WHAT ARE YOU CANNING TODAY?

[LaurenRitz]

while it isn't generally recommended any more i've had so little problems with oven canning for what would otherwise be BWB canned items that i think more people should give it a try.

yes, you do need to know what you're doing but it really isn't that hard and there are hazards (broken jars can happen if you don't notice a crack or chip), but on the whole i've had very few problems considering how many total jars i've done over the years.

you do want a good oven that has a reliable and fairly even temperature range but nowadays i think ovens are even better in that regards than the ovens we used when i was a kid. use an oven thermometer at first to verify your temperatures at different settings.

what i really like about it is that i can fit up to 24 quarts at a time and i can also do half gallon jars (i don't recall how many of those i can fit).

i don't put the temperature above 250F, and when loading the oven at first i set it at about 215-220F. once the items are in the oven then it depends upon how many and what they are as to how long, but it's fairly hands off after setting the timer.

i'm pretty sure it saves a lot of energy not having to heat up all that water and for the cool down i open the oven and leave things in there until i get back to them. i usually don't want to do more than a single batch at a time but i do have oven mitts now that work really well for getting the jars back out of the oven (they come up to my elbows and i use both hands per jar).

From my perspective there's a huge difference between "proven unsafe" and "not sufficiently tested." Most of the old practices were never tested, and people equate that with "unsafe." Not the same thing at all.

 

[flowerbug]

From my perspective there's a huge difference between "proven unsafe" and "not sufficiently tested." Most of the old practices were never tested, and people equate that with "unsafe." Not the same thing at all.

i never do low acid canning (which to me would mean i'd have to get a pressure canner and i really don't want to deal with that) the only reason i'm doing oven canning is to get the jars to seal, so the question of the actual items to be safe is not what i worry about nearly as much as just getting the jars sealed.

 

[Mini Horses]

Yep -- both grands canned with WB. All they had. It takes longer for some items but worked well apparently as the families lived long lives! 6 & 7 kids survived ... So, some things were "untested" by a named agency. The milk cows gave untainted raw milk, too. The wild game was plentiful

 

[murphysranch]

I'm a Master Food Preserver, and I would never ever can the way my Mother did. There are so many new organisms nowadays present in food that using old methods will NOT get them denatured, killed, etc.

Just look at all the food manufacturers recalls these last 15 or so years.

Not to mention that jars and lids are of less quality than ever before. There is less "rubber" on the lids, which increases failures. Glass is way thinner and it no longer designed for the old fashioned methods used by our Mothers and Grandmothers.

 

[Mini Horses]

While this is all true, there are choices for jars & lids that offer better quality. Those new to canning may not realize this. They should investigate.