You’re going to have an excuse for canning nacho cheese after reading this. In this post, we tell you how to can nacho cheese at home with step by step instructions.
Nacho cheese is one of the soft cheeses with good attributes for cooking when compared to cheese that is bottled meant for snacks. Homemade cheese has no preservatives and has more economic value when compared with the commercialized cooking products. Homemade cheese has a shelf life of around two years or more and still maintains the original native taste that makes it retain its originality.
Nacho cheese is smooth and is ideal for use with snacks. It has plentiful health benefits such as high calcium content, which is good for both teeth and bones. It also helps in reducing blood pressure since it’s the rich source of vitamin B 12. Its simplicity in the making to be accessible in most of the households.
Ingredients
- Milk
- Butter
- Cheddar
- Flour
- Cayenne
Canning Kit Supplies
In canning in general., there some essential items that are required to facilitate the process and is suitable for jar canning
- Stainless steel funnel – They are used to keep rims of the jar clean to ensure proper placing of the seal.
- Canning jars – Canning jars come in different sizes. They also come with a set of rims and rids. The lids could either be full mouth or regular. It’s advisable to use jars designed for home canning. These jars are readily available to the local store.
- Headspace measuring tool and Bubble remover – Bubble remover removes the trapped air bubbles whereas the headspace measuring tool for measuring the exact headspace amount that lies between the jar top and its content.
- Jar lifter – The tools are for inserting and removing cans from the canner in a vertical position.
Instructions
1) Sterilize
As part of sterilization, wash cans using hot water. The process should happen before filling.
Sterilize jar mouth, mostly using the boiling water. Hot water has a high degree, even though there is another option fo placing it in the oven for about 20 minutes. It is deemed safer for the home-based procedure of cleaning and sterilization. The canning lids require sterilization as per the manufacturer’s instructions it’s advisable to use hot water
2) Fill Jars
Fill the jars using the stainless steel funnel with Nacho Cheese and have a headspace 1/2 inch. Use the bubble remover to remove any air that might be left. Also, wipe the jar rims to clean any wayward cheese.
3) Cover and Place
Cover the sterilized lids on the filled cans. Then place the rings on the filled cans and slowly tighten the rid.
4) Lower
Place the cans in the canning kit and lower into heated water to avoid jars cracking.
5) Remove Heat From Can
At a specified time, the canner thoroughly heated by the use of boiled water. The process reoccurs with the cover. The time given depends on boiled water, which also depends on cheese capacity.
Once the processing time comes to an end, remove the heat from the can, take out the canner lid, and let the jar stay for 5 minutes inside the canner. Use the jar lifter to remove jars from the canner and allow it to cool.
6) Cool
Set jar in an upright position on an item of dry clothing to cool a distance between them of about 1 to 2 inches. At no given reason should the rims be retightened. At times the cooling processes cause the pinging noise. The filled jars should take at least 12 to 24 hours without any physical disturbance.
7) Finish and Label
The seals require confirmation. Once the time frame set expires, the center of each lid pressed using the figure to figure out if the lid is tight.
Label Jars. It’s good to label the jars yourself with the important information so you know when they were stored. Do the Labelling and keep the jars in the store. The against each jar should bear the content and the expiry date.
Excuses For Storing Nacho Cheese
The cheese acts as a well-balanced diet, and it means that it has a good number of health benefits. Calcium is the main component since its main ingredient is milk. It also has Vitamins K 2 and B 12 together with proteins mostly essential for those who are vegetarian. Bone, gut health, and heart organs primarily benefit from its consumption. It also helps in tooth and bone issues since it’s a rich source of calcium and other nutritional value associated with bone development. Cheese made from animals that mostly consumes grass is rich in vitamin K2, which improves calcium absorption.
Nacho Cheese is full of fat, and its consumption is associated with reduced risk of stroke together with other cardiovascular-related diseases. Good bacteria in the cheese are also beneficial for gut health. It also has some fats which are useful for protection against insulin spikes.
For an easy-going process, use the opening and mouth of the jar that is of the same size. It eases the process of getting the cheese out of the can. It makes the process easier regardless of the viscous cheese nature. To remove the cheese from the jar involves placing the box in warm water, which melts it to flow freely.
Home-based canning is ideal and has benefits like cost-cutting when compared to industrial canned cheese. It is also one of the favorite cheese for most people, especially those who are of Mexican origin. It helps one fetch a good price by selling the home-canned cheese. The longevity of the canned cheese increases as compared to the exposed one. Canned cheese is also sold at the local market, thus fetching the profit for the vendor.
In the canning process, it is advisable to factor in the healing process since the pressure gauge indicates the amount of heat. Adjustment should be made on the heat to keep the desired pressure on the indicator. At any given point, the pressure maintenance for optimal results in the canned cheese.
The recommended time level as possible. If at any time, the pressure drops below the desired poundage, you must return force to the correct setting and start the timer over. The cans require to cook at the recommended weight for the full required time frame as per the canning recipe to minimize the risk of spoilage.
I hope this post on canning nacho cheese helped you with your emergency food supply. If you liked this recipe, you might also like our post on canning bacon or the post on canning corned beef.
