Do-It-Yourself/Canning
Introduction
Home canning, also known and
bottling, is simple and has been used for preserving foods for many years. With
the right equipment and recipes, anyone can begin preserving foods at home.
Care should be taken to follow the
recipes and procedures. Botulism is a life threatening bacteria that is
commonly associated with improper canning procedures.
Equipment
No matter how you choose to process
your food, some things are common elements; tongs that you can use to lift full
jars, glass jars, lids, sealing rings. Cooking thermometers, a supply of clean
cotton utility towels, and protective clothing such as silicone or leather
gloves. Gloves can make handling hot products much easier; a bad grip on a
liter jar full of boiling, sticky jam can be dangerous.
Hot
Water Bath
A large, enamelled canning boiler
with lid rack for jars should set you back no more than $US 40 if you look
around. Any large pot should do; just place a metal rack like a cooling rack in
the bottom of the pot to provide space under your jars for water to flow.
Pressure
Canning
This is the pricier of the options,
with a good pressure canner starting at around $US 75-140. Pressurize canning
is required for all low acid foods.
Types
of Pressure Canners
A pressure canner is not the same as
a cooker. Some canners may be used for pressure cooking but a normal pressure
cooker should not be used for canning.
Warnings
There are many methods of canning
that people have used over time which are proven to be unsafe and even deadly.
Never can foods in the oven, a pot
without a lid, microwave, steam canner, dishwasher, or by simply allowing hot
jars to seal themselves.
A good seal alone is not enough to
protect the contents from developing botulism.
While the oven may reach a suitable
temperature, the contents of the jar will not reach a high enough temperature
to destroy bacteria.
Stick to the recipes, add vinegar or
lemon juice if it says to, and don't add sugar or anything that the recipe does
not explicitly say you may.
General
Process
There are two approved methods of
canning which are fairly similar and use much of the same equipment. The
difference between the two is the type of pot you use and how it works.
Before you start, you need to know
the altitude in which you live and adjust the approved recipe to ensure you are
canning for the right length of time and pressure.
Preparing for either method is the
same. Jars, lids and rings should be washed and kept warm until ready to fill
with items to be processed. Some people keep their jars in a dishwasher with
heat drying to hold them while others keep their jars in a pot of water on low
heat. Never place hot foods into a cold jar or place a cold jar into a hot pot,
thermal shock can cause the jars to break or even explode.
Lids and rings can be placed into a
pan of warm water to simmer on low. Do not boil the lids, just keep them warm
to prepare the sealing compound to be accepted by the jar.
Hot
Water Bath
Set up the canner and heat water.
Canner should be filled about 1/3 full and kept warm, not boiling until you are
finished filling it with prepared jars. Set a pot of water on another burner in
case you need to add more water after your jars are in place.
Prepare the items that you want to
preserve according to an approved recipe. Follow the recipe carefully, changes
to ingredients may reduce the amount of acid which could make your recipe
unsafe.
Fill jars leaving the appropriate
amount of head space for your recipe. Clean rims well, bits of food can prevent
lids from sealing. Fit jar with a lid and adjust ring with a fingertip until it
stops gently.
Place jars into canner making sure
jars are covered by 2 inches of water, if more water is needed add from the
extra pot you have heated on another burner.
Place a lid on your pot and process
according to the recipe you have chosen. Time begins when the water reaches a
full boil.
Open the canner, being careful to
prevent steam burns. Remove the jars to a place where they will be undisturbed
for at least 8 - 12 hours. Do not adjust rings or tamper with lids.
When jars are cooled, test seals by
pressing in center and ensuring that lids don't raise. Remove rings, wash jars,
label and put away in a dark cool place until you are ready to enjoy them.
Pressure
Canning
If your canner has a dial gauge, the
first thing you must do is check it for accuracy. Your local cooperative
extension office should be able to do this for you free of charge.
Set up your pressure canner
according the instructions included with it. Some canners require more water
than others. You do not want the canner to run out of water at any time during
the process. If processing is interrupted you will need to start from the
beginning.
Prepare your recipe and fill your
jars leaving the appropriate head space. Place jars into the canner as you
work.
Check lid to make sure vent pipe is
clear. Place the lid on the pot, making sure the handles are locked if
necessary. Some canners have clamps that screw down while others simply lock by
turning the lid.
Next the canner needs to be vented.
This is done by adjusting the burner to a fairly high heat and waiting for a
strong stream of steam to escape from the vent pipe. This needs to be done for
a full 10 minutes. This removes air from the canner so pressure can build with
the following step.
Place the regulator or weight onto
the valve and wait for the canner to reach the necessary pressure. Use the dial
gauge to determine this unless your canner does not have a gauge, then follow
the manufacturers instructions. Some regulators need to jiggle several times
per minute while others need to rock continuously.
Set your timer when you have reached
the correct pressure. Change in pressure at any time can compromise the
process, this could result in dangerous, under processed foods.
At the end of timing, turn burner
off and wait for canner to depressurize on its own. Do not open or tamper with
anything. Removing the regulator too soon or moving the canner can cause liquid
from you jars to siphon or even cause the jars to break.
Remove the regulator or weight and
wait an additional 10 minutes for the canner to cool.
Open the canner, being careful to
prevent steam burns. Remove the jars to a place where they will be undisturbed
for at least 8 - 12 hours. Do not adjust rings or tamper with lids. Cooling of
jars from a pressure canner can take much longer than those that have been
processed in a hot water bath.
When jars are cooled, test seals by
pressing in center and ensuring that lids don't raise. Remove rings, wash jars,
label and put away in a dark cool place until you are ready to enjoy them.
Recipes
There are many books and websites
available with recipes for canning. Be sure to select a recipe that has been
approved by the USDA. Recipes that are not tested should be considered
dangerous.
The National Center for Home Food
Preservation is an excellent source for approved recipes.
Pickling
Pickling is a great option for foods
that don't hold up well to the heat and time required by pressure canning.
Items like broccoli and cauliflower need to be pressure canned but tend to fall
apart and are unappealing. Pickling these items will leave you with a firm,
crisp product that is safe because the acid level is high.
Basic picking recipes are a simple
syrup made of vinegar, sugar and water.
Jams
and Jellies
Jams, Jellies, Preserves and Butters are a
popular way of preserving fruits and some vegetables. Processing times are
usually quick and preparation can be quite simple. Sugar is often high but it
is an excellent way to add fruit to your diet.
Jams include pectin or a modified
starch to allow them to thicken or set to a desired consistency. Preserves and
butters are often slow cooked to a thickness much like applesauce and don't use
an additional thickener.
Meats
Meats need to be pressure canned
every time, there is no approved method of canning meat in a boiling water
bath.
Recipes for meats vary greatly. Some
people prefer to can just the meat while others like to prepare them as heat
and serve meals.
Vegetables
Many vegetables are low acid and
need to be pressure canned. The same as with meats, many people like to combine
different vegetables as a ready to serve side dish or to be added to soups and
stews.
Other
Food
There are no safe recipes for
certain food items. The USDA has not approved of any recipes for items
including: Milk, Cheese, Cream, Eggs, Flour, Starch, Thickening Agents, Grain,
Pasta, Rice, Dried Beans, Zucchini, Summer Squash
Items baked in jars should never be
stored outside of a freezer or refrigerator.
The entire article can be found at:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Do-It-Yourself/Canning
Poster's comments:
None of
this is rocket science.
If in
doubt, use the eyeball and smell method when you open up something you've
canned. If it doesn't look right, or smell right, don't eat it.
Lot's of
people still do their own home canning, and do just fine.
Best case,
get someone who has done it to show you how, if you can. That is always good
for self-confidence.
Worse case,
read about it, and then do it. That usually works well, except for the
self-confidence part, or course. In my case, this is what I had to do, and ate
it all, and lived just fine. I actually initially cheated and used already
clean canned vegetables, and then used them to do my own home canning. And
again, I lived.
Depending
on the kind of food one may can at home, one can use acid (like from vinegar or
limes), heat (like from a pressure cooker), or even food grade hydrogen
peroxide (in the best percentage) just to kill the germs that make the food
preservation fail. If in doubt, feed it to your dog, first.
I still
don't know why the term canning
is used, since usually it is done in glass jars.
Last,
remember to label the jars with essential information, like what it is, date of
preparation, shelf life, etc. You decide what is essential to you.
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