Botulism Survivor Urges Safe Canning

[Midnightmom]

The dangers of "careless" canning.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON8FEyVHE30

(ETA: I don't know why the player is not opening here.   )

 

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Utah State University Extension
“Principles of Pressure Canning” free downloadable to walk you through step by step how to safely operate a pressure canner.

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1190&context=extension_curall

Edited October 30, 2020 by Midnightmom

[Jeepers]

So basically she just water bath canned the beans. So sad. And yet many many people still use that method because "that's the way my grandma did it and she didn't die." Just because we don't often hear about botulism cases doesn't mean they don't happen. 

 

I've pushed down on an unsealed lid and then it appears to be be sealed too. I knew it wasn't but I can see how someone would think it was sealed though.

 

Thanks for posting this! 

[Littlesister]

One of the ways I make sure mine are sealed is to stand over the sink and turn the jar upside down.  The weight of the food would pop the lid if it is not sealed properly.  You should shake it a little also to make sure it is sealed.  I have had a couple of jars to come unsealed about a year or so later and have always caught it using this method also. that is why I say stand over the sink to do it.  Or you could end up cleaning a mess off the floor. 

I don't remember my grandmother ever using water canner to can beans and such.  And that was from the 1950's through the early 70's. 

[Jeepers]

My MIL taught me to water bath green beans using the water bath method. We canned them for four hours. That was in the 1970's. A lot of women did it that way as late as then. No one ever heard of a pressure canner. Or if they did, couldn't afford one. When they were done, my FIL would come in and crank down the rims.    DO NOT TRY THIS METHOD AT HOME...EVER!

 

A couple of years ago I called my local extension office to get my gauge checked. They acted like I was crazy and said they didn't do that any more. I called the extension office in the next county. They said they were only in two days a week and charged $25.00 to check it. I just forgot about it. 

 

Something I've learned to do is to tap the lid with my fingernail before I open a jar. Once you are used to the sound, it will give you a hint whether the jar has sealed or has a false seal. A sealed jar will have a ring to it. An false sealed jar will have a dull thud to it.

 

Sometime when you have a full case of canned food put a full jar in there that has just been opened. Lid still on with just the pressure released. Then tap on all of the jars with your fingernail. You should hear the difference. Not fool proof but just another tool. 

 

Once I had a jar of pickles that was sealed. As usual, I did the tap-tap method and it sounded dull. Flat. I tapped on some other jars and sure enough, the sounds were diffrent. When I opened the jar it didn't pop. I didn't even smell them. Out they went jar and all. It was only a little quarter pint jar so it was worth pitching. 

 

 

Also after my jars are cooled from the canner, I remove the rims and wash them with soapy water under the kitchen faucet. I'm not all that gentle with them either. If they don't have a good enough seal when I'm finished with them, then I want to know now. I've never had a jar unseal on me during the washing phase.