This is a guest post from Donna S. She graciously offered to share some of her info from her master canner’s course. I should have posted this long ago (thank you for your patience). I have changed my stance on several things about canning. I no longer can either butter or cheese as they are both low acid foods. I’m glad to have that opinion reiterated as I want us all to live to ripe old age. So here is Donna’s post. Might I just add that I cut and pasted this all by myself. WooHoo.!!!
As I mentioned, the class isn’t over yet, but I didn’t want to leave you in the dark! The first class we had was mostly food safety and freezing. I learned amazing things about botulism (which really does KILL) and other types of bacteria that the USDA has warned us about.
The most dangerous thing about canning and/or preserving food is making someone sick. I was very cavalier about canning when I started – I mean, after all, people have been doing this for hundreds of years. How hard could it be?? After sitting in the first class for 2 hours, I was ready to admit that I knew nothing and was surprised that I had been so lucky so far! Botulism is the worst culprit – mostly because it can live without oxygen and heat doesn’t kill it! So, all those tomatoes I was sooooo proud of – they might not have been acid enough to kill this bacteria! A pH of 4.6 is the thin line between pressure canning and boiling water bath canning and tomatoes can range anywhere from 4.0 to 4.8. Did I test the tomatoes I canned for my mother???? NO! She is over 80 years old and has the immune system of an 80 year old….I could have, at the very least, made her so sick she dehydrated, and the very worst, killed her!
So, the old-timers who have been canning for the past 50 years and the newcomers who are getting ready to buy their first case of ball jars, here’s my advise: get the USDA book and read it very, very carefully! Sure, no one has gotten sick yet from that garlic you put in olive oil and sit on your shelf – but the key word here is YET! It is not worth anyone’s life – especially my grandchildren – to take a chance and preserve some bacteria for them to eat! Follow the USDA guidelines. Don’t use a recipe that hasn’t been tested – especially tomatoes and low acid veggies!
Now that I have preached that particular message – class is GREAT! A lot of the stuff, I already know, because I have been canning/freezing/dehydrating a while and, believe it or not, I started with the USDA website! I didn’t have the luxury of my grandma to teach me and the only thing I can remember my mom trying to can was grape juice that fermented and exploded in storage! Initially, I just wanted to get the certificate to hang on the wall of my summer kitchen to advertise that the state of Indiana says I know what I am doing – but now, I am thankful that we have the class here and available! So far, we have done freezing, boiling water bath canning and pressure canning. next week is dehydrating, although we can’t really do any labs because of the time it takes to run something through the dehydrator. I will probably take my Excaliber so the others can see how they work.
Keep checking with Purdue University – they are trying to get a long weekend class set up (right now it is 5 8-hour days) and I believe they would take out of state applicants. It might not be until next year or longer, though. It is really tough to get people to volunteer to teach that many hours with a condensed curriculum.
July 11, 2011 at 8:01 am
I think I would enjoy that class. I did a lot with the Extension Service and the UDA info when I started canning and have never taken any chances.
July 11, 2011 at 11:39 am
Besides the most recent edition of the Ball Canning Guide, another site I reference for canning info (as well as freezing, dehydrating, and pickling) is the University of Georgia’s National Center for Home Food Preservation. I’ve been happy with every recipe I’ve tried from there and was thrilled to find a recipe almost identical to my mother’s green tomato relish.
I’m careful with my canning, especially after reading a story about a young woman whose mother-in-law died from botulism poisoning from her daughter-in-law’s poorly canned green beans.
July 11, 2011 at 1:14 pm
I am printing off the USDA book on Canning right now.
Now, any advice on dehydrating? I’m an urban farmer in a tiny space. I don’t have a pressure canner, my freezer is just the little one over the fridge, so besides the little canning I do for my limited storage, many of the foods I preserve are dehydrated.
I’ve got both (commercially purchased) dehydrated powdered butter and cheese for food storage. Any tips on how to use them? The cheese I think I can figure out. The butter……not so much.
July 11, 2011 at 5:26 pm
I will say this. A while back someone posted on our local Craigs List that she was offereing canning classes. I called my friend that works at the county fair every year. She told me that they always have people wanting them to teach canning. But that the county extention agent has told then not to do it. Because if someone takes a class from them and then messes up and makes someone else sick or worse they could be the ones sued. So I called said friend and told her about the canning classes. She had me email the person on CL and ask a few questions. Which I did. Well it seems that the gal was going to teach a class at home in her own kitchen not even a tested kitchen. And the classes were to be $l5 each. I am sure that her homeowners insurance would have had a fit if they knew what she had planned. So ladies just a word of caution. Be very careful who you do take a class from. I am not saying that classes are bad. What I am saying is make sure that the teacher knows what she is doing and how to teach it without any harm to anyone.
July 12, 2011 at 6:51 am
I would love to learn to can but only if I feel sure that I can do it safely. Last summer I asked a very dear older lady from my church to show me how to can tomatoes. Afterwords, I realize she had not followed any of the standard safety guidelines. For example, she scooped the tomatoes into the hot jars and let them seal on their own instead of processing them in a water bath. One of the jars didn’t ping so she turned it upside down to help it along.
Now she has been canning for 40 years so I would certainly never raise any objections to her (I would feel like a jerk!). Plus she was nice enough to come over to my house and spend the morning helping me. But- I choose not to eat any of the tomatoes. I have 4 kids 12 and under and wouldn’t take the chance on any of them getting sick. Maybe I’m just a worrywart!
Which leads me to my next question. I bought a 4 tray Excalibur dehydrator off Craigslist this weekend. I would like to start dehydrating garden produce specifically some onions. Do you have any tips or safety guidelines for drying? It crossed my mind that it might not be safe unless the food was thoroughly and completely dry. Any reference books specifically for dehydrating that you can recommend?
Thanks so much for all the info you relay through this blog. I find it very helpful
July 12, 2011 at 7:16 am
You were right to refrain from eating the tomatoes. The newer varieties in particular have lower acid counts and need added acid in the form of lemon juice and all need to have a good, long water bath. If something doesn’t seal, use it up right away. Even after the proper canning and a good seal, I give any canned food (not sweet things or pickles) a good long boil before eating. I dry my onions until crispy, then check the next day to be sure they are still really dry before sealing in a jar with a food saver lid. An oxygen absorber packet is good protection. When you use the onions check to see that they are still crispy and that they have not developed a pink color.
July 12, 2011 at 9:51 am
Kathy, do you have any concerns about commercially canned cheese and butter? My storage includes the Bega cheese and the Red Feather butter. I have dehydrated as well, but I like all my options covered. Stay cool!
Best,
Diana
July 12, 2011 at 4:52 pm
I would be very interested in knowing how many cases of botulism from home canned food there are in a year. I know there are many cases of food poisioning reported by the USDA in foods processed in their approved facilities…the government even has a web-site for recalled/poorly processed food from their appoved facilities/kitchens.
July 12, 2011 at 5:18 pm
I have no concerns with commercially canned butter or cheese. I think that’s a very good questiopn, Lynda. I’m going to do a web search and see if I can come up wiht a number.
July 12, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Here are the numbers. 145 cases a year in the US. 21 are food born, 89 are infant botulism and 21 are wound infections. Those numbers are significantly below the infection rate from commercial food although I’m including e coli in the commercial numbers.
July 13, 2011 at 12:43 am
Thanks for doing the research, Kathy. I live close to two very large tomato processing plants…I have been in both. I read their policy and procedure manuals for quality control and was more than a bit put off by the allowed amounts of mice/rat feces, and foreign material: yuck! I now process my own tomatoes…I can state for a fact I do a much better and cleaner job…no rat/mouse poop in my sauce. If you buy any tomato products in the US they most likely came from one of these plants…one is even certified organic.
I have worked with the USDA in a number of projects and I must say I am not impressed…the people I like: the rules are mostly silly and just appear to be a way to give big
government job security.
July 13, 2011 at 2:56 am
I have the Ball books and last year I bought a brand new pressure canner. I have canned for years and years but only hot bath canning with approved foods for hot water such as fruit, jams, and pickles.
Last year I canned a myriad of tomato sauces according to the Ball recipes and using the pressure canner. I thought this was a safe practice, but from what I’ve inferred from above, it may not be? I have an extremely weakened immune system (from cancer) and it is certainly not my intention to put myself or anyone else in danger. Is continuing to use Ball recipes and a pressure canner (all carefully as directed) endangering anyone?
I will admit that I’m frustrated that I cannot can at home some things I’d like to have on the shelf that I can get commercially. Feeling my own would contain better ingredients, be more familiar, and easier for my family to use when I’m unable to cook — such as cheese sauce, butter, gravy, and “pot pie” fillings. Are there safe home recipes with proper equipment for these types of things or am I stuck with commercial (salty!) versions on the shelf for ‘just in case’ times?
One more question on garlic since I read it in the comments as well … We use a lot of garlic on a daily basis. I keep a very small glass jar of garlic that I crush fresh in some good evoo in the fridge. Not canned, not for long-term storage. I use the small glass container within 2 weeks all the time. To the jar, I add a bit of (admittedly unmeasured) salt and it does stay refrigerated it’s entire life. This garlic & oil is then used only for cooking, never raw – spread on bread & baked as garlic bread, or scooped into a skillet for cooking, that type of thing. Is this practice dangerous in some way (given all those parameters)?
Just as a point of reference for all my questions, we are a family of 5, with 3 almost teenaged boys — almost nothing goes to waste in our home for food and cooking is something that happens almost 24/7 in our home.
Thanks!
Erin
July 13, 2011 at 6:46 am
Erin, the if the garlic and oil is in the fridge and used within a couple of weeks, I am sure it is safe. You would be surprised at the number of people who just leave it out on the counter. Botulism thrives in environments that lack oxygen and oil is perfect for it.
As far as the tomatoes, if you are doing them in a pressure canner according to the Ball recipes, they are fine. Ball recipes are research based and are USDA approved. And if you add some lemon juice in the jar when you are canning, tomatoes can also be boiling water bath canned, provided you haven’t added any low-acid veggies to the mix (like salsa without vinegar).
When you are not sure of something, just get on the USDA website and check. (http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html).
As far as gravy and pot pie filling, etc., check on the usda website for recipes for freezing these. They should freeze just fine!
Paula – (not donna…LOL – glad to know someone else is as bad with names as I am!!!)
(Master Canner)