Canning Question

[DogMom]

I was told that apparently "they" don't recommend hot water immersion for canning anymore. Does anyone know more about that? I'm seeing "pressure canning" required for low-acid foods; I'm assuming that's what "they" were talking about. Anyone know more about it? We're planning on canning tomatoes, possibly beans and peas, maybe peppers. Which ones can we hot-water can?
Thanks!

[AuntiePam]

All the sites I've looked at say that it's okay to can tomatoes in the hot water bath, but other fruits and veggies need the pressure canner method.

We can tomatoes and freeze everything else.

[Taur]

("They" is the USDA, I hope.)

+1 AuntiePam. Tomatoes are generally acidic enough to be hot water bathed on their own, but there are some varieties very close to the 4.6 pH cutoff for pressure canning, so the USDA recommends adding bottled lemon juice or citric acid to be safe.

All other fresh veggies will need pressure canning to properly sterilize the food.

Linky winkies: USDA Guide for Canning Tomatoes and USDA Guide for Pressure Canning Vegetables.

[redtail]

Yep. Beans and peas have always required pressure canning.

We can tomatoes and salsa with waterbath. Also jellies of various sorts. I believe pickles can be waterbath canned because of the acid in vinegar.

Anything else requires pressure.

We freeze peppers.

[DogMom]

Taur, dunno, I was just told that "they" say not to use hot-water immersion. Thanks for the confirmation everyone; I have no doubt whatsoever that I'll be back here later going "ZOMG we have elebenty million <whatevers> how do i freeze them".

[stormie]

Wait, what? My gramma used the hot water method and nobody died . . what is this new folderol?

[redtail]

Hey DogMom, here's some actual info for ya.

The first couple links have online or downloadable books. The last two are Ball canning guides; they're pretty cheap and have really explicit instructions on how to can things (with recipes).

The Ball Guide is pretty much the canning Bible. If you really want to get into canning, you should at least get one of those. I think I picked mine up for $5 or so.


Ball guides
USDA guides
Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

[Solfy]

Originally Posted by stormie

Wait, what? My gramma used the hot water method and nobody died . . what is this new folderol?

I never rode in a car seat and I didn't die. My parents didn't wear seatbelts for 30 years and they're still kicking. Yet it's car seats and seatbelts all the way in my vehicles.
I'd follow the Ball guide. They know their stuff.

[DogMom]

]

Originally Posted by redtail

Hey DogMom, here's some actual info for ya.

The first couple links have online or downloadable books. The last two are Ball canning guides; they're pretty cheap and have really explicit instructions on how to can things (with recipes).

The Ball Guide is pretty much the canning Bible. If you really want to get into canning, you should at least get one of those. I think I picked mine up for $5 or so.


Ball guides
USDA guides
Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

thanks! Sending the link to your post to my husband who's the one who's thinking of canning. i think he's at least borrowed the Ball book from the library, but the downloadables will be very helpful as well. Thanks!!!

[stormie]

Originally Posted by Solfy

I never rode in a car seat and I didn't die. My parents didn't wear seatbelts for 30 years and they're still kicking. Yet it's car seats and seatbelts all the way in my vehicles.
I'd follow the Ball guide. They know their stuff.

Ah, the voice of reason. And the reason why I Didn't drive that 1970's Caddy cross country.

[Can of Pineapples]

High acidity fruits like Ananas do not need to be pressure canned; a hot water bath would do.

But why would you want to can it when it tastes so good fresh? That, perhaps, is the greatest mystery of all.

[KidVermicious]

Originally Posted by Can of Pineapples

But why would you want to can it when it tastes so good fresh? That, perhaps, is the greatest mystery of all.

Why WOULD you want your food to not go bad?

How baffling.

[Zeener Diode]

Letting food go bad is what gave us happy accidents, like cheese and wine.

[KidVermicious]

Bob Ross: "We don't make rotten goat milk, we just have happy accidents."

[Jaglavak]

Originally Posted by Zeener Diode

Letting food go bad is what gave us happy accidents, like cheese and wine.

So far in my kitchen, the resulting accidents have not been happy.

[Atalanta]

Are you worried about botchalism? It is pretty rare, right? I dunno, it's hard for me to imagine it's any more dangerous than all the other food disease outbreaks...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ates#Deadliest

[Jaglavak]

Sure, if you don't mind being paralyzed from the eyebrows down.

Foodborne botulism can be prevented by use of pressure cooking or autoclaving at 121 °C (250 °F) for 30 minutes when canning to kill the spores

[ryevermouthbitters]

Originally Posted by Can of Pineapples

High acidity fruits like Ananas do not need to be pressure canned; a hot water bath would do.

But why would you want to can it when it tastes so good fresh? That, perhaps, is the greatest mystery of all.

Heh. It's true that westerners of even relatively modest means have access to fresh versions of almost everything one might originally have canned in the past. And we should acknowledge that that era is upon us and is, frankly, magical.

But some people take great pleasure out of eating "their" beans/whatever or those of their neighbors. Also, some veggies either benefit from canning directly (A canned good tomato is better than that red paper you get in the grocery stores in winter. If you don't believe me grab a can of San Marzanos as soon as you can (hah!).) or from the seasoning that happens in conjunction with canning (pickled things, mostly).

Canning is definitely a less important skill than it was when it was developed. But it still has a role.

[Atalanta]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

Sure, if you don't mind being paralyzed from the eyebrows down.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm saying that it seems pretty rare. Statistically, one appears more likely to die of heart disease than botulism...yet there's more concern here about canning temperatures than making lifestyle changes correlated with heart disease.

[Jaglavak]

Well, the thread is about canning.

[Atalanta]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

Well, the thread is about canning.

The thread is about the potential health risks in various methods of canning. If botulism is the greatest risk, statistically it's not that big a risk--as far as it daddy death is concerned.

Except for you, of course. Because the government is bugging your food.

[Blind Mellow Jelly]

I see Claussen (my favorite kosher, garlic, dill halves) has a new Marketing Tag.

#Never Heated

It's a bit fascistically hypocritical if I can't produce these or better in my own home kitchen.

[Jaglavak]

Originally Posted by Atalanta

Except for you, of course. Because the government is bugging your food.

No, they're just trying to induce a long term illness with synthetic chow so I will go to the doctor and get a prescription for some slow poison that is carefully formulated to not quite cure my oh-so-profitable disease. Do try to keep up.

[Can of Pineapples]

My post was an obviously not-so-obvious play on my user name. GET IT NOW?

That aside, I love to can, and put away dozens of quarts of tomatoes and other preservatives every year. For tomatoes, I ONLY pressure-can and also add a little lemon juice. Tomatoes are acidic, but hardly "high acid." If most of the jar isn't full of vinegar, it isn't high acid. Thus, pickles get hot water processing, everything else gets the full-on pressure treatment.

Proof I'm right: I'm not dead.

[ryevermouthbitters]

I got it about 10 minutes after hitting "enter and I was sincerely hoping this thread would drop to oblivion before the extent of my cluelessocity was exposed to the world. But noooooooo!

[Can of Pineapples]

For the record, the Manhattan is my favorite cocktail of all time. However, (1) I prefer mine with bourbon and I thus cut back on the vermouth... 3:1 is good, and (2) I prefer mine served neat. That said, with rye, 2:1, and on the rocks is also damn good.

You've convinced me to leave work early today and enjoy one.

[ryevermouthbitters]

I'm no purist. Enjoy!

[Can of Pineapples]

Sweet, Dry, or Perfect?

[ryevermouthbitters]

Dry for me, particularly if there's no Rye around. If there is, I waver between dry and perfect. I don't mind a little sweetness but I don't want a sugar bomb.

[Can of Pineapples]

Good call. A perfect bourbon Manhattan, neat, is waiting for me. Time to blow off work.

[Blind Mellow Jelly]

I still want a perfect rye moonshine, George Washington Whisky Manhattan, with cayenne and sassafras/sasparilla bitters- a candied Paw-Paw garnish...

[Blind Mellow Jelly]

Instead of the Red Vermouth sprinkled on that real "old fashioned", Old Fashioned, I might sprinkle or include some Jim Beam Devil's Cut.

[Can of Pineapples]

How about some Ale-8 with that moonshine?

[Blind Mellow Jelly]

A Late One, They call that Kentucky Rye Whisky Moonshine and Ale 8 (1), a Kin-tuck-ee Kocktale.

I call it a 7 and 7 (I drink those exclusively at weddings, makes me wild and gets my lower body on a swivel and gyrates the hips). Ever smelt the Seagrams Plant up and down and across from Windsor in Detroit? Heavenly prohibition imprinting.