CHEF TALK What Food Should I Can / Retort at Home

CHEFTALK

WHAT FOOD SHOULD I CAN / RETORT AT HOME

I received, to my pleasant surprise, good positive response from ‘cold country’ people I know in the UK and Holland on my articles about retort in pouches. They apparently liked the idea to retort food products in pouches. Especially the idea of buying items you can find cheap or cheaper, if you like, at the peak of the harvest season and retort those at home.

During the winter season, when you have to dig yourself out of the snow on the driveway practically every day, craving for something not available in the market reaches its peak as well.  I know that feeling. I come from a cold country myself. 

Spring finally arrives. The gloves and duffel jackets retire for a couple of months and the first new produce pops-up. The first straw and what not berries, peaches, rhubarb, WOW, what a feast. What’s for lunch, strawberry sandwich with sugar? My mouth still waters by the thought alone. 

Expensive at first, of course, but after a few weeks when the market overflows and the prices go down is the time to get going and prepare for retort whatever food you love and can lay your hands on.   

Canning is actually quite old. In 1897 a Dr John T Dorrance invented a concentrated soup and got it manufactured in a can. For Americans it was love at first sight. For Dr John also, he never looked back and the Campbell Soup Company was born.

To apply the retort process small scale at home was for long not so easy. The introduction of retort pouches has made the process well possible for many among us.

The retort pouch was invented by and for the army by the United States Army Natick R&D command. They received a patent for the product in 1978. It is obviously much more convenient for soldiers to handle and transport a pouch than a can. Soldiers never forget their weapon but I am not too sure about can openers.

Retort at home in pouches is much easier to handle than cans or bottles. I would say that cans are out of the question, bottles need sterilization and the danger of infested caps is always present. 

Are retort pouches therefore a good choice? Yes they are, easy to handle, easy to store, absolutely food safe and the retort time is significantly shorter than for cans or bottles. Oh, you need some stickers and a non –erasable pen, put that on your next shopping list.        

So what should we pouch retort. Here are some ideas:

Marmalades:                                                                                                                                   

1) All types of Berries, peaches, pineapple, figs, kiwis and prunes 

Pasta Sauces:                                                                                                                                 

2) You can make basic pasta sauce with only tomatoes but also complete sauces filled with vegetables and meat if you like. What about sauce with zucchinis, aubergines (eggplant), mushrooms. 

Ready meals:                                                                                                                            

3) Meals with beans are great. Chili’s, chickpeas with bell peppers and mushrooms, meat balls in pasta sauce with aubergine.

Dessert toppings/sauces:                                                                                                             

4) Use all fruits you have and spice them up with (star anise, cinnamon, lemon juice)

Soups:                                                                                                                                                 

5) broccoli, asparagus, mushroom, pumpkin, tomato, spinach 

Sandwich spreads:                                                                                                                              

6) Fish is a great idea for sandwich spreads, sardines and tuna are common so try other types of fish that are seasonal in your area. 

Individual fruits and vegetables:                                                                                    

7) tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, aubergines (eggplant), zucchinis.   

     Before you start some warning should be given!!!

1) Read the manual of the pressure cooker carefully. Information given may vary according to the brand of cooker.

2) Never vacuum HOT produce in a vacuum pouch.

3) Ensure your work station, utensils and other materials are very clean (sterilized) before use.

4) Pouch retort works great for almost all you can think of. Be innovative and surprise the family.

Written by 
Professional Chef Marinus Hoogendoorn

vacupack.com

Sous-Vide Cooked Meals. The Basic Understanding of the Process.

Sous-Vide, exactly what is it? 

Used in many gourmet restaurants, sous-vide is a modern cooking technique which involves cooking food that is vacuum sealed in airtight plastic pouches at a very consistent, precise temperature for long periods of time. The basic nature of this cooking technique allows you to prepare food to perfection while, at the same time, eliminates anxieties about overcooking.The sous-vide method yields better and different results than conventional cooking. The textures and flavors developed by this unique cooking technique cannot be replicated using any other conventional cooking technique. Apart from producing extraordinary results, sous-vide method is tremendously simple and foolproof. Capturing the true aroma and food flavors, it retains the nutritional value, gourmet taste, and natural juices of the foods.

To cook food with the sous-vide method, you can vacuum seal food in sturdy plastic bags certified for this purpose. Drop the bags into specifically controlled water bath. However, this method can vary from 20 to 30 minutes for food items like scrambled eggs and lean fish, and it can go to as long as 72 hours for items like tough meats such as spareribs. The time taken to cook a given portion of the food to be brought to its desired temperature depends on its thickness and not overall weight. Tender food items like beef or pork tenderloin, shellfish, fish, and lamb chops are required to come to desired temperature to be luscious and ready to eat. Tender steaks and chicken breasts normally take one to two hours cooked sous-vide, depending on thickness. The best part of sous-vide technique is that, unlike other cooking methods on the grill, oven, or stove, sous-vide is forgiving. Many times, food is left undisturbed for much longer in the water bath, yet still retains the texture, flavor, and appearance of these food items.

Although any kind of meat is perfect for sous-vide, it works well with delicate or tender foods, such as lamb, beef, pork, or fish, ensuring that these items are not overcooked. You can also use this method to prepare béarnaise sauce, cheese, yogurt, and custard-style ice cream base as well. Basically, anything that needs precise temperature can be a contestant for sous-vide cooking. Moreover, as the sous-vide process locks in natural flavors of your food, you can apply seasonings with a light hand.Many foods like one-dish meals, fruits and vegetables are delectable straight from the bags. Meat items, such as fish and poultry, are also ready to eat, but may do well when browned on the grill, under the broiler, or sautéed in a skillet. Consider, for instance, grilling or broiling steak. You normally cook a steak at temperatures ranging from 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 204 Celsius to 500 F or 260 C. As a result, the steak becomes charred on the outside while the inside can still be uncooked. Thus, your steak could be overcooked when exposed to such high temperatures.

However, with the sous-vide method, your food will be cooked precisely and gently at the desired temperature. In this example, your steak can cook at 134 F or 56 C for perfect medium rare. This is because the water transmits heat to the sealed food 10 times more proficiently than air does, thus imparting complete safety to the food. 

Writing for PMG 

Sipia Mahajan  
SEO Professional Writer. 

Professional Marketing Group Inc. 
www.vacupack.com

Retort Bags vs Mylar for Canning

How does one know if they are buying actual retort bags designed for canning or Mylar bags not designed for canning? 

Although big companies have retort bags made in any size, color, shape they desire.  For those of us buying just the few hundred for our own personal use, there really is only one bag consistently on the market you can be sure is designed for retort canning.    The bag has this writing on it. It is gold and comes in 2oz, 4oz, 8oz, and 16oz no gusset, a basic flat pouch.

All other products you should ask for the specs from the seller.  There are many sellers now a days pushing foil bags in all types and colors as retort.  The concern here is chemicals in the bags that will be released with the extreme heat.  Retorts are BPA and chemical free.  Also the air barrier properties of the bag will most likely be far less than that of retort pouches thus lessening the storage time and increasing the spoilage ratio. 

Be careful when you buy if the bags do not have this FDA printing. Ask for the exact specs and information certifying it as a retort canning bag before using it. 

Retort Canning of non acid foods has NO Scientific data from the FDA or USDA for the home canner. Can at your own risk! We are expressing our experiences but by no way are these experiences authorized data.

Warning on Retort Bags, and Retort Canning

Retort canning is a fun and new way of canning all types of foods.  Look around in your grocery store and you will see many manufactures taking advantage of retort packaging.  The bags all have a different look custom to the manufacture. 
When a manufacture orders bags they are custom built and printed by the millions. The Military  US Gov. has a green bag and Stock Pot Soups has a clear bag. Both the green and clear bags are not available to the general public.   The bags available to any manufacture or end user for homes or businesses is gold.
   
Retort bags are FDA approved for canning. Mylar bags are not! There is only one bag on the market available for home uses or small commercial food manufactures to use for retort canning.  It is gold in color flat, no gusset, in 2,4,8,and 16 oz sizes. 
Be sure the bags you are buying are gold and have this printed on them.

THIS PRODUCT IS FULLY COOKED & VACUUM SEALED. DO NOT USE CONTENTS IF UNOPENED POUCH IS LEAKING OR HAS BEEN DAMAGED.
REFRIGERATE AFTER OPENING.

If you run into a reseller who is promoting bags that they claim are retort bags and they do not fit this description do not can in them.  They are most likely a very thick Mylar bag not suitable air barrier for canning as well as can be toxic when cooked in.   

Americans are innovators that is what makes this country great.  However the creators of bag materials have run extensive studies on the materials for each purpose.  Mylar was not created to be canned in nor was clear flat bags or other plastics. 

Be safe not sorry it is your family that will suffer if you cut corners and use a bag not designed for retort canning.

Retort Canning of has NO Scientific data from the FDA or USDA for home canners.  The concerns come from non acid foods such as meats!  We are expressing our experiences, but by no way are these experiences authorized data. Can at your own risk!  
As they say, "Re-Heat before you Eat" on any home canned product in glass, cans or retort for best safety practices.  
All home canning is AT YOUR OWN RISK!