Need help learning to can and preseve

[dddct]

thank you Pat. I was starting to think that that may be the case because I did everything to the letter. I did take one out of the bath and push the lid down...I didn't take it off but just pushed it down and put the ring back on..

So I guess I will wait until later to see. I heard that I should take the ring off when they cool and wipe the rim and check to make sure it sealed then put the ring back on and store. I will definately store all of these in the fridge since it was my first batch.

Sorry to interrupt lunch..lol..

 

[dddct]

sorry farmfresh i din't see your post. I can't believe what a panic I got myself in...and I'm not usually a drama queen. My hubby is hiding because I've been such a nut.

I will wait til they cool and wipe the rims. Someone else had told me to do that too. I know it will get easier with each batch. Heck at least now I know to let them cool before freaking out lol

I want to be self-reliant I want to be self-reliant I want to self-reliant. I have to remind myself that this is so much better than going to Stop and Shop.

 

[Farmfresh]

You should buy some of the plastic jar lids available from Ball.

These are NOT for preserving, but they are great for putting on a opened jar of pickled eggs when you eat a few and pop the rest into the fridge for later!

Again - I would take OFF the rings after the seal is made. They tend to rust and will actually break the seal of well sealed jars in the process.

Be brave! I really had no one to teach me - just books.

YOU CAN DO IT!

Jelly is next!

 

[dddct]

Jelly is next

 

[Carolyn]

I am very hesitant to post--I did post in the beginning, tbut hten hesitated. If a lot of homesteading forums for most canning posts--I have been called an idiot and stupid(not here). However I would not feel right if I didn't say something--I may never say it again LOL. first of all I am 54 yrs old, have a degree in Home EC Ed, I have canned with my mother, my grandmother and by myself for the last 34 yrs. I do follow the strict guidlines of canning, in the past our mothers and grandmothers did the best they could with the knowledge they had. We know better!! Many recipes and techniques have been tested and changed. Many people did die the past of food poisoning, called it something else. People out in the country by themselves or homesteading didn't know what they died of. Food poisoning results in severe vomiting and diarriaha(ohh spelling-) in those days they were buried, no autopsies, who really knew what people died of. Here if you walk through cemetaries, we find--died of stomach ailments or broken heart (heart attack ??) Soil is different, our food is now "less acidic", vinegar is different. Germs and viruses are different than they were in the past, they are becoming resistant - MRSA for one. If I walk across a wet floor or have water spilled and slip in it--I am taking that chance. Would I drive a car without brakes in town on a busy street, knowing it didn't have brakes--no. Although some of the old time doctors have good knowledge, I have had 8 surgeries and I sure wouldn't want to have surgery with the knowledge they had in the 30's, 40's--or even in the 60's. Commercial canning is completely different because they have special equipment and heating techniques that we don't have as home canners. Eggs are not recommended to be canned because there isn't enough research done on it--when I make my pickles, beet, dill and sweet pickles, I will hard cook eggs and put them in the juice in the frig. If I am to be SS and homesteading, the last thing I want to deal with is food poisoning, especially if I know what I am doing could be dangerous and could kill someone, I have other things to worry about. I know there are a lot of people that say that they do it and it hasn't killed anyone yet, but why take the chance--my family is way tooo important to me. If you get the Ball Blue Book, for a homesteader -Stocking Up (I think it is version IV now) is an excellent book. There are many home canning groups online also with fantastic recipes. Just follow the directions and you will do great. I am sorry that I am ranting and raving--but I have "gut feelings" and my "gut feeling" tells me there is something wrong somewhere, ( not necessarily world wide or nation wide), it is just there and I am very anxious right now, this just happened to pop up and it is a passion of mine. Please forgive me if I have stepped on toes--I didn't mean to-- but I am very agitated ( can you tell :/). Well have good afternoon. Carolyn

 

[Henrietta23]

I just dug out my old copy of Putting Food By. It seems to have some good info in it!

 

[patandchickens]

For whatever it's worth, FDA data indicate that about 90% of the foodborne botulism cases between 1976-1985 were due to home-canned foods; the other FDA dataset I could easily find, for the year 2006, has a much smaller %ge due to home canned products, but then it is likely that a lot less home canning is going *on* in 2006 either

According to a Washington State University webpage, " Before 1950, fatality rates from botulism were about 50%, but with availability of antitoxin and modern respiratory support systems, the death rate has decreased to about 10%. "

One thing to consider is that it used to be pretty commonplace to boil yer home-canned vegetables and meat (like, boil hard) for 10-20 minutes before serving. This is sufficient to inactivate the botulinum toxin, at least as long as it is a HARD boil on not too thick objects and not too much botulinum toxin there in the first place.

The problem with 'oh, people used to can things the old ways and did not die of it all that often' is twofold, as I see it. One, my impression is that it was NOT especially rare to die of it, it just wasn't noteworthy like having a cattle rustler in the family tree would be; and two, THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. If a person has an old family recipe or canning protocol that has been handed down, mother to daughter, for generations, and proved itself pretty safe, that is one thing; but winging it, even with someone else's written recipe, is a little different, because you cannot necessarily count on it to mention CRUCIAL details like 'what size eggs', 'boil the food hard for X minutes before you eat it out of the stored jar', 'don't put big chunks in', 'it works marginally ok at sealevel but no guarantees at 3000 ft elevation', etc etc etc. There are an awful lot of things you might not think would matter, but do.

It is hard to go seriously wrong with jams/jellies/preserves/marmalades, or with canning acidic fruits, or with pickling vegetables and fruits (assuming you use appropriate vinegar and follow directions). If you mess up, you get spoiled food that the vast majority fo times will be quite recognizeable as spoiled so you will know not to eat it All you've lost is a bit of produce and a canning lid. You can't get botulism out of these things unless you stray really far from recipes.

The more problematic items are solid-ish things, especially proteinaceous ones like meat, poultry, fish, eggs but also including solid-ish purees such as mashed pumpkin or highly thickened soups or whatever. (Mushrooms are also considered a higher risk for botulism; supposedly they can have a much higher Clostridium spore load and cannot effectively be washed nearly as well as other vegetables).

The difficulty is that even if you use the right size container, and follow a recipe, and use your pressure canner correctly, the thickness of the items means that SOMETIMES there are spots inside that do not get held hot enough for long enough, and Clostridium spores can survive and then multiply and produce toxins in the can sitting on the shelf. Usually this will be accompanied by the food being detectably spoiled (but some people get themselves sick by tasting it anyhow... don't do that) but not *always*. Given that botulism is a legitimate serious problem if you do get it, the fact that you can't always see it coming is kind of a real issue.

How much you stress on using only the most up-to-date recipes/recommendations is a personal choice, I think (particularly if you're only eating the food yourself, not serving it to others). Every few years the recommendations are 'improved' slightly to eliminate less and less common sources of problems. It is kind of an individual decision how much risk you are okay with.

Nonetheless. Demonstrably people do sometimes get sick from home canned food, both historically and today. (AFAIK it is most often from using older recipes and/or with details done unwisely or incorrectly, or from tasting spoiled food... but some cases *are* from people who have followed relatively modern recipes and done nothing massively stupid or wrong).

To the extent that a person is concerned about the possibility of food poisoning (be it garden variety or botulism), they should stick to the most up to date recipes and recommendations.

(Which, as Carolyn says, do *not* include storing pickled eggs unrefrigerated)

JMHO,

Pat

 

[dddct]

OK I just had come in from the ledge and was pretty confident that all had gone well and I have to say, Carolyn scared the poop outta me. I know you were trying to offer words of wisdom but geesh. I am thinking now that I should stick with Stop and Shop canned foods and hope for the best with coming times and all. Theres gotta be a better way to reassure someone just learning to can than that IMO.

 

[Carolyn]

OHHHH I am soooo sorry. I didn't mean to scare anyone--I really got off to a bad start here :/. You can do it, it isn't hard--you will need the experience and knowledge!! Just follow the directions. Even after years of canning, I still look at the directions to review them. I should have kept my mouth shut--especially when I feel this way--Please Please forgive me!! and keep on canning--it just bothers me when I hear that it didn't kill my grandparents, so it won't kill us. Look at all the store bought foods that have been taken off the shelf --- home canned is so much safer as long as you follow the directions. I shouldn't have ranted sooo much. Good luck--I will go back to lurking:/ . Carolyn

 

[dddct]

Oh don't lurk please jump in the deep end of the pool with me. I, like a lot of people I supect, want to be more SS but the idea scares us. I have depended on store all my life and I come from parents who, although we lived in a farming community, couldn't grow or raise a thing if their lives depended on it because they are closed to the idea. My mother thinks I am crazy for doing all this...doesn't see any need for it. I have actually offered her a few started pullets and offered to give her all the supplies to get started and she said no. So I am about as ignorant to canning and farming and gardening as anyone I know.

I did put all the pickled eggs in the fridge just to be safe. My hubby says I'm a wus and should live on the edge...funny isn't he?I'm just thankful there is a forum where people truly want to help and guide those that need experienced mentors to help along the way.