First time canning. Question.

[TheGrey]

There are "layers of security" that I like to call em.

The seal is just the first layer. When you go to consume the stored food:
- have you followed a proven recipe? (USDA, Ball Blue Book of Canning, etc) Let them take the risk.
- have you stored the jars without the rings cinched down on them? or anything stacked on top of them? (if something is to go the least bit bad it creates gas. gas "un-pops" the lid) anything on top of the jars could create a resistance to that lid. I don't know about you but I want to know if something is going bad in the jar as oon as possible.
- you inspect the seal--is the "button" still down? See the above reason why I check this.
- When you open the jar do you smell it? (does it smell good?) If it smells bad throw it away. It should smell like Canned Food and not off-putting.
- have you reheated the food? (botulism is not in itself is not toxic. The product it produces is. Heat destroys the toxin.) If everything you did above lets a little bit of bad stuff in, this should be your last layer of defense.

Until we are in a "5HTF" scenario I am not reusing lids ... ever... they are not engineered to be re-used. I can afford the <<$2 for more lids so It is good insurance. Tattler Lids to me are experimental. Plastic is not air tight. Over years it will let oxygen in. I use them on stuff that I go through over the year (stock, tomato sauce, etc) It is just me, but I do not trust them past a year... "5HTF" scenario? I'll do what I can to survive.

EDIT:


I have noticed that the "Golden Harvest" lids that I have gotten from Big Lots from time to time do not "ping" as much as the "Kerr" or "Ball" ones that I normally use. Inspect the a few hours after they are processed. If they are not sealed, reprocess or put in fridge.

Smelling the food is a good start, but botulism is like iocaine powder- it's odorless and tasteless. If you see mold in your jars, you can bet that the seal has been broken somehow. You'll also want to check your jars before you begin canning; the tiniest chip in the rim can mean lost food.

I have read on the internet that the amount of heat required for killing possible botulism toxins is the equivalent of boiling the food at a hard boil, for twenty minutes. I can't verify this, but I can check with the various county extension offices and see what they say.

This is an excellent site for safe canning protocols: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/pu...ions_usda.html

I haven't gone over everything there yet, but what I've read so far makes a lot of sense.

[Irving]

Not to derail this thread, but can you build up a tolerance to botulism like you can to iocaine powder?

[rbeau30]

^absolutely!^

I have gotten into the habit of doing all of that. From preparing my space before canning to inspecting supplies, to only choosing fresh ingredients, to looking--smelling--reheating when eating the food. I smell the food because if it has gone to the point of moldy or smelling bad, it most definitely has had time for the botulism spores to wake up.

Canning is an art and a science. Folks have done this for decades, and there are very few headlines that go something like..." Prepper Family eats home-canned food and dies of botulism. " And unfortunately I think the media would jump all over something like that. Good thing there is a bit of "leeway" in the proven recipes.

[TheGrey]

Not to derail this thread, but can you build up a tolerance to botulism like you can to iocaine powder?

Unfortunately not. I think it has to do with the name: 'botulism' is rather final sounding, while 'iocaine powder' offers a little more hope.

There are some deaths from canning-related botulism, but they are few and far between. Care taken before, during, and after canning will help cut that down to nearly zero. I recall reading about a man that caned some elk meat improperly- he went WAY off recipe and didn't process it long enough, and it made the headlines both back then, and two years after the incident because he still had not fully recovered.

There are some golden rules to follow when canning foods:

-Use the freshest foods available. That doesn't mean that if you bought five bushels of tomatoes, you have to process everything before you go to bed, but plan on getting it done within the next couple of days.

-Don't use chipped jars or re-use lids.

-Cleanliness is the order of the day. Wash those jars and lids, make sure your funnels are clean, and never, ever cut raw meat in the same area (using the same utensils) as cooked meat or fruits and vegetables.

-Never process foods below the times given in the recipes. Remember to add processing times for the altitude as well- for every 1000 feet above sea level, add a minute of processing time. If you didn't notice the time when you began boiling or reaching the proper pressure, err on the side of caution and go a few minutes beyond, rather than below.
-There are certain foods that cannot be processed in a home kitchen. Our consumer products cannot reach the pressures and the heat required to safely can things like dairy products, bacon, refried beans, lard, purees or pumpkin butter, things with cornstarch and/or flour- from what I understand, you take a chance when you can these items because a home canner can't guarantee even heat distribution to kill those pathogens.

-Like rbeau30 stated, don't stack your jars. It can mess with the seal, and you'd have a very unpleasant surprise when you found the jar that had been on the bottom became unsealed over a year ago. Pew!

-Along the same line, don't store the jars upside-down, or in a place where the temperature fluctuates more than a few degrees. Try and keep them in a cool, dark place.

-Rotate your stock. Label your jars with the food item and the date, including the year.

Can anyone else think of more? I know there are more good rules that make it easier...but I'm taking longer and longer blinks.

[rbeau30]

There is a lot of valuable info coming out in this thread. Thanks TheGrey you are thinking about a lot of things to put in here that I do almost as habit. This type of collaboration and experience sharing is what makes me happy to be a part of this place.

[TheGrey]

There is a lot of valuable info coming out in this thread. Thanks TheGrey you are thinking about a lot of things to put in here that I do almost as habit. This type of collaboration and experience sharing is what makes me happy to be a part of this place.

Me, too!

[Mercula]

Wow ! Thanks everybody. Tons of great info.

[HoneyBadger]

Great info from rbeau and TheGrey - Thanks!

[rbeau30]

Perhaps we can get a bullet list of canning do's, don'ts, and resources like the USDA guide that The Grey linked to in this thread together and have a sticky put up. Canning is a big part of preparedness/self-reliance in my life and I think many who would like to get into canning probably find it overwhelming. It may give them a place to start.

I would encourage new folks to the canning fold, actually visit someone who has done it for many years and even those who have done it for many years see how someone else sets up their workspace, etc. I find that when I brew beer with someone else, I pick up different procedures that I never thought about.

[Mercula]

Pickles came out awesome ! Can't wait for the next batch. We also got some stuff from ball called "pickle crisp ", anybody use it before ? I've read just to lower your salt a bit when using it.