Taking the Fear out of Home Canning

Lisa Terry, FCS/4-H Glacier County Extension

Last week I visited the Cut Bank Farmer’s market to offer pressure canner testing, answer questions and give out researched-based information on home preservation. I had a wonderful time meeting people in Glacier County and visiting with some of you regarding home canning and preserving. To my surprise, many of those I spoke with stated that they were too afraid to pressure can because of the horror stories they had heard regarding things like exploding canners and cases of botulism in home canned goods. 

While it is great to be cautious since stories like this do exist if you are practicing safe home canning procedures and following the recommended research-based guidelines, you should be able to put your fears to rest. 

Here are a couple of tips to remember when it comes to safely canning at home. First of all, make sure that you have a scientifically tested recipe. Aunt Barbara’s homemade green bean recipe might have been passed down for generations and luckily no one has gotten sick, but you should never use a recipe that has not gone through rigorous research and testing to ensure proper safety protocols are in place.   This means that you must have an up-to-date recipe. Things have changed since Aunt Barbara was home canning, and some varieties of foods don’t have the same acid content or ph value they once had. 

A good example here is tomatoes. For many years, tomatoes were considered a high-acid food. However, tomatoes are fruits; as such, the amount of acid in tomatoes varies dramatically over the growing season. The amount of acid in tomatoes is highest in unripe (green) fruit and reaches the lowest point as the fruit reaches maturity. The amount of acid, and other components like sugars, also varies in fruits based on the climate, the soil, the variety, and other factors. A recent study of 55 types of tomatoes showed a dramatic difference in ph value and acid content. Researchers now know that tomatoes are not consistently high in acid and current canning recommendations require that acid be added to all canned tomato products.   

You can find out more information regarding preserving food safely by visiting the Glacier County Extension office at 1210 East Main or calling us at 406-873-2239 or emailing me at lterry@montana.edu. I will once again be at the cut bank farmer’s market today from 3:00 to 6:00 pm testing pressure canner lids and talking to folks about safe home canning. Hope to see you there.

Preserving the Fruits of Your Labors

Jesse Fulbright, MSU Liberty County Extension

We are in the season now where you may lock your car doors for fear of uninvited zucchini popping up.  Or, you may be preserving some of your labors from the garden.  Either way, let’s talk about food preservation today.  Much of this information comes from MSU Extension MontGuides on food preservation. 

Safely canning foods at home requires using processing methods that not only preserve the food but also destroy bacteria and molds that cause foodborne illness, such as botulism.  Botulism, caused by a toxin of the bacteria Clostridium Botulinum, can be fatal.  This bacteria can grow and reproduce in improperly processed home-canned foods.  Protect yourself and others when sharing home-canned foods by learning safe preservation techniques.  The safest recipes and resources are those that have been researched and rigorously tested by the United States Department of Agriculture and Extension Services associated with land-grant universities.  Many home-preserved recipes are not tested for safety, so it is critical to use research-based resources. 

Liberty County residents work together raw-packing peaches during an
MSU Extension workshop.

 

There are a couple of questions you should ask yourself before beginning any home food preservation.  First, what is your altitude?  In order to decrease the risk of food-related illness and death, determine the correct home-canning processing times and pressures for your altitude.  While water boils at 212°F at sea level, it boils at a much lower temperature at higher altitudes.  Consequently, at higher altitudes home-canned foods must be processed for longer times or at higher pressures. 

Secondly, is the food you are planning on preserving a low-acid or high-acid food?  Most high acid foods, such as fruits and properly acidified tomato products, such as salsa, can be processed using either a boiling water canner or a pressure canner.  Other foods, such as many of your vegetables, as well as meats will need to be preserved using a pressure canner. 

One quick note on salsas, in recent years, the recommendations for safely canning salsas have changed.  As tomatoes grown today may have less acidity, they need to be acidified before canning by adding 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or ½ teaspoon of citric acid per quart.   When canning salsa, only use recipes based on USDA recommendations. These salsa recipes have been tested to determine a safe level of acidity.