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Chicken Stock:
When we cook chicken I add bones back into the water that the chicken was cooked in that already has tons of seasoning in it. I also add any skin and fat that maybe left over depending on what the chicken was used for.
Vegetable Stock:
When anyone cooks in the house I asked them to save the skins in a freezer bag and keep it in the freezer. Once I have enough to make a batch of vegetable stock I combine the scraps with water and seasoning in my large stockpot. I then let bring it to boil and then let it simmer for hours. Not ideal on a gas cooktop but I needed more than what a crockpot will allow. Now the Carey can also be used but I need the stock hot for canning so I choose to use a stockpot and the Carey Canner separately.
Water:
When I need to fill up the canner and do not have enough of the item I am canning I use a jar of water. Water is also something that will be needed and it is better than buying it at the store. So instead of wasted space that can of water will be useful in establishing a good supply of water for any reason we need clean drinking water. We have gone through many "boil water" notices so this is not just isolated to a SHTF situation. Works well for storms too. Growing up on a well if we lost power we also lost our ability to have water. We also went though many hurricanes. The last one I went through was Hurricane Michael (2018) with a 10 day old newborn in the FL panhandle. We were without power for multiple days and thankfully where I was at they had bought a generator after a previous storm. That generator was ran a few times for the water to be ran and a few other things. So water storage doesn't have to just be jugs of water from the store. Simply adding one can to your canner to fill up space in the canner is a good way to start or add to you supplies.
Photo of my cabinet from my first time using the canner. These are 2 32oz jars of chicken stock, 1 16oz can of chicken stock, and 1 32oz of water. Also pictured is the orange extract I am making.
