I've seen sources that mention the use of sterilized rocks. Most mention boiling them. As long as they're sterile, I wouldn't see a problem with it. I personally prefer brine bags now, but that's a personal choice. I do have to say I haven't seen anything from governing bodies yea or nay on the issue. The only prohibition [and a very reasonable one] is not to line crocks with garbage bags. However, it may be I'm mistaken and there's something out there I've missed. Joy of Pickling does mention well-scrubbed rocks as one option. Her book was reviewed by several Extension agents as well as Kenneth Hall, professor emeritus of food science at the University of Connecticut. We may have many and varied complaints about governing bodies but occasionally we tar them unfairly. I don't use stainless for brining any more. If I'm not really careful to use only my best older pans, I do risk some pitting. It's simpler just to use glass or food-grade plastic. Crocks are out. I got tired of (or too old for) the weight. Carol

Again Welcome, Tumeric actually has very little flavor. Its a ground up root, and is used mostly for the color. Ever see yellow curry? Thats from adding tumeric. Many commercial picklers use it to give a bright yellow color and it offsets the green of the tomatoes. A boiling water bath pot should be very big and tall. At some point you may want to make quarts of something and a pot that can hold up to 7 quart jars, as well as a rack inside the bottom (VERY IMPORTANT!!) and still have at least 2 inches of water covering over the tops of the jars. Using just a single pot for making the contents and also for the BWB canning process will be very difficult to deal with as you need to keep the contents boiling hot while filling the jars, then into a boiling water bath, which would require the single pot to be emptied, washed, filled with water, then brought to a boil. Suffice to say you will need both larger burners on your stove to accomplish the task. Many smaller hardware stores like ACE and TrueValue have canning pot kits, that include tongs, a magentic lid lifter, funnel, and such for little money. Expect to spend a bit of $$ at your first attempts, but after you get the equipment, you should be able to just spend money on supplies. Obviously pickling salt is VERY necessary, as its the type used to remove the excess water from the veggies, as well as in any brine making. The meat grinder, if it has just a very small holed plate for making hamburger, may not give a decent texture to your Chow Chow. A food processor with a spinning blade can give decent chopping as well as a mix of different sized bits. If you can determine the grinder number (size), they offer grinder plates of many sizes and hole diameters for larger chopping . A big pot with a thick metal clad bottom would be great to use to reduce burning at the bottom. Some people are in a hurry to get the contents up to boiling and will switch onto to HIGH. I recall a few years back when a friend wanted to reheat my italian sauce and it was in an enamled pot stored in the fridge. He switched it to high and it cracked the glaze at the bottom within minutes. Dangerous to eat! That glaze was mostly glass chips! I had to throw out the whole batch of sauce! Start at a low setting and stir while bringing up the heat a little. It can take a half hour to heat the mixture to a boil, but it depends on the amount and size/height of the cooking pot. Aluminum should NOT be used for the cooking of the contents, but is fine for the boiling water bath part. You can fill a batch of jars immediatly headed for the canner, but I would hold off filling more jars, and would reduce the heat for the mixture down to low or simmer while waiting for the processing to complete. If its just 1 or 2 pint jars, and thats all that is left in the mixture pot, then you can fill, cap and hold them for the next BWB processing. Please use BWB (Boiling Water Bath) as oppposed to HWB as a hot water bath is not the currently approved method for home canning anything. Here is a link that might be useful: Grinder plates

I bought a stainless steel - clad bottom, 8 qt. pot from Lee Valley about a year ago. Because I don't have use for anything larger, this has been the pot that I use mostly for my canning. This pot is no longer advertised by Lee Valley, and I am wondering why. I found that I had a bit of a problem with long-time jelly/jam cooking would sometimes result in scorching above the clad bottom. I thought perhaps my stove was burning a bit too hot on one side - or perhaps the pot had a weaker side (thinner metal). It did seem with things that were longer cooking that there was a tendency for the food to scorch above the bottom heavier clad. With the last batch of jam - made with Pomona pectin (shorter cooking time), I had no problem. I've recently used this pot in my last sauerkraut canning - bring kraut to simmer before jarring, and it worked OK, although a bit slow to achieve the right temps. Would appreciate comment. My only other stainless steel pot is a 4 qt. dutch oven with metal handles and see-through cover from Houch - called "Classic" which is a favorite also, as some smaller batch food processing require non-reactive metal also. Just my 2 c's. Bejay

Lots of us tried this a few years back - and it was really good. it was those darn cookies that created a stir - where to get them - lol. Butternut Squash Lasagna Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis Posted by LoriJean Recipe Summary Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: 30 minutes Inactive Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes Yield: 8 to 10 servings User Rating: Cook's Note: The no-boil lasagna noodles can be substituted with fresh spinach lasagna sheets. Look for fresh lasagna sheets in the refrigerated section of specialty markets. 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup water 3 amaretti cookies, crumbled 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3 1/2 cups whole milk Pinch nutmeg 3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves 12 no-boil lasagna noodles 2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese 1/3 cup grated Parmesan Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender*. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times. Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving. *When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.