Its Canning Season
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It's canning time. About this time of year, I start getting lots of emails about canning so I thought I'd sum up some of the most frequently asked questions, but first, come take a little trip down memory lane with me. When I was a girl, I remember my gramdma canned about 200 quarts of peaches and pears and snap beans, corn and tomatoes -- along with just about anything else that was edible -- during the late Indian summers on her farm in central California. As I sit in my kitchen now, decades later; listening to the rustling of fall leaves outside my kitchen window, I can almost smell the pungent aroma of vinegar and spices coming from the pickling crocks under the back stairs at grandma's old farm house. It stirs my memory and reminds me of those far removed apple trees south of the hay barn or the tangled blackberry brambles racing up the hillside, bursting with ripe fruit. We kids would sit on the old back porch with grandma and peel, and pare, and pit until our hands were stained with a rainbow of pinks, yellows, greens and reds from a bountiful harvest. All through those end of summer days of long ago, the canners bubbled and hissed on the stove, churning out jar after jar of jar of garden produce. While I treasure those memories,I also know that canning methods have changed a lot since Grandma started out, and its so important that you do too. For the sake of the health of your family and friends who may eat your canned products, it's important to make sure you are up to date. Take the time to review some of the basics for safely canning food at home. It can be rewarding to fill your pantry shelves with home canned foods, but safe canning requires careful planning. You'll want to follow a tested recipe because even though Grandma's old recipe cards, or the vinatage cookbooks from a bygone era, might have some wonderful memories, modern canning guidelines have changed significantly in recent years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Complete Guide to Home Canning (1994 edition) is an excellent source of tested recipes, or see The National Center for Home Food Preservation, an excellent source for current research-based recommendations for most methods of home food preservation. Also locate and contact your Extension office for updated canning recipes tested for your area. |
I Get Mail |
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Q). Can I use my pressure cooker for home canning if it reaches 15PSI? A). Pressure cookers are a fixture of many households, but they are designed to rapidly cook a family meal. The USDA does not recommend using ANY pressure cooker -- Some pressure cooker manufacturers are advertising their product as suitable for home canning, but the USDA and National Center for Home Food Preservation does not recommend them and warns against trying to use them for canning processes. To qualify as a canner, the vessel must hold at least four (4) quart-size jars in a wire canning rack. There is no scientifically safe or reliable method to convert processes intended for use with a standard pressure canner that will ensure food safety when other types of equipment, like a pressure cooker, is used.
Q). The house gets so hot when I'm canning. Can I use my canner on a propane camp stove outside? A). The USDA does not recommend that you use a camp stove or kerosene stove as a source of heat for canning. The BTU settings a generally lower than your kitchen stove, and a breeze may cause heating patterns to fluctuate, which would make it hard to maintain the proper pressure, or even a drop in pressure, that would result in an unsafe product.
Q). Why do I have to vent the canner? A). Air trapped in a canner lowers the temperature and results in under processing. The success of destroying all microorganisms capable of growing in canned food is based on the temperature obtained in pure steam, free of air, at sea level. To be safe, all types of pressure canners must be vented 10 minutes before they are pressurized. The highest volume of air trapped in a canner occurs in processing raw-packed foods in dial-gauge canners. These canners do not vent air during processing. To vent a canner, leave the vent port uncovered on newer models, or manually open petcocks on some older models. Heating the filled canner with its lid locked into place boils water and generates steam that then escapes through the petcock or vent port. When steam first escapes, set a timer for 10 minutes. After venting for a full10 minutes, close the petcock, or place the counterweight or weighted gauge over the vent port to pressurize the canner.
Q). Does a pressure canner have to be a certain size? A). Yes, to be considered a pressure canner for USDA processes, the canner must come equipped with a wire canning rack, and hold at least four (4) quart-size jars. Small pressure canners hold four quart jars. Larger pressure canners are designed to hold seven quart jars, or eight to nine pints, the largest pressure canners may hold up to 22 quarts, or 32 pint jars in two layers.
Q). Can I use my pressure cooker or pressure canner as a regular waterbath canner? A). Pressure cookers and canners with a regular lid may be used for processing high acid foods if they are deep enough so that at least 1 inch of briskly boiling water can be maintained over the tops of jars throughout the canning processing. However, its more economical to use a regular canning kettle when processing jards in boiling water because they are made of lighter-weight aluminum or porcelain-covered steel and heat up much faster. This means you save money by using less energy. A boiling-water canner loaded with filled jars requires about 20 to 30 minutes of heating before the water begins to boil. Pressure canners with their thick, heavy aluminum walls will take much longer to heat and require more fuel to sustain the necessary rapid boil.
Q). Is it safe to process low acid foods in a waterbath kettle if I let it boil for several hours? A). No. No matter how long you boil water, it will never get any hotter than 212°F, far short of the required temperature needed to process low acid foods and assure your family will not be subjected to the risk of foodborne illnesses. Using a pressure canner is the only way to reach the high temperatures of 240°F (10 PSI) ro 250°F (15 PSI) as required by current canning method. These high temperatures are required to be applied for an specific period of time to kill dangerous microorganisms like botulism.
Q). What's the best way to store my canner? A). After use, wash your canner and lid in hot soapy water, being careful not to immerse the dial gauge. Dry the canner thoroughly and store it with crumpled newspapers or paper towels in the bottom and around the rack and sprinkle 1/3 to 1/2 cup baking soda around the inside. This will help absorb moisture and prevent odors. Place the weight(s) and gauge inside, and turn the lid upside down on top of the canner to protect the protruding parts until next canning season. Never put the lid on the canner and seal it because it will permanently flatten the gasket, and also promote bacterial growth and odors inside. In some cases the lid can stick tight and be difficult to remove. If storing the canner in a cardboard box, do not wrap it in plastic for the same reasons.
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