September 2, 2019 • 21 mins
As we’re approaching harvesting season on the homestead, it’s crucial to be prepared for the bounty of food that’s about to roll in. Whether it’s coming from your own garden, a farmers market, or other local producers, understanding how to properly preserve the harvest will provide wonderful meals for months to come. Today we’re going to focus on my favorite method of food preparation: canning. In particular, I’m presenting the 5 most common mistakes people make when it comes to canning. Listen to find out why the “old fashioned” canning techniques can be harmful, which modern methods aren’t always safe, why acid is essential to safe canning, and so much more.
Some highlights from the episode:
- Different methods of preservation: freezing, fermentation, dehydration, canning and more
- Bacteria and food safety
- Why you should always follow canning recipes as they’re written
Do you want to start canning but don’t know where to begin? Head over to https://www.learnhowtocan.com for everything you need to get started today!
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- Jill on Facebook: http://facebook.com/theprairiehomestead
- Apply to be a guest on the Old-Fashioned on Purpose podcast: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/podcast-guest-application
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the old fashioned on purpose podcasts.
In today's episode, we're divinginto all things canning and
we're going to talk about someof the biggest mistakes that I
see people making when theystart to learn how to can foods
at home.
If you have any sort of desireto start canning or maybe you've
(00:22):
already been dabbling in it andyou just want to make sure
you're on the right track, thisis the information you can't
afford to skip because it'sgoing to help you keep your
family safe and avoid waste.
I'm your host Jill winger, andfor the last 10 years I've been
helping people just like you whofeel uninspired by modern life,
(00:47):
learn how to leave the rat raceand create the life they really
want by growing their own foodand mastering old fashioned
skills.
At the time of this recording,the garden is in full swing.
Everything's planted.
We're in that phase where it'sjust about watering and weeding,
(01:08):
but I know better than to belulled to sleep right now
because just around the corner,about a month and a half or so,
it's going to be time to startharvesting.
And that's where things alwaysget a little bit crazy on the
homestead.
We'll have buckets of tomatoescoming in, potatoes, green
(01:30):
beans, cucumbers, you know, it'sway more than we can eat during
a given week and ya got to dosomething with it so it doesn't
go to waste.
Food preservation is a huge partof homesteading, whether you
grow your own food or you'rejust capitalizing on local
producers or farmers markets.
(01:52):
Being able to preserve theharvest for later in the year is
a valuable skill and it's reallyfollowing in the footsteps of
our ancestors who wouldn't havehad easily accessible produce at
the grocery store year around.
I've done a lot of differentpreservation methods over the
(02:14):
years and I still would say Iuse most of them at different
times depending on what sort ofproduce I have available.
But you know, everything fromfreezing and fermentation,
dehydration and of coursecanning, they all play a role in
how we stock up the food for thewinter or at least make sure our
(02:36):
garden work doesn't go to waste.
And I think out of all thosemethods, canning is the one that
I turn to time and time again askind of a favorite actually.
And I just love that it doesn'tclog up the freezer because you
know, we raise our own beef.
So freezer space is always at apremium and trying to cram bags
(03:01):
of green beans and between allof the roasts and the steaks is
kind of a pain.
So whenever I can preserve foodwithout needing to clog up the
freezer, I am in love.
And I also like how it preservesthe nutrients of the food.
Interestingly enough, canningcan actually do a little better
(03:23):
job than dehydration or evenlongterm freezing in regards to
capturing more of the nutrientswhile that food is at its peak.
So for me it's a win win.
I think it's something that isvery worthwhile for you to add
into your homestead kitchensskill collection.
(03:47):
Now believe it or not, thismight come as a shock.
There was a little bit ofcontroversy around canning
sometimes, and most of thisstems from methods and
techniques because you know,canning has been around for a
while now and over the yearsrecommendations and safety
(04:12):
measures have evolved andsometimes folks are drawn to
using more of the old fashionedmethods when they're actually
not super safe.
So in today's episode, I'm gonnadive in to the top five canning
mistakes I see people make andhow you can avoid them, not only
(04:34):
to help keep your family safe soyou're not creating dangerous
food that has different bacteriain it that could be harmful.
But also just to help you avoidwasting food by having food that
spoils or you know, ends upgoing bad on the shelf.
Okay, so mistake number one,this is a big one and it is
(04:57):
using old or unapproved canningmethods.
Now, this might come as asurprise to some of you because
I'm kind of known as the girlwho loves all things old
fashioned and vintage.
But when it comes to canningtechniques, I actually stick
close to modern recommendationsand here's why.
(05:20):
There are different methods toget food into jars and to seal
it.
And many of these methods havebeen used for decades, maybe
even by your own family membersto preserve food.
And it's very likely that thefood was preserved without
issue.
(05:40):
However, as technology advancesand science advances, we've come
to understand more aboutbacteria and food safety.
And that's why there areorganizations like the National
Center for food preservation orthe usda that produce these home
(06:02):
canning guidelines.
The purpose of these guidelinesis not to limit what you can do
in the kitchen or it's not thegovernment, you know, trying to
metal in your food supply.
It's none of those things.
It's really truly just to keepyour food safe.
Because while some folks back inthe day got away with using
(06:24):
unsafe canning methods, a lot offolks didn't.
And there were cases ofbotulism, which is a very
serious bacteria and foodpoisoning and a lot of illness
related to home canned foods.
And most of it was because folksdidn't understand bacteria and
contamination and all of thatfun sciency stuff.
(06:47):
But now that we know better, wehave updated recommendations and
it is in your best interest tofollow those recommendations
whenever it you start canning.
So this is kind of funny, I hadto share some of these.
I was doing some looking onlineabout old fashioned canning
methods.
I can't believe people use someof these.
(07:09):
Okay.
This is funny.
I just have to share and I, I'mdoubting that a lot of people
did this.
Maybe they did, but this is fun.
One of the old fashioned methodsthat I do not recommend you use
is compost canning.
Yes.
I said compost canning.
So you would take a jar, putfood in it, put the lids on,
(07:32):
stick the jars in the middle ofa compost pile.
With the theory being that hasthe compost decomposes and heats
up, it's going to heat the jarssufficiently to seal the jar and
preserve the food.
I feel like I don't need to gointo a lot of detail as to why
(07:52):
this is a horrible idea, butdon't do that.
Two other methods that are maybenot as far out there but still
very sketchy are dishwashercanning and microwave canning.
This is similar to the compostcanning and that you put the
food in the jar, put the lid onit, and then use the dishwasher
(08:16):
or the microwave to heat thatjar up to a point where it seals
again, not a good idea.
Mostly because those appliancescannot and will not heat the
food to a high enoughtemperature.
Oh, so I don't know about you,but every time I've put a
tightly sealed container of foodin the microwave doesn't usually
(08:39):
end well.
So yeah, don't try those either.
Now these last two methodsaren't quite as outrageous.
They're actually more common.
And I've seen a number of folksonline, you know, because the
Internet recommended thesemethods and I'm just going to
advise you, yes, it's a freecountry and you have ultimate
(09:01):
choice over what you do in yourkitchen.
But I would highly recommend youavoid these methods no matter
what people on the Internet say.
And these are inversion canningand open kettle canning.
So inversion canning isprimarily used with jams and
jellies.
It's actually fairly common andit's where folks take a jar,
(09:26):
fill it with hot jelly or jamthat's been simmering on the
stove, screw the lids on andthen flip the jar upside down
and leave it on the counter.
The theory is that the jars sealand they often do and it's good
to go.
You can eat it whenever youwant.
The issue with this method, eventhough it technically usually
(09:50):
seals the jars, is that the jarsare never heated enough at a
high enough temperature to killany potential contaminants
inside the jar.
And this is an important sidenote here.
There are people who have gottenaway with any of these methods
(10:10):
at any point in time and theyhaven't died and nobody got sick
and all was well.
Just because someone had a goodexperience with this method
doesn't mean that you should tryit.
There's just a much higher riskinvolved, which is why inversion
canning is not recommended byany of the canning authorities
anymore.
(10:32):
The other one that kind of goesalong this same line is open
kettle canning.
Now this is where you would takethe hot food and put it in a jar
or maybe simmer the food in thejars on the stove top for a few
minutes.
Put the lid on and call it good.
Now, some of you have may haveaccidentally done this before
(10:52):
without even actually trying tocan.
There have been times when I'vehad a little bit of extra tomato
sauce or salsa that's beenheating on the stove and I just
need to store it, you know?
So I'll take an a mason jar, putan old lid on top and low and
behold they heat from that hotfood will cause the jar to seal.
(11:14):
Just because it seals thoughdoes not make it shelf stable
doesn't mean it's bad or it'swrong.
You just want to still eat thatfood within a few days or
whatever the normal range wouldbe for whatever's in the jar.
So a seal does not equate tolongterm shelf stability.
(11:34):
I just want you to keep that inmind.
And I know for me, when I havemy beautiful home canned foods
on the shelf, I don't want tohave that nagging doubt in the
back of my mind that, oh, whatif it's not that safe?
You know, I don't want to haveto worry when feeding it to my
family.
(11:54):
If we're all gonna have bellyaches 24 hours later or worse.
That feels like playing Russianroulette to me.
And I would much rather havethose jars on my shelf and have
full confidence that we havenothing to worry about because
all of the rules and steps werefollowed.
Okay, so mistake number two thata lot of new canners make is
(12:19):
attempting to use a water bathcanner when a pressure canner is
called for now this is temptingbecause pressure canners can be
a little bit of an investmentanywhere from like 80 to$200
depending on the model.
And so let's say you have somefood you really want to
preserve.
The recipe says use a pressurecanner.
(12:39):
You don't want to fork out thecash, so you try to figure out
how to work around it and useyour water bath pot instead.
As tempting as it is, you reallywant to avoid doing this because
when a recipe calls for the useof a specific canner, it's there
for a reason and generally whena pressure canner is called for,
(13:02):
it's because the food that isbeing canned is a low acid food
and low acid foods like meats,stews or soups broths and most
vegetables cannot safely becanned in a water bath canner.
(13:22):
With water bath canning.
We have to have the presence ofsome sort of acid in order to
make it safe for longtermpreservation and when we combine
acid plus heat and the rightlevels of acid, that gives us a
jar of food that is safe to beprocessed in a water bath canner
and kept on the shelf for many,many months.
(13:42):
Now obviously low acid foodsdon't have that proper level of
acid, which is why a pressurecanner is required in order to
make sure they're heated to highenough temperatures to kill any
potential botulism spores inthat food.
Now botulism, believe it or not,I actually think is a pretty
interesting topic, so we'regoing to dive into that on a
(14:05):
future episode.
But just for now, I want you toremember if a recipe specifies
pressure canner, use a pressurecanner.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Okay, mistake number three would be changing recipes
or adding ingredients to arecipe.
Now I am the queen of recipeadjustments and tweaks and ad
libbing at any other time in mykitchen.
I never hardly ever make arecipe as it's written unless
(14:39):
I'm canning.
When I'm canning, I follow it asis the reason for this being.
If you get creative and startremoving ingredients or adding
extra ingredients to differentrecipes, you can actually throw
off the balance of acid whichmay make a recipe that
previously could be safely orwater bath canned no longer safe
(15:04):
for that sort of processingmethod.
So for example, the ball bluebook, which is a book I use a
lot to help me stay on trackwith safe canning methods, has a
recipe for home canned salsa andit allows you to use a water
bath canner, which is great.
It's easy, it's simple and Iusually always have salsa
(15:25):
ingredients in the garden.
Now if I decided to get creativeand let's say the recipe calls
for two cups of vinegar in thesalsa and I am like, you know, I
don't really like vinegar, I'mjust going to leave it out.
That is going to reduce theacidity level of that salsa and
it will no longer be a high acidfood that I can safely can in my
(15:49):
water bath canner.
So in that case, I'm going tohave to move to a pressure
canner and it's probably gonnamake it a little mushier.
And so it just throws everythingoff.
So the ratios of ingredients arethere for a reason, especially
with water bath canning.
Now there are a few exceptions.
You can safely adjust the amountof salt in a recipe without
(16:12):
issue because salt is not thereto act as a preserver.
It's just there for flavor.
So if you want to add anotherteaspoon of salt or take out a
teaspoon of salt, that isperfectly legal, it won't hurt
the recipe.
Let also, the same goes fordried herbs.
You want to add more Oregano tothat tomato sauce or a few
handfuls of time and to whateverelse that is not going to hurt
(16:35):
anything.
It's just when you get intoadjusting the ratios of those
high acid or low acidingredients that you need to be
really, really careful.
We're rolling right along intomistake number four and that
would be not paying attention tohead space.
(16:58):
Now I've had plenty of nonsealling jars in my lifetime and
I'd say almost all of them I canattribute to improper headspace.
So all of your canning recipesand you're using approved
recipes, which I alwaysrecommend, will specify
headspace and this is simplyjust the amount of space left at
(17:18):
the top of the jar after you getdone filling it with food, it
ranges from one inch to aquarter inch and it will differ
for whatever you're canning.
Now I'm not saying younecessarily have to get a ruler
and measure it down to a 16th ofa centimeter, but you want to be
sure you're in that range andthat ballpark of the recommended
(17:42):
headspace with, if you don't payattention to this, it's going to
probably cause you a lot ofissue with lids not sealing,
which is a big pain because itreally negates the whole reason
you can do the food in the firstplace, which is to have a seal
jar of food that you can sit onthe shelf.
Thankfully, headspace is really,really easy to address.
(18:05):
Just check it after you end upfilling the jars, make sure you
remove those air bubbles, whichcan cause a false headspace
before you put the lids on andyou should be safe and good to
go.
Alrighty.
The last mistake I see a lot ofcanners making or maybe thinking
(18:26):
about making are using the wrongjars or wrong lids.
I get this question a lotbecause many of you are just as
in love with repurposed thingsand recycled things.
As I am now, I am a sucker forsay, saving glass jars that food
(18:48):
comes in, whether it's, youknow, tomato sauce or different
things I might get at thegrocery store.
I love to repurpose those jarsand use them for food storage
and other ways, but don't usethose repurpose jars for
canning.
They're generally the lids don'tfit on them the right way.
They're not going to be able toseal down appropriately.
(19:08):
You might have a little issue ifyou're trying to put a ring and
a lid on a different jar, you'renot going to have the right fit.
It's just not worth theheadache.
Not to mention some of the glassof those jars may not be
designed for the high heat thatis associated with canning and
(19:29):
you might have higher incidentsof breakage, which is just like
the worst thing.
It's not the end of the world,but like my stomach always sinks
when I hear that crack in thecanner and I opened the lid and
there's floaties of food inthere.
It's just a waste and it's messyand you just don't want to do
that after you spend all thattime preparing the food and
(19:50):
putting it in the jars.
So stick with official canningjars, which thankfully are not
expensive and can totally bereused or found at garage sales
or secondhand stores, but thatwill save you a lot of headache
and wasted food in the long run.
(20:10):
So in a nutshell, the wrappingeverything up, canning is not as
complicated as you may think.
It's actually a really, reallyenjoyable skill once you get the
hang of it and can create a lotof high quality homegrown food
for you and your familythroughout the winter months
when the garden isn't producing.
(20:33):
Now, if your head is spinningwith all the details and the
numbers and the processes I justshared, I have got you covered.
I actually created a full ebookthat contains everything, need
to know about learning how tocan safely without the headache.
It has recipes, tutorials,step-by-step processes.
(20:57):
It's literally like me being inyour kitchen with you as you get
started and everything inbetween.
Go to www.learnhowtocan.com forall the details and some bonus
goodies as well.
And that's it for this episode.
(21:17):
Thanks for listening.
I wish you all the best in yourupcoming canning adventures and
I would love it so much.
If you could just take a minuteand leave me a quick review over
on iTunes.
That's all for now, but I can'twait to chat with you on the
next episode of the oldfashioned on purpose podcast.
Welcome to the old fashioned on purpose podcasts.
In today's episode, we're divinginto all things canning and
we're going to talk about someof the biggest mistakes that I
see people making when theystart to learn how to can foods
at home.
If you have any sort of desireto start canning or maybe you've
(00:22):
already been dabbling in it andyou just want to make sure
you're on the right track, thisis the information you can't
afford to skip because it'sgoing to help you keep your
family safe and avoid waste.
I'm your host Jill winger, andfor the last 10 years I've been
helping people just like you whofeel uninspired by modern life,
(00:47):
learn how to leave the rat raceand create the life they really
want by growing their own foodand mastering old fashioned
skills.
At the time of this recording,the garden is in full swing.
Everything's planted.
We're in that phase where it'sjust about watering and weeding,
(01:08):
but I know better than to belulled to sleep right now
because just around the corner,about a month and a half or so,
it's going to be time to startharvesting.
And that's where things alwaysget a little bit crazy on the
homestead.
We'll have buckets of tomatoescoming in, potatoes, green
(01:30):
beans, cucumbers, you know, it'sway more than we can eat during
a given week and ya got to dosomething with it so it doesn't
go to waste.
Food preservation is a huge partof homesteading, whether you
grow your own food or you'rejust capitalizing on local
producers or farmers markets.
(01:52):
Being able to preserve theharvest for later in the year is
a valuable skill and it's reallyfollowing in the footsteps of
our ancestors who wouldn't havehad easily accessible produce at
the grocery store year around.
I've done a lot of differentpreservation methods over the
(02:14):
years and I still would say Iuse most of them at different
times depending on what sort ofproduce I have available.
But you know, everything fromfreezing and fermentation,
dehydration and of coursecanning, they all play a role in
how we stock up the food for thewinter or at least make sure our
(02:36):
garden work doesn't go to waste.
And I think out of all thosemethods, canning is the one that
I turn to time and time again askind of a favorite actually.
And I just love that it doesn'tclog up the freezer because you
know, we raise our own beef.
So freezer space is always at apremium and trying to cram bags
(03:01):
of green beans and between allof the roasts and the steaks is
kind of a pain.
So whenever I can preserve foodwithout needing to clog up the
freezer, I am in love.
And I also like how it preservesthe nutrients of the food.
Interestingly enough, canningcan actually do a little better
(03:23):
job than dehydration or evenlongterm freezing in regards to
capturing more of the nutrientswhile that food is at its peak.
So for me it's a win win.
I think it's something that isvery worthwhile for you to add
into your homestead kitchensskill collection.
(03:47):
Now believe it or not, thismight come as a shock.
There was a little bit ofcontroversy around canning
sometimes, and most of thisstems from methods and
techniques because you know,canning has been around for a
while now and over the yearsrecommendations and safety
(04:12):
measures have evolved andsometimes folks are drawn to
using more of the old fashionedmethods when they're actually
not super safe.
So in today's episode, I'm gonnadive in to the top five canning
mistakes I see people make andhow you can avoid them, not only
(04:34):
to help keep your family safe soyou're not creating dangerous
food that has different bacteriain it that could be harmful.
But also just to help you avoidwasting food by having food that
spoils or you know, ends upgoing bad on the shelf.
Okay, so mistake number one,this is a big one and it is
(04:57):
using old or unapproved canningmethods.
Now, this might come as asurprise to some of you because
I'm kind of known as the girlwho loves all things old
fashioned and vintage.
But when it comes to canningtechniques, I actually stick
close to modern recommendationsand here's why.
(05:20):
There are different methods toget food into jars and to seal
it.
And many of these methods havebeen used for decades, maybe
even by your own family membersto preserve food.
And it's very likely that thefood was preserved without
issue.
(05:40):
However, as technology advancesand science advances, we've come
to understand more aboutbacteria and food safety.
And that's why there areorganizations like the National
Center for food preservation orthe usda that produce these home
(06:02):
canning guidelines.
The purpose of these guidelinesis not to limit what you can do
in the kitchen or it's not thegovernment, you know, trying to
metal in your food supply.
It's none of those things.
It's really truly just to keepyour food safe.
Because while some folks back inthe day got away with using
(06:24):
unsafe canning methods, a lot offolks didn't.
And there were cases ofbotulism, which is a very
serious bacteria and foodpoisoning and a lot of illness
related to home canned foods.
And most of it was because folksdidn't understand bacteria and
contamination and all of thatfun sciency stuff.
(06:47):
But now that we know better, wehave updated recommendations and
it is in your best interest tofollow those recommendations
whenever it you start canning.
So this is kind of funny, I hadto share some of these.
I was doing some looking onlineabout old fashioned canning
methods.
I can't believe people use someof these.
(07:09):
Okay.
This is funny.
I just have to share and I, I'mdoubting that a lot of people
did this.
Maybe they did, but this is fun.
One of the old fashioned methodsthat I do not recommend you use
is compost canning.
Yes.
I said compost canning.
So you would take a jar, putfood in it, put the lids on,
(07:32):
stick the jars in the middle ofa compost pile.
With the theory being that hasthe compost decomposes and heats
up, it's going to heat the jarssufficiently to seal the jar and
preserve the food.
I feel like I don't need to gointo a lot of detail as to why
(07:52):
this is a horrible idea, butdon't do that.
Two other methods that are maybenot as far out there but still
very sketchy are dishwashercanning and microwave canning.
This is similar to the compostcanning and that you put the
food in the jar, put the lid onit, and then use the dishwasher
(08:16):
or the microwave to heat thatjar up to a point where it seals
again, not a good idea.
Mostly because those appliancescannot and will not heat the
food to a high enoughtemperature.
Oh, so I don't know about you,but every time I've put a
tightly sealed container of foodin the microwave doesn't usually
(08:39):
end well.
So yeah, don't try those either.
Now these last two methodsaren't quite as outrageous.
They're actually more common.
And I've seen a number of folksonline, you know, because the
Internet recommended thesemethods and I'm just going to
advise you, yes, it's a freecountry and you have ultimate
(09:01):
choice over what you do in yourkitchen.
But I would highly recommend youavoid these methods no matter
what people on the Internet say.
And these are inversion canningand open kettle canning.
So inversion canning isprimarily used with jams and
jellies.
It's actually fairly common andit's where folks take a jar,
(09:26):
fill it with hot jelly or jamthat's been simmering on the
stove, screw the lids on andthen flip the jar upside down
and leave it on the counter.
The theory is that the jars sealand they often do and it's good
to go.
You can eat it whenever youwant.
The issue with this method, eventhough it technically usually
(09:50):
seals the jars, is that the jarsare never heated enough at a
high enough temperature to killany potential contaminants
inside the jar.
And this is an important sidenote here.
There are people who have gottenaway with any of these methods
(10:10):
at any point in time and theyhaven't died and nobody got sick
and all was well.
Just because someone had a goodexperience with this method
doesn't mean that you should tryit.
There's just a much higher riskinvolved, which is why inversion
canning is not recommended byany of the canning authorities
anymore.
(10:32):
The other one that kind of goesalong this same line is open
kettle canning.
Now this is where you would takethe hot food and put it in a jar
or maybe simmer the food in thejars on the stove top for a few
minutes.
Put the lid on and call it good.
Now, some of you have may haveaccidentally done this before
(10:52):
without even actually trying tocan.
There have been times when I'vehad a little bit of extra tomato
sauce or salsa that's beenheating on the stove and I just
need to store it, you know?
So I'll take an a mason jar, putan old lid on top and low and
behold they heat from that hotfood will cause the jar to seal.
(11:14):
Just because it seals thoughdoes not make it shelf stable
doesn't mean it's bad or it'swrong.
You just want to still eat thatfood within a few days or
whatever the normal range wouldbe for whatever's in the jar.
So a seal does not equate tolongterm shelf stability.
(11:34):
I just want you to keep that inmind.
And I know for me, when I havemy beautiful home canned foods
on the shelf, I don't want tohave that nagging doubt in the
back of my mind that, oh, whatif it's not that safe?
You know, I don't want to haveto worry when feeding it to my
family.
(11:54):
If we're all gonna have bellyaches 24 hours later or worse.
That feels like playing Russianroulette to me.
And I would much rather havethose jars on my shelf and have
full confidence that we havenothing to worry about because
all of the rules and steps werefollowed.
Okay, so mistake number two thata lot of new canners make is
(12:19):
attempting to use a water bathcanner when a pressure canner is
called for now this is temptingbecause pressure canners can be
a little bit of an investmentanywhere from like 80 to$200
depending on the model.
And so let's say you have somefood you really want to
preserve.
The recipe says use a pressurecanner.
(12:39):
You don't want to fork out thecash, so you try to figure out
how to work around it and useyour water bath pot instead.
As tempting as it is, you reallywant to avoid doing this because
when a recipe calls for the useof a specific canner, it's there
for a reason and generally whena pressure canner is called for,
(13:02):
it's because the food that isbeing canned is a low acid food
and low acid foods like meats,stews or soups broths and most
vegetables cannot safely becanned in a water bath canner.
(13:22):
With water bath canning.
We have to have the presence ofsome sort of acid in order to
make it safe for longtermpreservation and when we combine
acid plus heat and the rightlevels of acid, that gives us a
jar of food that is safe to beprocessed in a water bath canner
and kept on the shelf for many,many months.
(13:42):
Now obviously low acid foodsdon't have that proper level of
acid, which is why a pressurecanner is required in order to
make sure they're heated to highenough temperatures to kill any
potential botulism spores inthat food.
Now botulism, believe it or not,I actually think is a pretty
interesting topic, so we'regoing to dive into that on a
(14:05):
future episode.
But just for now, I want you toremember if a recipe specifies
pressure canner, use a pressurecanner.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Okay, mistake number three would be changing recipes
or adding ingredients to arecipe.
Now I am the queen of recipeadjustments and tweaks and ad
libbing at any other time in mykitchen.
I never hardly ever make arecipe as it's written unless
(14:39):
I'm canning.
When I'm canning, I follow it asis the reason for this being.
If you get creative and startremoving ingredients or adding
extra ingredients to differentrecipes, you can actually throw
off the balance of acid whichmay make a recipe that
previously could be safely orwater bath canned no longer safe
(15:04):
for that sort of processingmethod.
So for example, the ball bluebook, which is a book I use a
lot to help me stay on trackwith safe canning methods, has a
recipe for home canned salsa andit allows you to use a water
bath canner, which is great.
It's easy, it's simple and Iusually always have salsa
(15:25):
ingredients in the garden.
Now if I decided to get creativeand let's say the recipe calls
for two cups of vinegar in thesalsa and I am like, you know, I
don't really like vinegar, I'mjust going to leave it out.
That is going to reduce theacidity level of that salsa and
it will no longer be a high acidfood that I can safely can in my
(15:49):
water bath canner.
So in that case, I'm going tohave to move to a pressure
canner and it's probably gonnamake it a little mushier.
And so it just throws everythingoff.
So the ratios of ingredients arethere for a reason, especially
with water bath canning.
Now there are a few exceptions.
You can safely adjust the amountof salt in a recipe without
(16:12):
issue because salt is not thereto act as a preserver.
It's just there for flavor.
So if you want to add anotherteaspoon of salt or take out a
teaspoon of salt, that isperfectly legal, it won't hurt
the recipe.
Let also, the same goes fordried herbs.
You want to add more Oregano tothat tomato sauce or a few
handfuls of time and to whateverelse that is not going to hurt
(16:35):
anything.
It's just when you get intoadjusting the ratios of those
high acid or low acidingredients that you need to be
really, really careful.
We're rolling right along intomistake number four and that
would be not paying attention tohead space.
(16:58):
Now I've had plenty of nonsealling jars in my lifetime and
I'd say almost all of them I canattribute to improper headspace.
So all of your canning recipesand you're using approved
recipes, which I alwaysrecommend, will specify
headspace and this is simplyjust the amount of space left at
(17:18):
the top of the jar after you getdone filling it with food, it
ranges from one inch to aquarter inch and it will differ
for whatever you're canning.
Now I'm not saying younecessarily have to get a ruler
and measure it down to a 16th ofa centimeter, but you want to be
sure you're in that range andthat ballpark of the recommended
(17:42):
headspace with, if you don't payattention to this, it's going to
probably cause you a lot ofissue with lids not sealing,
which is a big pain because itreally negates the whole reason
you can do the food in the firstplace, which is to have a seal
jar of food that you can sit onthe shelf.
Thankfully, headspace is really,really easy to address.
(18:05):
Just check it after you end upfilling the jars, make sure you
remove those air bubbles, whichcan cause a false headspace
before you put the lids on andyou should be safe and good to
go.
Alrighty.
The last mistake I see a lot ofcanners making or maybe thinking
(18:26):
about making are using the wrongjars or wrong lids.
I get this question a lotbecause many of you are just as
in love with repurposed thingsand recycled things.
As I am now, I am a sucker forsay, saving glass jars that food
(18:48):
comes in, whether it's, youknow, tomato sauce or different
things I might get at thegrocery store.
I love to repurpose those jarsand use them for food storage
and other ways, but don't usethose repurpose jars for
canning.
They're generally the lids don'tfit on them the right way.
They're not going to be able toseal down appropriately.
(19:08):
You might have a little issue ifyou're trying to put a ring and
a lid on a different jar, you'renot going to have the right fit.
It's just not worth theheadache.
Not to mention some of the glassof those jars may not be
designed for the high heat thatis associated with canning and
(19:29):
you might have higher incidentsof breakage, which is just like
the worst thing.
It's not the end of the world,but like my stomach always sinks
when I hear that crack in thecanner and I opened the lid and
there's floaties of food inthere.
It's just a waste and it's messyand you just don't want to do
that after you spend all thattime preparing the food and
(19:50):
putting it in the jars.
So stick with official canningjars, which thankfully are not
expensive and can totally bereused or found at garage sales
or secondhand stores, but thatwill save you a lot of headache
and wasted food in the long run.
(20:10):
So in a nutshell, the wrappingeverything up, canning is not as
complicated as you may think.
It's actually a really, reallyenjoyable skill once you get the
hang of it and can create a lotof high quality homegrown food
for you and your familythroughout the winter months
when the garden isn't producing.
(20:33):
Now, if your head is spinningwith all the details and the
numbers and the processes I justshared, I have got you covered.
I actually created a full ebookthat contains everything, need
to know about learning how tocan safely without the headache.
It has recipes, tutorials,step-by-step processes.
(20:57):
It's literally like me being inyour kitchen with you as you get
started and everything inbetween.
Go to www.learnhowtocan.com forall the details and some bonus
goodies as well.
And that's it for this episode.
(21:17):
Thanks for listening.
I wish you all the best in yourupcoming canning adventures and
I would love it so much.
If you could just take a minuteand leave me a quick review over
on iTunes.
That's all for now, but I can'twait to chat with you on the
next episode of the oldfashioned on purpose podcast.
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