BIS-Lancastar Farming, Saturday, July 24, 1993
Lebanon Extension home economist Alletta Schadler watches as Andrea Horner of
Lebanon removes jars from canner.
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LEBANON (Lebanon Co.)
Canning isn’t done the way Grand
ma used to do it
Her methods are considered
unsafe and potentially a risk for
botulism poisoning.
Before you protest, “But I have
been canning the same way that
Grandma did for many years and
have not had any problems,” con
sider that bacteria appears to be
increasing and it can survive and
grow inside a sealed jar of food
Poisonous loxin from even a
Uny lasie of of food containing Clo
stridium botulinum is so potent
that it can be fatal.
Pressure canning is the only
recommended method for canning
meat and low acid vegetables
according to the United States
Department of Agriculture.
If you need instructions on how
to can safely, your county exten
sion office is the place to contact.
Extension services offer numerous
free instruction sheets on preserv
ing fruits, vegetables, and meats.
Also available is a manual on the
Complete Guide to Home Can
ning, for only $6. The easy to read
manual includes extensive direc
tions and recipes for almost every
food that is preserved in the
Northeast.
Recently Alletta Schadler,
Lebanon County Extension home
economist, held two workshops to
teach safe canning methods. Here
is some of the information she
packed into a three-hour session,
but if you are serious about can
ning, it is worth your time to attend
a canning workshop. Contact your
county extension office listed in
the phone book under Penn State
Cooperative Extension to see if
your county is holding workshops
or if you would like printed infor
mation on canning.
According to Schadler, high
acid foods such as fruits, most
tomatoes, and pickled products are
still considered safe to preserve by
using a boiling water bath.
Canning is a safe and economi
cal way to preserve summer pro
duce if you adhere to the following
guidelines.
• Choose fresh fruits and veget
ables as many foods begin losing
some of their vitamins when
harvested.
• Wash or peel produce.
• Add lemon juice or vinegar to
tomatoes since many tomatoes are
now borderline acid and need acid
to properly preserve it.
• Use clean jars, sterilized if the
processed ■ food is not boiled for
more than 10 minutes '
• Always use new self-sealing
lids.
• Process jars in a boiling-water
or pressure canner for the correct
period of time.
While many people are using
less sugar to can fruits, they should
be aware that the more sugar that is
used to can fruit such as peaches,
the firmer it becomes.
One way to reduce sugar is to
use a lighter syrup but hot pack the
fruit instead of raw pack. Schadler
said that she canned peaches with
light syrup using both raw and hot
packed methods. When the fin
ished product was cooled, the hot
packed peaches tasted much swee
ter than those packed raw.
Here is the recipe for canning
peaches according to the hot pack
method.
Canning peaches
Dip peaches in boiling water for
30 to 60 seconds or until skins
loosen. Dip quickly in cold water
and slip-off skins. Cut in half,
remove pits, and slice if desired.
To prevent darkening, keep peeled
fruit in water with vitamin C made
by mixing 1 teaspoon ascorbic acid
crystals, or six 500-milligram vita
min C tablets in 1 gallon water.
To make a very light syrup for a
canner load of quarts, mix \ 'A cups
sugar in 10 'A cups water and heat
to dissolve; or mix and dissolve
214 cups sugar in 9 cups water to
make a light syrup; or 3 3 /« cups
sugar in B'/ cups water to make a
medium syrup.
To make a hot pack, place
drained fruit in boiling syrup,
juice, or water and bring to a boil.
Fill clean jjrs with hot fruit and
cooking liquid. Leave 'A -inch
headspace, and wipe sealing edge
of jars with a clean, damp paper
towel. Add lids and tighten screw
bands. You may process jars in a
boiling water or pressure canner.
To process in a boiling water
canner, preheat canner filled half
way with water to 180 degrees for
hot packs or 140 degrees for raw
packs. Load sealed jars onto can
ner rack and lower with handles; or
load one jar at a time with a jar lif
ter onto rack in canner. Add water
if needed to a level of 1-inch above
jars and add cover. When water
boils vigorously, lower heat to
maintain a gentle boil and process
25 minutes for quarts.
Pressure canning
Fruit can be processed in a pres
sure canner but it takes longer to
do. Many people believe that pres
sure canning will save time,
because the processing time is
shorter, but in actuality it takes
longer since the timing is begun
after the correct pressure is reach
ed (about 30 minutes), then the
pressure canner is air-cooled.
which takes 30 to 45 additional
minutes.
Several types of pressure can
ners are available. The lightweight
canners heat and cool faster.
Weighted gauges are recom
mended more than dial gauges as
weighted gauges never go out of
calibration.
Note: Calibration of pressure
canners with dial gauges should be
checked annually. Most extension
offices will check it free of charge.
Parts may be purchased at most
stores that sell canning supplies.
Handle canner lid gaskets and
lids carefully as nicked edges will
allow steam leaks during pressuri
zation of canners. Follow these
steps for successful pressure
canning;
• Put 2 to 3 inches hot water in
canner. Place filled jars on the
rack, using a jar lifter. Fasten can
ner lid securely.
• Leave weight off vent port.
Heat the fruit at the highest setting
until steam flows tor the vent port.
• Maintain high heat setting,
exhaust steam 10 minutes, and
then place weight on vent port. The
canner will pressurize during the
next 3 to 3 minutes.
• Start timing the process when
the pressure reading on the dial
'gauge indicates that the recom
mended pressure has been reached
or when the weighted gauge begins
to jiggle or rock.
•. Start timing process when the
pressure reading on the dial gauge
indicates that the recommended
pressure has been reached, or
when the weighted gauge begins to
jiggle or rock.
• Regulate heat under the canner
to maintain a steady pressure at or
slightly above the correct gauge
pressure. Quick and large pressure
variations during processing may
cause unnecessary liquid losses
from jars.
• When the timed process is
completed, turn off the heat,
remove the canner from heat if
possible, and let the canner depres
surize. Do not force-cool the can
ner as it may result in food spoil
age. Cooling the canner with cold
running water or opening the vent
port before the canner is fully
depressurized will cause loss of
liquid from jars and seal failures.
Force-cooling may also warp the
canner lift of older model canners,
causing steam leaks.
■ After the canner is depressur
ized, remove the weight from the
vent port. Wait 2 minutes, unfasten
the lid, and remove it carefully.
Lift the lid away from you so that
the steam does not bum your face.
• Remove jars with a lifter, and
place on towel on cooling rack, if
Safe Canning
Alletta Schadler
desired.
When shopping for a pressure
canner, remember that stoves with
ceramic tops or solid elements are
not suitable for canning.
In addition to teaching proper
canning techniques, Schadler
addressed many myths and ques
tions surrounding food preserva
tion.
• Jars should not be covered with a
towel when removed from canner
as it slows down the cooling
process.
• The average life of a canning
jar is 13 to 14 uses. Although jars
do not wear out, they develop
stress points from bumping and
will break under quick temperature
changes.
• Do not turn jar rings too tight
or air can not escape to allow a
proper seal. Screw jar rings just to
catch. Then tighten 'A turn.
• Do not retighten jar lids after
canning.
• Do not touch lids for 24 hours
after canning process is
completed.
• Do not turn jars upside down.
• After jars are cooled for 24
hours, remove bands.
• Reuse jar bands as long as they
are not rusty.
• Do not boil lids. Heat to 180
degrees to soften sealing com
pound before placing on jar top.
• Shelf-life for lids should not be
more than than 2 or 3 years as lid
sealant may become brittle and not
soften,
• Make sure lids are perfect
when removing from box. If
scratched, do not use.
• Sterilize jars if processing food
less than 10 minutes such as in jel
ly making.
• Do not oven can.
• Hard water leaves calcium
deposits on jars. To avoid, bring
water to a boil and let cool before
placing jars in the water. The cal-
How To Can Foods
TOWANDA (Bradford Co.)
Learn How To Can Foods At
Home is a two-part class that is
intended for the person who wants
to learn the basics of home can
ning. Through demonstration and
hands-on activities, participants
will learn safe methods for boiling
water and pressure canning.
Offered by Penn State Coopera
tive Extension of Bradford Coun
ty, the class will be held on Thurs
days, August S and August 12.
Class time for both sessions will
With
cium will precipitate out as the
water cools. Pour the clear water
into your canner.
Pickles
Use canning pickling salt to pre
vent clumping or cloudiness.
lodized salt reacts to sugar and
results in odd coloring such as
making cauliflower pink or purple.
Use pickling lime to make pick
les crisp. Do not substitute garden
ing lime.
Use fresh pickling and whole
spices as spices become flat. Use
fresh each year. Dill heads may be
frozen to keep fresh.
May substitute 1 to 2 table
spoons dill seed in place of 1 head
dill.
PICKLED BEETS
7 pounds of 2- to 2'A -inch
diameter beets
4 cups vinegar
A cup canning or pickling salt
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
12 whole cloves
4 to 6 onions, if desired
Yield: about 8 pints,
Trim off beet tops, leaving
1-inch stem and roots to prevent
bleeding of color. Wash thorough
ly. Sort for size. Cover similar
sizes together with boiling water
and cook until tender (about 25 to
30 minutes). Caution; Drain and
discard liquid. Cool beets. Trim off
roots and stems and slip off skins.
Slice into 'A -inch slices. Peel and
thinly slice onions. Combine vine
gar, salt, sugar, and fresh water.
Pul spices in cheesecloth bag and
add to vinegar mixture. Bring to a
boil. Add beets and onions. Sim
mer S minutes. Remove spice bag.
Fill jars with beets and onions,
leaving 'A -inch headspace. Add
hot vinegar solution, allowing
'A -inch headspace. Adjust lids and
process to 30 minutes in boiling
water bath.
be 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. The classes
will be held at the Extension
Office, 701 South Fourth Street,
Towanda.
Cost for the class is $lO per par
ticipant and includes the U.S.
Department of Agriculture publi
cation, Complete Guide To Home
Canning. Persons interested in
attending must register by Friday,
July 30. To register contact the
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Office in Bradford County at the
above address or (717) 265-2896.