Now, before the attacks start, and the canning police come in with guns blazing, let me make a couple of things perfectly clear before I go any further with this post!Ā I have been canning for well over 30 years, and I am FULLY AWARE, that what I am about to post is not regarded as a safe practice by the extension services, the USDA, or other home canning agency that puts out notice for public safety when it comes to home canning.Ā I am also aware that there are many things that have been safely canned for years, that have not been studied.Ā To me, for my kitchen an my family, there is a huge difference between something proven unsafe, and something that is just proven safe due to lack of research.Ā With that in mind, I DO can pudding, and milk, for home use.Ā I use the standards used for non-acid foods, i.e. a pressure canner, and am NOT RECOMMENDING that you do this for your family, until you are well versed in home canning, have done the appropriate research, and have decided FOR YOURSELF that this is something you want to try.Ā I am IN NO WAY, thwarting the efforts of the powers that be in keeping home canning safe for all.Ā But I have been asked how I can pudding to be used up in a fairly short amount of time, so I am going to honor those requesting instructions, and provide my process.Ā Kapeesh?Ā I will not respond to any comments simply restating the obvious that I have already stated above.
With all that said, if you do try this for your own use, know that any risk involved, are yours and yours alone.Ā It works for me, and I feel safe doing this for my family, but I am in no way responsible for you or your family.Ā Ok, I think that horse is dead, as least I’ve beat it long enough that it should be.Ā Let’s move on to how I preserve pudding in my canning kitchen.
With our Jersey milk cows, we are blessed, with an abundance of fresh raw milk.Ā I use this to make yogurt, mozzarella, “velveeta”, etc…..and yes, more posts will follow as I have the time to get them ready.Ā One day, Papa was longing for some homemade pudding, and I had two gallons of milk to use up, so I decided to make a big batch and just see how canning it would go.Ā I’ve canned our fresh milk to use in cooking when the cows are dry, and it’s worked out beautifully, so did a bit of research, made sure there were no documented cases of illness due to home canned dairy, and set out on a canning kitchen experiment.
I made a large batch of dark chocolate pudding.Ā I chose dark chocolate because I had enough dark cocoa on hand to make the size batch I needed to use up the extra milk on hand.
1 cup clear jel (cook type)
5 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup black cocoa powder
1 gallon milk
1 stick butter
1 1/2 TBS vanilla
Mix cocoa and sugar together to help with later mixing and eliminate clumping; then combine first 5 ingredients in large pot, cook until thickened. (I brought it just up to rolling with almost constant stirring to prevent scorching). Add vanilla, drop in butter and stir until completely incorporated. Ladle into 1/2 pint hot jars, leaving 1ā head space, add lids and rings. Place in pressure canner, vent per proper canning techniques for 10 minutes, bring up to 10# pressure (my altitude is 1300 feet), shut off heat and allow pressure to decrease naturally. Remove from canned and test for seal as usual.
Mix all ingredients except for butter and vanilla.
Bring to a boil.
Add butter and vanilla, stir until incorporated.
And when you don’t leave a 1″ head space…..you have a mess and some siphoning.
The jars all sealed and look beautiful!
Taste testing home canned pudding at 2 weeks.
Taste testing home canned pudding at 8 weeks.
canned pudding, canning, chocolate, chocolate pudding, dairy, home canned dairy, pudding
Can I use Flour!!!!!!!!!
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Thank you.
PS your humor made me smile.
Has anyone tried guar gum and arrowroot instead of clear jel? I think those are both much less expensive. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Have you canned banana pudding with the cookies and bananas layered in the jars. If how did you do it
Thank you for posting I am on a canning site from Germany and they can pudding as well.
What is clear gel?
Thank you ????
Corn starch
So 2 days after I canned, pudding was great! Just opened one tonight a week after. Smells and tastes fermented. What did I do wrong?
Looks Fabulous! I too have been canning for 50+ years! I have found with most of my dairy goods to gently shake them so they settle properly a few times BEFORE I label & put in the storeroom. Living in the boonies, you rely on your wits, knowledge, & experience. I clean and sanitize as I go.common sense says just be VERY clean. I can everything including all dairy, cheeses, eggs, butters, meats, avocado mayonnaise etc., Because I can CAN!???? I’m a 5th generation canned & proud of the heritage, wisdom, skill & Knowledge I was blessed with! I salute you ma’am! True modern pioneers we are! Some will learn while some will just complain & pretend they know more than others…there’s always lesbian folks about! Pay no attention and keep up the GREAT articles! Happy Day!
All the things I’m NOT supposed to can;
I love you! Thank You!
what is clear gel? we do not have anything like this in canada. could I use plain gelation.
Can this be used for lemon pudding that uses egg yolks?
Now I am hungry thanks for sharing
Good idea.
Do you have a Vanilla pudding recipe? Please
You are just too funny!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Looking forward to making some of your recipes. God bless
My husband dose not like dark chocolate pudding will it effect the recipe and cook time if I use half the cocoa called for ? Have you ever tried canning a pint ? My husband is a grazer and half a pint means a lot of empty jars. But I need to use a gallon of milk as it will spoil in about three days.
Looks good!!! Would this work with whole milk from the grocery? I don’t have a cow. Thanks, Becky
Four questions/clarifications:
1.) From what I understand there really is no processing time in the pressure canner. Just bringing venting, bringing up to pressure, and shutting off?
2.) How long is this shelf stable? I see that you tested after 8 weeks and it was fine. Have you tested longer?
3.) Can I use full fat milk from the store? I don’t have access to fresh cow milk.
4.) Have you used the same basic recipe for other flavors? (butterscotch, caramel, vanilla?) Thank you!! looks awesome!!
And yes, I will can at my own risk. š
awesome, thanks so much, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. A pudding recipe for canning that uses clear jel
1 cup clear jel (cook type) Can you give me a brand or something I really don’t know what to look for thanks
I got mine from Amazon
I see that you tried this at 8 weeks out. Have you left it for longer than the 8 weeks? How did it turn out?
Thank you for sharing. I don’t follow USDA guidelines either. I am smart about my canning though.
Iām interested in a vanilla pudding, do you have a recipe for that?
Going to try it looks good
Sounds good!
Looks great
Thank you! Just remember, this is not USDA approved, so if you choose to try this it is at your own risk! ????
Clear jelly is very hard to find. It thickens instantly, and does not break down in the heat process. I live in an area in Minnesota where many Amish live, and some have small shops on their property stocked with some of the things they use and buy in bulk. Clear jel is one of them. I make pie filling when summer fruits are in season, using Clear jet to thicken it just before I fill wide mouth quart jars and can it. Then I can make a pie crust in the middle of the winter, fill it with a quart of ready made pie filling, and bake a beautiful pie with ease. I’ve done blueberry, apple and peach with perfect results.