Well, I just went in and changed almost all of the tags on my blogs. It seemed to me that there were too many "labels" being used, so I condensed them down to a smaller amount. I also added a search bar on the sidebar. I just went in and tested it and it seems to work.
I also found some posts that I had written, but failed to post. I went ahead and deleted one and posted the other one.
I'm also changing the layout a little bit. Just to freshen up the look of the blog. Now I hope I don't lose all my past posts!
Hope you like the changes.
The crazy world of a former homeschool mama whose babies are young adults. Come learn about baking bread, Once-a-month/bulk cooking, making soap, sewing, self-sufficiency, what food storage is and how to start your own. What a 72 hr kit is and how to create one. I'm not an expert but I have been doing most of these skills for a long time. I like to be as self-sufficient as I can. I love learning new skills or ways of doing things at home instead of having to buy at the store. Come join me.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Are you canning food or just sealing your jars?
Time for a post on the difference between CANNING food and meerly sealing the jar (making it "ping" and the lid button go down.)
I just read a blog about canning and someone commented that they had an easier way to "can" salsa. Instead of putting the jars into boiling water (or using a dishwasher on the "sanitize" setting and keep them in there and hot), they put them on a tray in a 250 deg oven. They made up the uncooked salsa then put it into the jars, popped a lid and ring on, closed the jars and put the jars back into the 250 degree oven for 10 minutes?!??!!! That salsa wasn't even brought to a boil before it was "canned"!
Here is the comment that I left. Hopefully, others will see this on the blog in question and not try the suggestion of the other commenter.
re:xxxx's comment:
DO NOT USE THIS METHOD!
I took a Master Home Preserver course from the local extension office. One thing people don't seem to understand is the difference between a "sealed" jar and a "canned" jar.
ANY jar of hot food with a sound, dry, chip-free lip and a new lid put on it will normally SEAL. The heat will cause the compound to soften and when the pressure in the jar drops as the food cools, the lid will "ping" and the jar is SEALED. That does NOT mean the food is "safe". All it means is that the mechanical part of "sealing" has been done. This does NOT mean that there is no bacteria in the food, only that the jar lid is "glued" to the jar itself. Which means that any bacteria that is anaerobic (doesn't need oxygen)can multiply and poison you. Can we all spell botulism? These types of instructions are what give canning its bad name. People think the jar is "canned" after all, the lid "pinged" and then eat food that makes them sick.
CANNING is where you prepare food, put it in a jar, put a hot lid on a hot, sterilized jar and then HEAT THE FOOD IN THE JAR in a canner or pressure canner for a specific amount of time and in a specific way so that any bacteria that was in the food is killed. Acidic food can be "water bathed", any other foods need to be pressure canned with a pressure CANNER, not a pressure COOKER. (a big difference having to do with size of pot and amount of time not being correct for "caning" in a cooker.)
Water boils at 212 degrees, but it takes either an acid environment OR 240-260 degrees to kill some types of common bacteria, bacteria that are found in the normal environment that doesn't hurt us as long as the bacteria has to deal with oxygen. However, when we seal a jar, then the oxygen is gone and the bacteria multiplies and when it does, it excretes toxins. It's not the bacteria that kills or sickens you, it's the toxins that the bacteria releases. The only way to get water above 212 deg. is to put it under pressure - hence pressure canning.
Remember that we put meat in a 350 degree oven for several hours and only have meat that gets to about 190 degrees. Stuff put in a 250 degree oven for 10 mins doesn't get even CLOSE to 212 degrees, unless it was put in boiling first. But that STILL doesn't do the trick. Remember that in a water bath, 212 deg water is under, around and over the jars for 20-30 MINUTES FOR ACID foods ONLY. You should not even think about water bathing non-acid foods. Here again, yes, you CAN make the lids "ping", but it's STILL NOT safe!
Hopefully, at least the person who owns the blog and said she was going to try this method will read the post and chose to not try the oven "method of canning".
I just read a blog about canning and someone commented that they had an easier way to "can" salsa. Instead of putting the jars into boiling water (or using a dishwasher on the "sanitize" setting and keep them in there and hot), they put them on a tray in a 250 deg oven. They made up the uncooked salsa then put it into the jars, popped a lid and ring on, closed the jars and put the jars back into the 250 degree oven for 10 minutes?!??!!! That salsa wasn't even brought to a boil before it was "canned"!
Here is the comment that I left. Hopefully, others will see this on the blog in question and not try the suggestion of the other commenter.
re:xxxx's comment:
DO NOT USE THIS METHOD!
I took a Master Home Preserver course from the local extension office. One thing people don't seem to understand is the difference between a "sealed" jar and a "canned" jar.
ANY jar of hot food with a sound, dry, chip-free lip and a new lid put on it will normally SEAL. The heat will cause the compound to soften and when the pressure in the jar drops as the food cools, the lid will "ping" and the jar is SEALED. That does NOT mean the food is "safe". All it means is that the mechanical part of "sealing" has been done. This does NOT mean that there is no bacteria in the food, only that the jar lid is "glued" to the jar itself. Which means that any bacteria that is anaerobic (doesn't need oxygen)can multiply and poison you. Can we all spell botulism? These types of instructions are what give canning its bad name. People think the jar is "canned" after all, the lid "pinged" and then eat food that makes them sick.
CANNING is where you prepare food, put it in a jar, put a hot lid on a hot, sterilized jar and then HEAT THE FOOD IN THE JAR in a canner or pressure canner for a specific amount of time and in a specific way so that any bacteria that was in the food is killed. Acidic food can be "water bathed", any other foods need to be pressure canned with a pressure CANNER, not a pressure COOKER. (a big difference having to do with size of pot and amount of time not being correct for "caning" in a cooker.)
Water boils at 212 degrees, but it takes either an acid environment OR 240-260 degrees to kill some types of common bacteria, bacteria that are found in the normal environment that doesn't hurt us as long as the bacteria has to deal with oxygen. However, when we seal a jar, then the oxygen is gone and the bacteria multiplies and when it does, it excretes toxins. It's not the bacteria that kills or sickens you, it's the toxins that the bacteria releases. The only way to get water above 212 deg. is to put it under pressure - hence pressure canning.
Remember that we put meat in a 350 degree oven for several hours and only have meat that gets to about 190 degrees. Stuff put in a 250 degree oven for 10 mins doesn't get even CLOSE to 212 degrees, unless it was put in boiling first. But that STILL doesn't do the trick. Remember that in a water bath, 212 deg water is under, around and over the jars for 20-30 MINUTES FOR ACID foods ONLY. You should not even think about water bathing non-acid foods. Here again, yes, you CAN make the lids "ping", but it's STILL NOT safe!
Hopefully, at least the person who owns the blog and said she was going to try this method will read the post and chose to not try the oven "method of canning".
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