Canning Suggestions

[Hinotori]

It's not you. She thought acid in the water would raise the acid in the food in the jars. I'm still not sure what all she was thinking. She has refused to talk about it anymore.

I use vinegar to take the limescale off as well. It also works in my little sauce pan I use to hard cook 6 eggs at a time. Calcium builds up fast in it when I use it every day.

 

[Hinotori]

All those jars she insisted she had to have from my grandparents. I only got the dregs because Mom stepped in. Well actually, it's more that no one on that side of the family knew how to operate a bail jar so I got all of those. They were going to trash them. Mom didn't know how either but figured I would. A couple bucks for new rubbers and I had me more dry goods jars. I don't can in the old jars because I don't want to break them.

 

[waretrop]

So you know, It would take longer to ooze than 3 or 4 weeks, I would think if the jars were really sealed. Do you think she didn't even actually water bath them.

My old neighbor was taught by someone to put hot food in hot jars and invert them or something and they would seal y themselves. They pinged and all. I saw it. She put them in the basement on the shelves and about a month later she called me to find out what was wrong. They were oozing. In the end she had to through all her canning out for that year.

I told her all along what I did as I learned from the Moline Illinois extension office. I love them.....They didn't teach me the way she did it....That's not canning...I don't think..

 

[Hinotori]

Yeah, I'm curious what all my SIL did. It was my brother telling us about how she did it when Mom would go over for babysitting. So Mom noticed the oozing jars. I actually can't even be certain that she didn't add some meat to them.

Filling with hot food and just putting the lid and ring on is called open kettle canning. Great Grandma, Grandma, and even Mom used to do that for jams and hot grape juice, which are the only things I think it was ever recommended for. The manual with my steam juicer recommends it for juice. Mom started waterbathing jams after she found out I rarely ever have a seal fail that way. It's 5 minutes extra. Well worth it to not lose any of that work.

 

[waretrop]

Yes my grandma inverted grape juice and maybe apple sauce to seal them. They showed me and I did that for a year. As I learned I water bathed them after that. I have gone by most rules until this last year, Now I bend them a little.

 

[Beekissed]

The rules changed over the years and those who learned from the old ways will likely discount the new "rules"...and even made up new rules as they went along over the years. Like me. I can like we always have because it turns out a good product and has stood the test of time...one of those new rules is adding acid to tomatoes. Tomatoes are about as acid a vegetable that one has the occasion to can, so I can't imagine adding even MORE acid. Thousands upon thousands of tomatoes canned without additional acid would seem to prove that fact, so there will be no lemon juice adding in this house.

Last year my brother ate the last jar of canned tomatoes Mom put up in '07 and they tasted as fresh as the day they were put up.

 

[waretrop]

About 15 years ago a young wife canned for the first time. That next spring her husband got deathly sick. The health department come into her house and tested all kinds of things. They discovered it was something the young wife canned. The husband recovered and they looked into her trying to commit murder. How she is on a list, that if her canning ever gets anyone else sick that she will be looked at trying to murder someone. She will never can again nor will she eat others "home" canned foods.

I guess they look at home canning as a possible lethal weapon.

 

[Land of Lincoln]

Wow, a first time canner being investigated for possible murder is just crazy to me. Certainly hope my first experience at it doesn't go THAT awry or I'm in trouble.

 

[lcertuche]

One of those urban tales floating around, lol.

 

[waretrop]

Well I knew the woman. She is now 35 years old and will not can anything. She won't even talk about it. I said, "but if you learn correctly these things won't happen...". She said, if she ever fed anyone and they got sick and died they would look at her for murder. She said she could never take that chance and would never want to kill someone. She almost did kill her husband. He agree with her. He said he was very very sick in the hospital...

They still live in the same house in north east Pa. very near me...