Home Canning and Preserving Links - USDA 2009

[Laidback Al]

Home Canning and Preserving<o></o>

So you?ve started a vegetable garden to save money and eat healthy, or have a neighbor who brings you bags of ripe plums, apricots or avocados from her trees. Maybe you fish or hunt. If so, you may be interested in canning or preserving some of that bounty for later use. The National Center for Home Food Preservation can help you do so safely and deliciously, with a web site packed with recipes, videos, slide shows, tutorials and even a free self-paced, on-line course to teach you how to can, pickle, dry, smoke and freeze produce, fish and meats. <o></o>

You can also download the 2009 version of the popular USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, or order a printed copy. <o></o>

And to learn more about safe food handling, take a look at Kitchen Companion: Your Safe Food Handbook.<o></o>

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/fedinfonews/fedinfo10-4.htm
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[Amish Country]

Re: Home Canning and Preserving Links - USDA 2009

Please note:
USDA Home Canning standers and guidelines are updated as new information becomes available. It can be important to use the newest material available. It might be good to download the current version if the one you have is a few years old. If a cook book is more than a few years old, even if it states that it is USDA compliant it may be a good idea to use one that is current and reflects the updated information to help ensure the safety of home processes foods.

 

[Amish Country]

Re: Home Canning and Preserving Links - USDA 2009

There is company producing what it touts as "Reusable canning lids". With standard canning lids it is recommend that lids be replaced with each use. Jars and the rings that hold the standard canning lids on the jars can usually be reused if in perfect condition. These new lids claim to allow for multiple uses. It appears the rubber ring (attached to the seal in standard lids) is separate from the reusable lid.

Please note I am not pushing this product or company. I have not used them yet so can make no comment on their reliability or safety. The link included here is only to provide a visual image of the discussion item.
I have also noted significant increases in the prices of standard one use canning lids over the last two or three years. - AC
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitche...s___Reusable_Canning_Jar_Lids___1141085?Args=

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: Home Canning and Preserving Links - USDA 2009

Bump this thread 2012.

The USDA has not yet revised the 2009 edition of home canning -

USDA Publications

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2009 revision

Adobe Reader 10 (or a higher version) is needed for proper viewing and printing of the USDA canning guide files. You can download the free Adobe 9.2 Reader from http://get.adobe.com/reader/ . We still recommend selecting 'print preview' before printing a guide to make sure that it will print properly on your computer system. All 8 links below make up the electronic version of the USDA canning guide; the book was split into the 8 files for easier downloading.

The December 2009 Complete Guide to Home Canning is also being sold in print form by Purdue Extension: The Education Store. All inquiries about purchases will be handled by them. The online store is located at https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/item.asp?item_number=AIG-539


Introduction
Guide 01: Principles of Home Canning
Guide 02: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Fruit and Fruit Products
Guide 03: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Tomatoes and Tomato Products
Guide 04: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Vegetables and Vegetable Products
Guide 05: Preparing and Canning Poultry, Red Meats, and Seafood
Guide 06: Preparing and Canning Fermented Food and Pickled Vegetables
Guide 07: Preparing and Canning Jams and Jellies

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has a list of links for additional information.

Publications

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the publications which are in the pdf format. This free plugin can be downloaded from the Adobe website.
Adobe also offers a web-based service which can convert many pdf files to html or text.

U.S. Department of Agriculture
The <acronym title="United States Department of Agriculture">USDA</acronym> Complete Guide to Home Canning and other publications.

National Center for Home Food Preservation
Factsheets, consumer bulletins, technical bulletins, and literature reviews on home food preservation.

The University of Georgia
Consumer factsheets and information on So Easy to Preserve, a 375-page book with over 185 tested recipes, along with step by step instructions and in-depth information for both the new and experienced food preserver. Chapters include Preserving Food, Canning, Pickled Products, Jellied Fruit Products, Freezing and Drying.

Features from Other Universities
Highlights in home food preservation from other universities.

Other Government Publications
Home food preservation publications from other governmental sources, such as <acronym title="United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service">USDA-FSIS</acronym>, <acronym title="U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition">FDA-CFSAN</acronym>, and <acronym title="United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization">UN-FAO</acronym>.

 

[Amish Country]

Re: Home Canning and Preserving Links - USDA 2009

Nice list Laidback AL. The link on "canning fermented foods and Pickled Vegetables" contains information on a procedure for "Low-temperature pasteurization treatment" for specific recipes they list in their publication. It involves placing the canning jars filled with pickles in a canner with warm water (120 degrees F to 140 degrees F) and then heating the water to between 180 degrees F and 185 degrees F and holding the temperature in that range for 30 minutes. The temperature is verified with a candy thermometer.

Ihave not used this method and it is not a method I would recommend for beginning canners. Home pasteurization can be tricky. For the procedure listed the water in the pot has to be between 180 and 185 degrees, not just the water in one spot or closest to the heat source. The water cannot be allowed to fall below the minimum safe temperature for pasteurization at any point during the pasteurization process or the procedure must be restarted, the water brought back to proper temperature and the clock for the total amount of the prescribed time (in this example 30 minutes) restarted, and the canning jars reprocessed at the correct temperature for the total time specified.

I love pickles. As well as providing added vitamins and mineral, they can be a great way of preserving fruits and veggies for out of season use. They add flavor, color, variety and texture to meals. This may be even more be important when dealing with food boredom. When a diet becomes monotonous some people may decide to give up eating altogether rather than eat the same thing day after day. This can be especially true when the kitchen gets inundated with foods coming into season for a few weeks or during winter months when little in the way of fresh food may be available from the garden.

 

[Amish Country]

Re: Home Canning and Preserving Links - USDA 2009

Thanksgiving and fall and winter holidays are coming; Giving home preserved foods

I now intend to provide written instructions with gifts of home preserved foods. If all equipment is in working order, recipes used meet USDA requirements, sanitation procedures and food preservation instructions have been properly and meticulously followed and the food properly handled and stored most home preserved foods should be safe to eat right out of the jar. However please note those words; "should" and "most". Home preserved food contaminated by anaerobic bacteria can look perfect but still be deadly poisonous. This is why I am including instructions on how to use home preserved foods with my gifts. such as:

With my low acid canning (meats and nonpickled vegetables);
Please discard contents if the lid seal has failed or been compromised by rust etc., there is any mold, bad smell, inappropriate discoloration, improper texture or other signs of obvious spoilage. Even if the food appears to be good it may still be contaminated and heating is required. Please boil for 20 minutes prior to eating. Store in a cool dark place and do not allow it to freeze. Please do not use contents after a year past the date on the jar.

With my dehydrated vegetables;
Please discard contents if there is any mold, bad smell, moisture, inappropriate discoloration, improper texture or other signs of obvious spoilage. To reconstitute: Refrigerate and soak in clean drinking water in a covered container or simmer on low heat in water for soup. Store in a cool dark place. Please do not use contents after a year past the date on the jar.


With high acid foods (jellies, jams, pickles etc.);
Please discard contents if the lid seal has failed or been compromised by rust etc., there is any mold, bad smell, inappropriate discoloration, improper texture or other signs of obvious spoilage. Store in a cool dark place and do not allow it to freeze. Please do not use contents after a year past the date on the jar.

Anyone considering giving home preserved gifts may want to think about this and maybe provide their own carefully worded instructions? I think I will also add a note to: "Please recycle jars by returning jars to gifter for reuse."

Happy Holidays!