My take on canning

I have been canning up a storm the past month and have had several people ask my advice. Most have been good questions about procedure and such, but a few have been about canning vegetables and meats in a boiling water-bath canner. I will put a disclaimer here: I am not an expert, by any means. I have been canning for about 60 years and have my way of doing things, but I am not a trained canning instructor.

So, is it safe to can low-acid foods in a water bath canner?

Here is my take on water bathing low acid foods: it has been considered safe for many years, but so was spraying our crops with DDT and using fly-papers to kill flies in our houses. We know about DDT. Fly papers contain arsenic and were once left in the reach of children. We have moved to “safer” chemicals to control pests and I don’t think it is wrong to move to safer methods of canning either. 

Rick and I both were raised on water-bathed vegetables. Yes, we survived, but there were many who did not. Botulism, the bacterium that can be present in canned vegetables, can be deadly. It cannot be detected by taste or smell, and if the condition is not caught early enough, it will paralyze the muscles used to breathe, causing death. So no, I do not consider it safe to water-bath can any low acid food. 

Is it more convenient?

I have never considered it easier or more convenient, or even faster. To water-bath can low acid vegetables, for instance, they must be held at a boil for over 4 hours. When I pressure can them, it takes about 45 minutes to go through the preliminary start-up and get the canner to pressure; the vegetables take around 25-30 minutes; and the depressuring about an hour. The total time consumed is about two hours and, during that time, I am preparing the next batch to go in, so that time isn’t wasted either. That still puts me two hours ahead of water-bath canning my vegetables. 

What can be boiling water-bathed? 

Most fruits: peaches, pears, apples, cherries, plums, rhubarb, berries and the like. These things have a high enough acid content that the botulism toxin will not grow in them. Tomatoes are questionable, however. Newer varieties of tomatoes have a much lower acid profile than older varieties and so must be questioned. Lemon juice or citric acid can be added to them to make sure they are safe. The same is true with salsas and vegetable juices: they must have added lemon juice or citric acid to make sure they are safe. In recent years, I have taken to pressure canning my tomatoes. I just feel safer, mostly because we tend to eat them straight from the jar. 

Other things that are boiling water-bath preserved are jams, jellies, pickles and fermented foods.

What should be pressure canned?

Any low acid food: meats, meat broths and most vegetables including: potatoes, green beans, squash, corn and peas. These foods have low enough acid to present a favorable environment for botulism to grow and, in my opinion, need to be pressure canned for the safety of our children and families. 

One last note. 

If you do choose to water-bath can low acid foods, please boil any food canned this way in an open vessel for 10 minutes before either tasting or consuming it. The boiling process will remove the toxins that cause problems. And, for a little trivia, a deadly dose of botulism toxin for an adult human is just two nanograms. 

Better-For-You Chocolate Nut Spread

Want a healthier alternative to Nutella? Try this. 

1 cup peanut butter or other nut butter or Sunbutter

½ cup cocoa powder

½ cup honey or maple syrup

¼ cup butter or ghee

salt to taste

Mix all together and enjoy on crackers, toast, pancakes, etc.