Canning in a solar cooker

[dogmom4]

I just picked up this book called Eleanor's Solar Cookbook. It has a section on using your solar cooker for canning. Here is a link to what it says. http://solarcooking.org/canning1.htm can anyone tell me if they have heard of this and if it's safe? This would be a wonderful thing to be able to do this here... And I do know my solar cooker can get water in a jar boiling because I have tested it...

[PoGo]

Quote:

Canning Fruits in a Solar Box Cooker

"If I could use my SBC for only one thing, it would be for canning," says Eleanor Shimeall. "Processing in a solar cooker is much simpler than conventional methods. It takes me about 10 minutes of preparation time starting from a bowl of fresh fruit to placing the jar in the cooker. An added bonus is that the benign heat of the sun does not destroy the jewel-like colors of the fruit."

Eleanor is such an advocate of solar canning that she has been giving demonstrations in the field without benefit of kitchen facilities. She has also included a chapter on this subject in her book, Eleanor's Solar Cookbook.

She says she uses canning jars or jars such as those used by commercially prepared sauces, which have a rubber ring bonded into the inside of the screw-on cap. Normal canning jars work perfectly too.

Eleanor uses the "terminal sterilization" method: begin with clean glass jars and lids, add the fruit, dry sugar or salt, and water to fill up to the neck of the jar. You must leave space for expansion of the contents during cooking. Screw lids onto the jars as tightly as you can and place them into the solar cooker. Once the contents of the jar boils out from under the lid, the jar and contents are sterilized.

Lids with a rubber ring are made to release steam during canning. Once the correct temperature has been reached, the contents of the jar will boil and flow under the tightly screwed-on lid. Remove the jars one-by-one as each one boils over. Wipe clean, set aside away from drafts to cool down slowly. As the jar cools, the lid is pulled downward to form a vacuum seal. Check each cool jar to make sure it is sealed properly by hitting it with a spoon and listening for a clear ringing note, or gently press down on the lid making sure it doesn't move up and down. If a jar did not seal, add more liquid or another piece of fruit and reprocess. The quality will not be impaired.

Solar canning is safe for acid foods (fruits) or their juice, jams, jellies. DO NOT CAN MEATS OR VEGETABLES IN YOUR SOLAR COOKER!!! Don't even add a sprig of parsley as botulism can grow on any non-acid food!

dogmom4, this just doesn't sound safe to me. If you were using a pot of water in the solar cooker to water bath the items, and could keep a constant boil for the time required, it would be much safer.

Perhaps our resident experts will chime in with an opinion.

[Violet]

No,it is not safe. Even high acid fruits need boiling water temps. to kill molds and other spoilage microorganisms. That is not hot enough to kill bateria. Also, in a BWB canner the water comes up over the tops of the jars. That is part of the safe processing of the food.

Even a steam canner is not safe to use for canning foods, not even fruits or pickles. The solar box would be worse than a steam canner, in my opinion.

I would never recommend using this method. The ONLY safe tested and reliable methods are boiling water bath or a pressure canner for canning foods, depending upon whether they are high or low acid foods, as to which is necessary.