Home Canning Safety - Things You Should Know Before Preserving Or Consuming Home Canned Goods

Home canning is a wonderful way to preserve foods from your garden and the local farmer's market. Many think that canning food is complicated to learn, but it's really a simple procedure once you understand the basics. One very important aspect of preserving foods using this method is safety.

If you've ever wandered into an old musty basement and come across some canning jars filled with food that granny forgot about, you might have seen some pretty horrific examples of food spoilage. This canned food is dangerous and should be destroyed.

All spoiled foods aren't that easy to identify. Always inspect canned goods before consuming: check the label date, the jar itself, and make certain the seal is not broken.

Some folks will tell you that canned goods can be safely stored for a number of years. The food might, or might not, be safe. Studies have shown that a good safe rule to follow is to discard any foods you have not consumed within a year of the canning date. You can keep the jars and sterilize for re-use.

Today there are only two safe recommended methods for home canning: pressure canning and boiling-water bath. The water bath method is used to process high acid foods. The pressure canning method is used to process low acid foods.

When canning food, do not reuse the metal canning lids. It is fine to reuse the rings or bands; these don't form the seal anyway. The band is simply used to hold the lid in place until it "pops" and seals during the cooling process. After that, the band serves no purpose and can be removed. Flat metal lids are readily available and very inexpensive, so there is no excuse for taking chances with used metal seals.

The "popping" noise occurs during cooling and is an indication that the jar is properly processed and sealed. When you process foods in your high pressure canner, the food contents are heated and air is forced out of the container. As the jar cools down, the metal seal is literally sucked down and the jar is sealed; nothing can get in or out, until you open the jar, of course.

Store canned goods in a cool dry place. High storage temperatures can damage jar seals; freezing temperatures are not recommended either. Storage areas should be well below 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Always inspect canning jars prior to use. Do not use jars with cracks or chips.

Do not cut corners on recommended processing times or specific pressures for home canning. Don't assume that just because your jar "pops" and seals that the food inside is safe. The contents of the jar are supposed to be heated at the proper temperature, for the specified amount of time, and following a recommended method. It is important that the food heats and remains heated for that amount of time in order to kill microorganisms and bacteria.  Use a good quality canner that seals properly.

Follow directions and don't skip steps. Just because your canning jars look clean does not mean they are. Always sterilize jars according to directions. Just remember there is no point at all in wasting your time canning foods if you are not going to do it right. By skipping steps and not following directions, you could cause harm to you or others.

Inspect foods prior to consumption. Be suspicious of cloudy liquids, unusual odors, slime, and mold. Note that some food discoloration is natural and does not necessarily mean your food has spoiled. Cauliflower, garlic, and pears commonly change color when processed. Check the underside of the metal lid before consuming the canned food. Is it rusty or discolored? Is the jar rim contaminated or black? If so, do not eat the food in the jar. Use basic common sense when inspecting foods.

Do not be afraid to can foods at home. It is a very simple process and a wonderful way to enjoy your garden harvest throughout the winter. Just follow proper canning procedures, and you'll be a safe home canning expert in no time.

Laura Brown is an experienced ghostwriter and professional freelance author. She also enjoys gardening and cooking. You can find some delicious recipes and gardening tips on her website, http://www.theranchersdaughter.com along with a lot of useful information on gardening, cooking, flowers, and living in the country. Learn more about preserving foods at Laura's website.

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Preserving Food With Pressure Canners

I remember with fond memory the summer days in a hot country kitchen when my mother canned fruits and vegetables from the garden on that old wood stove. We lived on a dairy farm then... a small one in Wisconsin... and we grew all our own vegetables and poultry and pork and beef and the best way to preserve all this food for the long, snow-covered winter was canning and smoking. We had no electricity and no freezers then.

We'd plant those vegetable seeds early in spring in little pots in the house, and set them out in the garden as soon as the last signs of frost had disappeared. We'd carefully tend those precious plants during the summer season. And there was nothing as good as a fresh, ripe tomato picked in the warm sun, or a fresh carrot pulled from the warm earth. Even more delectable was that same flavor in the dead of winter. The quickest way to preserve those precious morsels was using a pressure cooker on that hot wood stove.

The pressure cookers you find on the market today are safer and easier to use but the old-fashioned goodness is the same. Some people have used a hot water bath canning method for high-acid produce but have found that canning in a pressure canner results in peace of mind knowing that the bacteria has been safely eliminated.

The US Department of Agriculture recommends pressure canning as the only safe method of preserving low-acid foods that must be cooked at 240 degrees F or greater to prevent the growth of bacteria in the food. Low-acid foods include vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood. Though tomatoes and some fruits are high-acid foods, the only sure way to safety is to use the pressure canning method. You'll receive a manual with each new canner detailing canning instructions. If you've inherited a canner from your elderly relative, check the internet for instructions on the use of that older model, or your county extension center for assistance.

Another caution when canning is to be sure to use glass jars which are designed for re-use and are made of heat-tempered glass that will assure safety. Mason or Kerr or Ball are name brands that can be trusted. Most jars that you've purchased at the super market with mayonnaise or similar foods are designed for a single use and are not safe for re-use. Lids designed for the name-brand jars are for one time use. Lids that have been used previously do not ensure a tight seal and may cause spoilage and illness if the produce is consumed. Jar rings used with the trusted-name jars may be re-used countless times. Jars and lids and rings can usually be purchased at your grocer or big-box store. Acceptable sizes are half-pint, pint and quart. Half-gallon jars are not recommended as the contents may not cook completely.

You can be sure that the pressure canners of the this century are safe and easy to use. Become a healthier, preservative-free, economically-minded home with pressure canning.

Sue Wiskowski-Fair has developed a special site the provide a one-stop experience for the busy cook to assist in today's stress-filled lives. Check out the wide variety of pressure cookers and pressure canners and determine what fits your lifestyle. Cookbooks to help you. Check out http://www.pressurizeit.com/why-pressure-cookers/ for more information and assistance.

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Preserving Your Garden Bounty Using the Pressure Cooker

These are tough times and many of us are growing our own food. Home gardens number more than ever. You can find gardens every where. People seem to be using any available ground to grow vegetables and fruit. I have seen gardens on roofs and balconies as well as the more familiar back yard. Community gardens have grown in number as well. Some very "up-scale" condominium complexes have community gardens. On the other end of the scale, you can find these gardens in low income neighborhoods as well.

I live in Hawaii and I have a South facing lanai that gets very hot, so my garden consists of mostly herbs that can tolerate the heat. However, our complex does have a community garden near the office. We do grow our own tomatoes on the lanai.

So with all this food being grown in your own back yard, whatever it may be, what are you going to do with all that excess produce? Well you could give it away and that is a good choice, but have you ever tried to give zucchini away? Everyone has zucchini at the same time. You could give some to the local food bank again even they can only use so much fresh produce. The logical thing is to preserve the bounty for use later.

There are several ways to preserve food. Freezing and dehydrating are two good ways to do this and in a later article I will discuss each of these methods. But for this article I would like to focus on home canning using the pressure cooker. The only safe way to preserve low acid foods such as most vegetables, meats and fish is to use a pressure canner. This is just a large pressure cooker.

You can home can almost anything. Tomatoes are one of the things that almost everyone puts up. They don't need to be pressurized but can be put up using the water bath method if you add a little lemon juice to each jar.

When using the pressure canner it is important to follow the directions to the letter. This is not a time to take short cuts or guess at what you are doing. Always use proper equipment. Mason jars and new lids are the only kind of jars you can use safely in a pressure canner. Do NOT reuse the lids, they will not seal properly and you could lose your food. Never taste low acid food right out of the jar, bring it to a boil for 10 minutes before tasting. I know this sounds like a long time, but there is always a small chance of spoilage so be careful. Just know that I have been putting food up for many years and have never had a bad batch.

Besides the obvious vegetables, I make a huge pot of soup and divide it into pint jars and process it for later. Nothing tastes better than soup made with fresh vegetables right out of the garden and the next best thing is your home canned soup made from fresh vegetables. Tastes really good in the middle of winter.

Sometimes you can get a real deal on fresh produce during the peak season and canning is a way to have it in the winter. Peach cobbler is so good made with your home canned fresh peaches. By the way, you do not have to add sugar to your fruit when you can it. Just use the fruit juice and it will be wonderful. Also you can control the amount of salt if any in your canned vegetables.

I hope you will give home canning a try, I know you will be pleased and surprised at the results and your family will love it.

Nancy Toney has been using the pressure cooker for over 30 years and is happy to share her experience with you. Check out her website [http://www.buypressurecookers.com]

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