring. And we have been hard at it for the last several weeks. And we love heading out to the bush where we’ll find free firewood! 

 

A woodstove is blazing thanks to finding free firewood

 

Once winter temperatures hit -20C, we turn on two basement baseboard heaters, just so water lines don’t freeze. The house stays toasty warm with our woodstove going all day and night.

We use quite a bit of firewood every winter. This is why we need to make sure we have a completely full wood room every year. There would be nothing worse than running out of dry firewood and having to buy it! In the middle of winter, we would be paying a huge premium on that firewood.

This year, we had to take down quite a few trees on the site of the new garlic curing sheds. Now, we have plenty of Aspen trees to buck up and turn into firewood. That solves our wood problems for the later part of this coming winter.

But, that wood won’t be totally dry until February or so. We have some leftover wood from last winter, but not enough to last us until this new wood is dry.

 

finding free firewood, heating with wood, woodstove

 

Finding Free Firewood

We need to find free firewood that is already dry and we have a lot of that in our bushes. Because of the pine beetle that devastated stands of timber in our area several years ago, there are still plenty of dead (but standing) pine trees out there.

Of course, there are also many felled trees that we can use for free wood. Fallen trees are the easiest because the tree is already dead and perhaps has been for a year.

Since the trees are already dead, the wood is dry. Quite nice being able to drop a tree, buck it up and throw it right in the woodstove for some nice heat!

We had a very bad windstorm last week, where the power went out again (thank goodness, we are prepared for outages!). After the storm passed, we went looking for newly fallen pine trees. Bonus that they had either fallen right on the bush road and right next to it.

 

finding free firewood, fishing, bc, cariboo lakes

 

A pretty lake along the way. The Cariboo has more lakes than the days in the year, seriously! It’s fishing is known world wide.

 chain saw, free firewood, heating with wood, Husqvarna,

 

We were able to find a few trees that were still laying across these unused roads. We just take the limbs off using the chain saw, and then Graham bucks up the tree. I load the rounds into the back of the truck. And since this wood is dry already, it is quite light for me to load!

For the trees that needed to be hauled out onto the road, Graham attaches a shackle around the tree trunk and attaches the other end of the chain to the truck. Then we drive the truck along the road and pull the log out of the bush.

 

A large tree with dead branches

 

This makes it so easy to haul out and buck up. We found lots!

 

 

A truck filled with fire wood rounds for bucking

 

At the end of the day, we came home with our truck loaded with dry wood, ready for splitting and stacking. We use an electric wood splitter; we bought it a year after we moved here and it is still on my list as one of the best investments we ever made!

Remember, if you are in the market for a woodstove, be sure to buy one that has a flat top! There’s an important reason for that! Not only will your stove heat your home, you will be able to cook on it.

 

Permits for Finding Free Firewood

Check with your province or state for laws about finding free firewood in the bush. In some places, you need a permit to gather firewood – it is often free to get a permit, you just need to have one before cutting down trees.

If you live in town and can’t get out to the bush, there are other options for free firewood. Check with your local construction companies and go around to construction sites. 

Many times they will allow you to take away their scrap lumber for free. It works out well for both, the company does not have to pay for hauling the lumber scraps and you get to have free fire wood.

Also you can check with your local tree company which takes down dangerous trees. They may allow you to take the wood for your own use. Your local Facebook marketplace is another resource you can use.

 

More related to finding free firewood:

Everything you need to know about how to clean out a wood stove

How to cook on a wood stove (that’s not a cook stove)

We use a wood stove fan to help push the heat – read our review here

 

free fire wood stacked in a wood room
A wood room full of free fire wood

 

How to Grow Haskap Berries (Honeyberries)

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Plant and grow Haskap Berries – the earliest bearing berries of the season.

Haskap berries are becoming a more well known berry to grow in the family garden. This fruiting shrub is quite perfect for northern gardens. I wanted to share some tips to help you grow the best haskap berries possible.

Haskap berries are becoming more popular to grow in the United States and all over North America, but they have been well-known and grown in Canada for decades. They’re the perfect fruiting bush to plant in your home garden, as they’re naturally disease and pest resistant.

Other names for these delicious berries are honeyberry and edible blue honeysuckle. Some people grow these berries on a large scale and use them for commercial sales. They would be a great option for farm sales or selling at the farmers markets.

Growing Haskap berries bushes in bloom.
A Haskap branch loaded with berries.

How to Grow Haskap Berries

Here are some helpful tips and tricks to grow haskap berries at home. These delicious berries are best used for fresh eating, smoothies, adding to a dish of ice cream, sauces, making juices and even wine! It’s a bonus that they store well in the freezer to use for later baking into loafs, muffins, ice creams, smoothies, or fruit crisps.

They taste like a blueberry, but…not quite. 

Haskap berries growing on the bush.
These unique blue berries require some patience but yield fantastic results and an earlier harvest than most other berries!

General Tips for Growing Haskap Plants

  • You need to plant two different varieties for pollination.
  • Haskap cultivars are fast growing and can reach 8 feet in height. You will find the plant needs some pruning after a couple of years. For Haskap berry pruning tips, here’s an article on pruning shrubs and fruit trees.
  • As with any garden plant, weeds will compete for nutrients and water and should be managed accordingly.
  • The plants may produce a handful or two of fruit in the second year.
  • You’ll want to use well aged manure (or compost) once per year – apply a topdressing at the base of the plant in spring.
  • You can also use a balanced organic fertilizer. Apply it in early spring or fall to ensure your fruiting shrubs continue to grow healthy.
  • Haskap shrubs a pretty plant with lovely foliage! Find a way to incorporate them into your flower gardens.
  • Birds are attracted to the berries, so some garden netting can help protect your crop.

 

Where do Haskap Berry Plants Grow?

The Haskap berry growing zone is wide – they can bloom in Zones 2 – 9. These native shrubs can be found in northern boreal forests in Canada, Asia, Japan and throughout North America and Europe.

But, they do their very best in a climate where there is a cold winter. Many shrubs do best where there is a true real cold season; it’s part of the dormancy cycle.

If these bushes can’t be found in the wild near you, that’s ok! You can buy small shrubs to plant in your own garden or front yard. The University of Saskatchewan started a breeding program and you can purchase plants through them.

We are in Zone 3 and friends here have many Haskap bushes growing in their garden. At times, we get winter temperatures of -30C and these plants are that cold hardy.

I am finding that these Haskap plants are hardier than blueberry plants – I have tried several times to grow blueberries here and finally gave up. 

Transplanted Haskap Berry in garden bed
First year growth on our Haskap Berry plants.

When and Where to Plant Haskap Berries

It’s best to plant your haskap plants in a somewhat sheltered area, where they are protected from heavy wind. These blue berries will need full to partial sunlight for maximum harvest. They very much prefer full sun, so don’t be afraid to put them right out in the open.

Include them planted throughout a large flowerbed; they will do great planted at the back with shorter shrubs and flowers in front of them.

Plant your berry bushes in a well prepared bed that includes plenty of well aged compost or manure. Add lots of compost to the hole you dig. You’ll need to have a well-drained but nutrient-rich soil for your bushes.

They do best growing in a soil that has a pH of 5 -8.5. Think about the type of soil blueberry plants like – it is the same for these haskap berries. When in doubt, test your soil using one of these soil test kits.

Plant them 4 – 6 feet apart and let your shrub just settle in the first year. Make sure to water the hole before planting and water again after filling in the hole. Be sure to water regularly for the first while. Consistent watering will go a long ways to helping your plants get established.

Flowering Haskap shrub
Second year growth with flowers on our Haskap plants.

Pollination and Flowering

Be sure to plant two varieties of haskap berries as this is a plant that needs cross pollination in order to set fruit. Just ask at the nursery and they will be able to help.

It’s recommended that you plant the two varieties of haskap shrubs in close range to each other to maximize your chances of an ample harvest. Our three shrubs are planted about 5 feet away from each other.

This is a good distance as it takes into account the size of the Haskap plant when it is full grown.

Flowering happens in early spring (mid April or so in our gardening zone); it’s not long till we see the prettiest small yellow flowers. The blooms hang in clusters. And not long after that, then we see the bees!

The honey bee loves Haskap berry bushes and some afternoons our bushes are loaded with bees.

small yellow flowers on a haskap bush
Flowers on the 2 year old Haskap plant.

Quite a few of the delicate flowers hide right underneath the leaves, which of course is right where we will be picking berries from soon. We ended up harvesting a handful of berries for each of us to enjoy.

Not bad for the second year and it will be a much better berry harvest next year.

 

Harvesting Haskap Berries

How long before haskap berry plants produce berries?

When it comes to starting your haskap berry plants, you need to remember that you won’t reap a harvest for about 3 years. That’s all the more reason to be sure and get some planted as soon as you possibly can, so you can maximize yields.

You may be able to find three year old plants at the nursery – you will pay a bit more but you will enjoy the Haskap berries sooner.

Within a few years, the fruit production from 4 plants should enable you to have lots to eat fresh and even some for storing in the freezer.

Within 5-7 years your haskap berry plants will have reached maturity so that you can enjoy a plentiful harvest year after year.

Haskap Berries are also known as Honeyberries. Here they grow on their bush.
Berries on the bush during harvest. Blue Honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea) – deciduous shrub with edible fruits in a dark blue color.

Setting and Ripening Fruit

The berry shrubs tend to grow fruit early in the spring. Generally speaking, you’ll love having a berry harvest two weeks earlier than most other fruits. These berries are one of the first ready to pick in mid to late June.

You’ll notice that your haskap berries look ripe about 1-2 weeks before you can eat them. Just try one to see if the berries are ready. They will be nice and plump when they are ready to be picked.

Berries will ripen at different times so you should be able to get 3 or perhaps 4 pickings before they are all off the bush.

You’ll be able to harvest berries for 2-3 weeks out of the year, and many years the branches will be loaded with berries.

After picking the berries, the shrubs are a beautiful bush in your yard for the rest of the year. You can plant them at the back of your flower bed if you are short on planting space.

blooming haskap berries ready to be picked
Haskap berries are an excellent addition to any garden!

What do Haskap berries taste like?

Well, it’s a bit hard to describe. They are delicious that’s for sure. 

They taste like a blueberry, but with blackberry and raspberry in there too. The berries are tart, kind of sour, yet sweet at the same time. They are sweeter than Saskatoon berries when eaten right off the bush.

Maybe it’s one of those berries you just have to taste – but I can tell you they are delicious. And they are fantastic for baking with.

Haskap berries are also a great source of vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants. And as a fun fact, the word “haskap” is a Japanese word that translates roughly to ‘berry of long life and good vision.’ So there are lots of healthy benefits!

Are Haskap Berries Good for You?

They are like a superfruit! They are loaded with antioxidants, full of potassium and Vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals.

Can You Freeze Haskap Berries?

Yes, you can freeze Haskap berries – it’s very easy to do. Just spread washed and well drained berries onto a cookie sheet and make sure they are not touching each other.

Pop them in the freezer for a day or two. Then remove and use a spatula to loosen them from the cookie sheet. Transfer berries into a airtight container and return to the freezer.

As you need them, just shake out what you need and return the container or freezer bag to the freezer. Be sure to remove all the air out of the bag before returning to the freezer.

Where Can I Buy Haskap Plants?

I usually purchase my shrubs through T & T in Manitoba, as everything they sell can be grown in my garden zone (Zone 3). They have a set of 2 plants available: 

Boreal Beauty

Boreal Blizzard

Remember, you need to buy two varieties!

 

Haskap Berry Recipes

diced rhubarb mixed with Haskap berries for a fruit crisp.
Combine Haskap berries with rhubarb for a delicious fruit crisp

We especially love mixing Haskap berries with Rhubarb and making a fruit crisp. It’s healthier if we reduce the amount of sugar and we use whole wheat flour, plus of course lots of oats. 

Fruit crisp makes for a fast easy breakfast or an afternoon snack.

We have also used our Honeyberries to include in our home made Bumbleberry wine – we find Haskap berries, Raspberries, Blueberries and Rhubarb together make a delicious red wine.

Here’s a recipe for Haskap wine if you would like to make some.

Enjoy this sweet berry in a variety of recipes!

 

Read More About Gardening

 

 

published December 2020; latest update Nov 2022

Bear Meat and Making Lard

By

Graham enjoys hunting and tries to get out into the woods several times a year. Since we live in the woods, he doesn’t have far to travel.

Bear season in the Cariboo is April and May and then again from September to November.

The season for deer is from September to November. And there is a lot of wildlife here.

 

a buck deer eating grass

 

Each Fall, we have many hunters come to our Valley and the mountains around us.

Some are moose hunting, lots are deer hunting and some are hunting for bears.

 

How to Render Lard from Bear Meat

When Graham has a successful bear hunt, we can butcher and then freeze the meat. You can get a good amount of meat from a bear.

After removing the ribs, backstrap and several roasts, we started cutting up the rest to be canned for our dog.

We grind up a lot of burger from bear meat too. But we really enjoy bear steaks and roasts.

Bear pot roast is wonderful when slow cooked. Bear stew is another meal we really enjoy along with a nice red wine.

 

 

Melted fat being poured through strainer to make lard.

 

Here’s our go-to book when doing any kind of wild game or livestock butchering.

We got this as a gift when we moved and we couldn’t have done the butchering without it. So much information on all kinds of animals.

 

bear ribs sit on a plate ready for baking

 

Since we try to use as much of the animal as we can, we also like to take the fat from the bear.

We turn it into lard and then use it in baking and frying. Here’s how we make our own lard.

 

 

canned meat cools down on the counter

 

We set the pressure canner up on the porch and packed quart jars with the raw trimmings.

We added some liquid and then canned them for 90 minutes at 15 pounds of pressure.

Here’s how to pressure can any meat or fish – it doesn’t matter which kind, this is the way to can them.

 

How to make your own Lard

 

chunks of bear fat waiting to be rendered into lard

 

While the pressure canner was going, we got started on making bear lard, so we can make some pies. Look how thick this fat is!

We cut (largely diced) the bear fat and then rendered it down in a low oven set at 250 degrees.

 

bear fat melting in the oven

 

It takes a long time to melt down, but it will be worth it. Bear fat makes the absolute best pie crusts!

The bears have a really thick layer of fat on them at this time of year.

With late Fall coming, these bears are ready for hibernation.

They have been eating as much as they can, for months now, preparing for a long winter nap.

 

melted lard is put through a seive

 

 

After the fat has melted, we poured it through a small sieve. Take your time; it takes awhile.

 

Straining the Bear Fat to Make Lard

melted bear fat being strained through cheesecloth into a mason jar

 

Then Graham put some cheesecloth double layered into our canning funnel. He slowly poured the liquid through the cheesecloth.

You will want to be sure to filter out any bits of meat or gristle. You want completely clear fat.

Mason jars work great for storing the lard. Just put a sealer lid and ring on them and set them on the counter overnight.

They will firm up nicely and there you have your bear lard.

We ended up with 2 1/2 quarts, which we put in the fridge. We’re looking forward to using this for pastries and tarts!

Make bear lard if you have a successful bear hunt.

We try hard to use every part of the bear, letting nothing go to waste.

We wrap up all the bones from the bear and put them in the freezer for the dog to enjoy over the year.

 

3 angus steers grazing on a hayfield

 

Read about:

Budget Stretching – More Ways to Save Money

How to Raise and Butcher Pigs – we often raise pigs seasonally here. This is how we do it.

Wondering how to get started on your homesteading journey? Here’s how we took small steps to get set up.

 

 

pouring melted fat through cheesecloth

 

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