Havent seen one of those for years, didnt know they were still popular down under. I know the older models were issued a caution on vegetables because of the food poisoning but if I remember that was because of the bad fitting rings on the jars in the vaccuum packer. There is a booklet available that has all the vegetables listed and recipes. Not sure if it pertains to your model or not. Here is a link that might be useful: Booklet

Thanks all the replies. You have made an interesting and informative conversation! Dave, yes. I have spent a lot of time in NZ. At one time, canning, using proper jars (which are marginally heavier than ours and very durable) was very popular. New Zealand was and still is to some degree a very rural country. Like here, canning has been supplanted by freezing. Essentially that mostly explains the lack of supplies now. And I have met a few folk who used to use pressure canners. I think they called them retorts or autoclaves. Carol is right; with BWB canning for such things like jams or chutneys, the grocery food jars work fine. Lack of pressure canning aside, the problem is the shelf life of these products AND the entire loss of canned fruits. Everyone (of a certain age) in NZ remembers their Ma or Grandma or Grandpa canning peaches or plums or other orchard crops. I dont know how they used do Lambs Tongues, for instance, but there must be those who miss those too! Essentially, NZ is an example of somewhere that used to do something that has now been mostly lost. Thanks the freezing tip, Woodsmoke. Some miscreants (like me) actually prefer some things canned. In my case, the canned pate was just a whim; something to do with the livers. I could envision having some small jars of some delicacy, but going through the whole process of making pate frequently from frozen liver isnt so appealing! Additionally, Im not so keen about freezing in general. We can have long power outages as well. Appreciate the tips JimnGinger. I will brine some brisket and freeze it, but again, like the pate, I was envisioning a handy lunch to make from a small jar. I have canned beef chunks, which I like very much, and it occurs to me that I could make these taste like Corned Beef if I wanted. Commercially canned Kippered Herring is very common and popular in Northern California grocery stores. I havent tried to home can any, but home canned smoked fish is very doable. Sardines, Herring, Smelt and Mackerel, Salmon and Tuna... Generally, I have found that home canned fish or meat is far better than what one able to purchase. Canning fish as opposed to freezing it, is, to me, a much much better approach. Thanks again!

>grow and eat a lot of "pumpkins" --- it seems to be the vegetable of choice, in fact. I am dying to know what a Botswana pumpkin is --- Pumpkins are eaten throughout Africa, Zabby. In the southern part of the continent, the pumpkins are most often what are locally called "calabaza", which is a small, white, sweet pumpkin. Butternut squash actually substitutes for it better than any of our "pumpkins." As in: South African Pumpkin Fritters 5 cups cooked calabaza (or butternut) 2 cups grated raw calabaza (or butternut) 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 cup flour 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon Pinch of salt 1 egg, lightly beaten Oil for deep frying Cinnamon sugar, for dusting Put the cooked pumpkin in a mixing bowl, mash it with a fork, and set aside. Blanch the grated pumpkin by briefly dipping in boiling water. Drain it and add to the mashed pumpkin. Add the baking powder, flour, ground cinnamon, salt and egg to the mixture and beat until it is smooth. Heat oil for deep frying (375F). When hot, drop the batter, a tablespoonful at at time. Be careful not to place too many in the oil at once. ook the fritters until golden brown on each side, turning once. Drain on absorbent paper. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Serve warm. Variation: Add a pinch of lemon zest, a grating of nutmeg, and a tbls sugar to the batter before frying. >I once heard that the cans of pumpkin in the grocery store was actually winter squash - butternut, in fact. Most cans merely say "pumpkin" nowadays. But the most often used squash for canning actually are Hubbards, with Cushaws running a close second. Butternuts are considered by most canners to be too small to fuss with.

Hi, Tam! Below are some websites that should be useful when using a pressure cooker to preserve food. If you want more, just do a search on PRESSURE+CANNING or PRESSURE+COOKER+CANNING Due to the slight language differences between Oz and here, "bottling" is called "canning" here in the U.S., even though cans aren't used. Also, please realize there are some differences between using a PRESSURE COOKER (usually used for faster cooking --under pressure-- of normal foods that will be served immediately at the table) and a PRESSURE CANNER, which is only used for food preservation (also under pressure). Pressure cookers can be used for canning and often are. See the first website below for the differences, which is mostly time. You have to process the jars longer to get the same safe effect, so always keep that in mind when using the instructions that assume that you are using a CANNER. If I understand the Vaccola unit, you must add vinegar to help protect the food against bacteria. Using pressure, you don't have to use it unless you simply want the flavor. Due to the pressure build-up involved, be sure to keep your attention on the job at hand. An acquaintance of mine answered the phone, started chatting, and forgot the canner. The result was... ah... memorable! http://missvickie.com/canning/cookercanner.html http://www.kuhnrikon.com/tips/canning/ http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/current/FDNS-E-37-3.html http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/foods/348-595/348-595.html Sue