Preserving Apricots - Camp Chef Explorer Stove Review

The Missus has finished canning for this year. For those that haven't done any canning and preserving, it is a busy and hectic period. Obviously, it is only cost effective to can or preserve your own food if you can purchase the fruits or vegetables in bulk at harvest, when the prices are the lowest. However, this also means that you end up with cases of fresh fruit that necessarily must be processed quickly before they start to spoil.

Although we can and preserve a variety of foods, we generally concentrate on one or two items each year to can or preserve in large quantities. Those items will last us for two or three years until we are low enough to do another batch of that particular fruit or food item. (I say food item, because a couple years ago, we happened onto a deal on chicken, and ended up canning chicken meat that year). We also typically preserve a few other items in smaller quantities.

This year, the "big item" for canning was apricots. The majority of the apricots we canned. One of the nice things about canning fruits is that, because of the high acid content, you can can them using a "cold pack" canner--essentially a large pot that you place the jars of fruit in and boil. Most vegetables, meats, stews, and so, must be canned using a pressure cooker. Some of the apricots were processed into jam (preserves), and the rest sliced up and dried in dehydrators.

Earlier this summer, we purchased a Camp Chef Explorer camping stove (note: I am not compensated by Cabela's, but simply provide the link for convenience). While we had purchased the stove for camping, and as a backup in case utilities were interrupted, it proved very useful for canning.

As you can see in the picture, the stove has two burners. It attaches to a standard propane tank (not pictured). Each burner has separate controls, which are a simple knob. (See below for a closeup). As you can see from the photo above, the stove also comes with wind screens that simply slip over the lips on the sides of the stove.

 You can also order fold out shelves (the red shelves in the photos), that fold down over the top to act as a cover. (See below). I would definitely recommend getting the shelves since it makes the whole unit more convenient to use, and helps keep debris (or children) from getting into the burners after you're done using the stove, but have not yet put it away.

There are other accessories you can get. We purchased a flat skillet that covered one of the burners (there are skillets available that cover the entire top, but we didn't really need anything that big).
 
The stove allow us to move much of the canning operations outdoors, which kept the house cooler, and made the mess easier to manage. In addition to the shelves on the canner, we also put up a folding table to hold jars and other items. With two large burners we were able to run two cold pack canners at the same time. Our indoor range is electric, and I have to say that the propane burners were much easier to adjust and maintain the heat.

Overall, we really liked the stove and were pleased with its functionality and heat output. It quickly heated large pots of water and proved that it was equal to a standard kitchen range.

For those of you interested in canning, here are some links to some on-line canning resources:

"How to Can Anything"

"National Center for Home Food Preservation"

Links to PDFs of a canning guide by the USDA (courtesy of Modern Survival Blog).