Pre-canning season: Equipment check and review of unsafe practices

Garden update:
English peas are coming in - they are unbelievably sweet this year!
Broccoli plants are still growing well - over a foot tall now.
The big cabbage died. We pulled up the root stub and replanted that bed with yellow crookneck squash.
All our tomato plants are in the ground and doing well. Early Girl tomatoes are in bloom.
Earliserve green beans have sprouted and about half of them are doing well. The other half are being eaten by an unknown pest. There are also ants all over the place. We are doing what we can with dust, but it looks like we will have to replant those rows with Tendergreen green beans.
The bell pepper plants are showing buds and will start blooming any day.
We're already harvesting green onions. The onions left alone will continue to grow for larger table onions.
The okra seedlings are up and doing well.
We planted 3 long rows of purple hull peas this past weekend.
The taters are still doing well. We have just set the third row of tires on each stack.
The peach tree has baby peaches.
Blueberry bushes are full of green berries.
Wild blackberries are in full, profuse bloom.
Raspberry bushes are budding out and will bloom soon.
Strawberry plants are blooming and have lots of green berries.
Herbs are still growing well and some are being selectively harvested - basil, cilantro, parsley, chives, rosemary, marjoram and thyme.
First lettuce bowls have finished their yield. New bowls have been seeded.

Although I could start canning the green peas, I prefer to freeze them. To me, the peas taste better frozen as opposed to canned.

But... canning season is rapidly approaching. In fact, I've already started canning some jellies, and I'll can more as the strawberries come in. I've started building up my stockpile of sugar, taking advantage of every sale and sugar coupon I can get my hands on. I've also started building up a supply of powdered and liquid pectin for jellies and jams.

I've been going through my canning jars. I wash and examine them, getting rid of any cracked or chipped jars that I can't otherwise use for dry storage. I've acquired more jars from friends and coworkers... people who know that I can and who save jars for me. I've even found canning jars at yard sales and thrift stores for a dime or a quarter apiece. Make sure the rings are in good shape and start buying the canning lids. You CANNOT reuse those lids - they're one-time use only.

Now is the time to check out your canning equipment and see if there is anything you need or if anything needs to be replaced. Check out your pressure canner and be sure the lid seal is still good. Have the pressure dial calibrated, if you have a dial gauge canner. Find your jar lifter, rubber spatula (I have a plastic "bubble freer" with a neat gauge on the end to measure headspace), funnel, and ladle.

Last, but definitely not least, review your canning procedures - especially when it comes to safety.

When it comes to canning, there is no room for error and no excuse for not taking safety precautions. As the old saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." I'd much rather be clean and safe upfront rather than have to be rushed to the hospital for food poisoning or botulism later on.

That having been said, I cringe sometimes when I browse online for canning information. There are some ideas still being passed around that are, in a word, dangerous. Unfortunately, this info isn't just being traded on Internet forums. I've even seen it printed in newspapers (like the Washington Post).

When it comes to canning techniques and practices, I urge you to rely on proven methods that have been tested for safety. The National Center for Home Food Preservation website can provide you with in-depth information about the proper and safe methods for canning and preserving, including the results of their lab-controlled scientific tests.

THERE ARE ONLY 2 SAFE METHODS OF CANNING FOODS:

• Boiling-water bath canning - where you pack HIGH ACID FOODS (like fruits, jams/jellies, pickles and some tomatoes), either raw or cooked according to directions, into jars, seal, and boil in water for a specified time.
• Pressure canning - where you pack LOW ACID FOODS (like vegetables, meats, and soups), either raw or cooked according to directions, into jars, seal, and process under pressure for a specified time.
  

That's it. Any other safe food preservation methods involve things other than canning, such as freezing and dehydrating. When it comes to canning, though, if it isn't processed, then it isn't safe.

Many people are under the incorrect assumption that once a vacuum is formed, no germs can live in there and no spoilage can occur. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by botulin toxin. The toxin is produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. C. botulinum is anaerobic, meaning that it lives in an environment that is absent of oxygen. In other words, it thrives in a vacuum, just like a sealed canning jar. Botulin toxin is one of the most powerful known toxins: about one microgram is lethal to humans.

Foodborne botulism can be extremely dangerous because multiple people can consume the poison from a single contaminated food source.

Fortunately, C. botulinum doesn't like acid environments. Acidic foods have pH values below 4.6. These foods include pickles, most fruits, and jams and jellies made from fruit. (In pickling, the acid level is increased by adding lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar.) Acidic foods contain enough acidity either to stop the growth of botulinum bacteria or destroy the bacteria more rapidly when heated. Acidic foods may be safely canned in a boiling water canner.

Low-acid foods have pH values higher than 4.6. They don't have enough acid to prevent the growth of C. botulinum. However, processing at high temperatures (above the 212 degrees F boiling temp of water) for determined amounts of time will also kill C. botulinum. Therefore, low-acid foods have to be processed at temperatures of 240 degrees F to 250 degrees F, which can only be reached in a pressure canner. (Refer back to your high school chemistry and physics lessons about thermodynamics and gas laws!) The exact processing time and pressure depends on the kind of food being canned, the way it is packed in jars, and the size of jars. Your book of canning directions will tell you the correct time and pressure to process.

Here are some unsafe methods of canning that are still being mentioned today.
Please, DO NOT TRY THESE METHODS.
They are not safe and will not destroy all the molds and bacteria that can possibly kill you.
I'm only telling you about them so that you'll recognize them and know not to use them.

1. "Inversion method," also called "open kettle method." Basically, you pour hot food (most often jelly) into a hot jar, screw on the lid, and then turn the jar upside-down and let it form a vacuum seal as it cools. The theory is that the hot food will kill any bacteria that may be residing on the inside lid surface.

THIS IS NOT SAFE! According to the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, the temperatures reached in this type of canning aren't high enough to destroy all the mold/bacteria that may be in the food. Also, when the food is poured into the jar, microorganisms can enter the jar then and still cause spoilage.

2. Steam canning. You can still find steam canners for sale, even online. They're supposed to process foods using steam instead of boiling water. They're advertised as efficient canners because they use less water, and save time and energy.

Lab-controlled studies have shown that steam canners can result in significantly lower food temperatures at the beginning and end of the processing time as compared to boiling-water canning. Canning under steam using the manufacturer's instructions resulted in under-processing of the food and considerable spoilage. They are not recommended by the USDA, the National Center for Home Food Preservation, or any university or state cooperative extension.

3. Solar canning. This involves putting food into jars, sealing them, and then cooking them in a solar oven. The temperatures don't get hot enough and the cooking is also uneven. Not safe, not reliable.

4. Dishwasher canning. I could hardly believe it, but there are people who have tried canning by processing their filled jars in the dishwasher. A dishwasher is great for washing and sterilizing your empty jars before canning. But this method involves putting food into jars, sealing them, and then "cooking" them in the dishwasher. The temperature of the water during the washing and rinsing cycles are far below those required to destroy microorganisms. The food would be under-processed and unsafe.

5. Oven canning. This method involves filling jars, sealing them and then baking them in an oven insead of in a boiling water bath or pressure canner. Canning jars aren't designed for intense dry heat and tend to explode in an oven. Also, the dry heat takes a very long time to penetrate all the food and the appropriate temperature isn't met inside the jar to kill the microorganism. Many ovens also don't heat uniformly and there can be "hot spots" where the temperatures are uneven. This is a dangerous and unsafe method.

6. Parrafin seals for jam/jelly glasses. Jellies and jams are high acid foods, but molds can still grow on the surface. Research shows that mycotoxins (known to cause cancer in animals and possibly humans) have been found in some jars of jelly that had mold growth on the surface. Parrafin and wax seals are not as effective at keeping out mold contamination as metal canning caps and rings. Additionally, the boiling water processing with metal caps and rings acts as an additional failsafe against mold spores.

7. Canned Bread or Cake, baked in a jar. The USDA has been warning people against this for years. This is where bread or cake is baked in a canning jar, then sealed with a canning lid and allowed to cool and form a vacuum seal. This practice is unsafe because of the low heat processing (usually done in the oven) and storing the canned bread or cake at room temperatures. Another concern is the bread is canned and stored in an airtight environment where bacteria loves to grow and can cause death if consumed by humans. Usually, this canning method creates a weak seal and becomes unsealed once the bread or cake cools. Another concern is that chance for glass breakage during the “canning” process in the oven.

If you want to store baked goods, it's better to freeze them. If you want to give bread or cake as a gift, either give a dry mix in a jar, or bake the bread/cake and give it to the person fresh, to be eaten right away.

If someone gives you a baked bread or cake in a jar, please don't eat it!

8. Aspirin or "pill" canning, "canning powder". I've heard people mention canning vegetables, especially corn, by boiling it, adding aspirin, then sealing the jar or processing in a boiling water bath. I've also heard of people using aspirin to raise the acid level in tomatoes and beans so they can be processed in a boiling water bath.

Aspirin, which has salicylic acid, is not acidic enough to properly treat foods for canning. Only lemon juice, vinegar, or concentrated citric acid designed for canning (like Mrs. Wage's) is recommended for adding to tomatoes. Any other vegetable must be processed in a pressure canner.

9. Extended time boiling-water processing for low-acid foods. I have also known people (and seen on the Internet) who processed low-acid vegetables in a boiling water canner for extended periods of time (several hours) instead of processing in a pressure canner. This simply won't work and it's unsafe.

Water, no matter how long you boil it, will not get any hotter than 212 degrees F... unless you boil it under pressure. That's the only way to get it any hotter. It's basic thermodynamics. And we already know that C. botulinum can only be satisfactorily destroyed at temperatures higher than 212 degrees F.

Please, please be safe in your canning. Properly done, you can stock your pantry full of safely preserved, delicious fruits, vegetables and meats that have a shelf life of approximately a year. They'll be completely safe to eat. When you take shortcuts with your canning, you are potentially taking shortcuts with your own life.

If you care enough to can it, why not care enough to can it right?