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Updated Canning "Rules"? - Calling Violet! :)


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Hi there, :wave:

 

Realizing it's been a couple of years since I took my Master's Class in Food Preservation - I'm curious now about any 'new' regs like the adding of lemon juice to tomatoes, etc.

 

Has there been anything noteworthy that we should know? I'm being asked to teach a handful of friends this summer and want to make sure I'm all up to date. :)

 

Thanks!

:happy0203:

 

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The only thing I can think of and not sure if it was taught then is the extra 5 min. wait on a BWB canner after the processing time. Then, the extra 10 min. wait on PCing.

You remove the lid on the BWB after the time is up, but wait 5 additional minutes before removing jars from canner.

With the PC you do not remove the lid at first, you just remove the weight or counterweight, leave the lid tightened on, then set the timer for an additional 10 min. before you open the lid and remove the jars.

This helps with the issue of siphoning.

 

Sandy is also saying fruit butters are not recommended due to the density, but I have not personally seen any info stating that. It is still on the Univ. of Georgia website. I would need to find more concrete information before I make the statement they are not recommended for canning.

 

I think one of the biggest ongoing misconceptions is that you can use Clear jel for thickening broth before canning. People argue that since Clear jel is for thickening foods before canning, that it includes low acid things. It is not, of course. Same for salsas. People think it is Ok to thicken salsa with Clear jel before canning. Just pie filling and jams are the only thickened foods still.

 

The verdict is not out on the Tattler lids. We have some concerns since you tighten them down after processing. We are not sure that it is allowing for a true vacuum seal. Air may still be in the jars with those lids. Plus, we are not sure about the formaldehyde in the lids being released when heated.

The Ball, kerr, Golden Harvest no longer have any BPA in the lids.

I know I tried some Tattler. You can get a false seal with them. I know I had that issue. They seemed sealed, but later were unsealed in my pantry. I only tried on jam as I did not want to risk on low acid foods.

To me they are too expensive to buy as many as I would have to own. Plus, if they stop making the gaskets again like they did in years past, you are stuck with expensive plastic lids.

 

 

If I think of anything else I will let you know.

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I think CrazyforCanning knows that part, but a good reminder. She took the course from my boss and me a couple years ago. That is how I met her.

It was funny, though, she posted here that she was going to take a course, then come to find out it was the one I was helping to teach !

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Ambergris, I think the texture will still be an issue, for I've done it. I'll eat them, but they are far from being at the top of my list for dinner. Good to have on hand in case of emergency, but that's it in my book. :)

Jeepers - yes - you dont' need to boil Pressure Canned food. That is an 'old rule'. Why is it safe? You've already cooked and sealed whatever is in the jar. Imagine my eyeballs popping out of my head when Violet opened a jar of meat *in class*, fishes it out of the jar and tastes it. The logic was sound - and as long as you hear the seal break (that 'schnnnick' sound) when you open the jar, you're fine. I can't tell you how great it is to open a pint of chicken and toss it into chicken salad or something else I've pressure canned and know it's safe enough to eat right out of the jar. It's part of the reason why I preserve food. :)

 

Remember, you don't have this issue with Water Bath Canning, for those are all higher acid foods. You open a jar of peaches and eat it, right? Same thing with Pressure Canning. It truly is safe.

 

Yes - I did meet Violet when she and her boss taught a Master's of Food Preserving course a few years ago. It was great. I walked in and she greeted me with this huge smile, "Are you crazy for canning?" We had a good laugh and became fast friends. :) I learned so much from that class, it was amazing.

 

Thanks for the update Violet. I'm helping individual friends can over the course of the summer and wanted to make sure nothing major had changed.

 

I had a feeling about the Tattler lids - that's why I've not bought any yet. After my early adventures almost a decade ago of losing 2 boxes of beans to regular lids not sealing properly, I'm really hesitant to use something that might cause spoilage.

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Thanks C4C. I always wondered why 'they' said to boil food that was already sterilized in a pressure canner and not from a water bath.

 

Also, it can't be good, vitamin wise, to boil green beans etc. to death after already canning them.

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The reason for 'boiling' before eating, based on my early understanding, was to kill the poisons that sometimes occurred with (improperly) canned foods. People learned that boiling the food coming out of the container would most likely (not always) prevent whatever was making people ill or worse. They did this even for commercially canned food. The scare was very real. This was later learned to be the Botulism toxin and the survival of the C. Botulinum spore that grew the toxin.

 

I was intrigued by a recent viewing of oldie "Emergency" on TV involving a case of "Botulinum Intoxication" caused by a Stroganoff casserole.

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