Lot of negativity going on about this, glad I haven't made the dish yet.

> wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:27:24 GMT, "Green Newb" >
> wrote:
>
>>I'm having a load of fun with my Canner and my spaghettie bolognaise sauce
>>turned out fabulous. I got 5, 1 litre jars and 9, 500 ml jars out of the
>>batch. I'm onto Chinese food next. Love the idea of take-away in the
>>cupboard.
>>
>>I can make up all the recipes from scratch. Eg., Chinese chicken and
>>sweet
>>corn soup. Steak in Black Bean sauce and also Sweet and sour chicken, but
>>I'v got a bit lazy these days and usually buy Canton Sweet and sour sauce
>>for my Sweet and sour chicken.
>>
>>For the sweet and sour chicken, I will be adding chicken, pineapple,
>>carrots, onions, beanshoots, mushrooms, 5 spice powder, garlic honey, soy,
>>tomatoe sauce, vinegar dab a sugar. - commercial sweet and sour sauce.
>>The thickening agent already in the commercial sauce may make it look
>>better
>>in the jar. In all of the recipes I will be leaving out fats and
>>cornflour.
>>
>>What are your thoughts on cooking up recipes with commercial food/sauces
>>that have already been cooked once?
>
> Your enthusiasm for your new hobby is commendable but, I think you
> should possibly slow down just a bit.
> Unfortunately, not everything lends itself to being canned.
> Spaghetti sauce is one thing but, IMO, canning complete Chinese meals
> is a whole different ball game.
> Have you found a recommended recipe from an authoritative source for
> such a thing or are you, like you say, just making up the recipes from
> scratch?
> I have never attempted anything like that but, I'd guess that trying
> to pressure can a complete Chinese meal in a jar would result in some
> homogenous mixture akin to canned baby food. Part of the true
> enjoyment of Chinese food is the yin and yang, the crispness of the
> vegetables contrasted with the softness of the meat and/or noodles,
> which would not be possible if it was pressure canned. It would
> probably end up like a thick soup or thin stew.
> One final note, USDA recommends that soups to be canned should not be
> thickened so your commercial sauce containing thickening may be out.
> If aesthetics isn't high on your list, go for it and let us know how
> it turns out. Also, let us know how you fare with your chopsticks on
> the resulting dish ;-).
>
> Ross.