USDA Complete Guide To Home Canning

After a conversation with VHestin and sec-monkey in the chat box last night regarding home canning , I posted a link to here for the most up to date canning safety guidelines, National Center for Home Food Preservation | USDA Publications

Yes, there are other books that are published and updated such as Ball's Free Publications to Download Here about Home Canning, Freezing, Preserving and Making Jams and Jellies!

Now, I realize that a lot of us have grown up around our elders back in the day that did home preserving, and today, some of those practices have been proven to be down right DANGEROUS. Food poisoning is something not be taken lightly, it can KILL YOU.

In the world of home canning and preserving, the safety guidelines are updated almost on a yearly basis, and the reasons for these updates are solid. There are many ways to contract a food borne illness, but when it comes to home canning of our own self grown, harvested, or hunted bounties, this is the main enemy; Clostridium botulinum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This is one bug you do not want to have in your body. This bug produces what is known as Botulinum toxin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This toxin is in the TOP TEN MOST LETHAL SUBSTANCE KNOWN TO THE HUMAN BODY.

One of the home canning practices that has just been found to be dangerous is the canning of pureed pumpkins and other winter Squashes. This has been found with modern technology that heavily pureed substances simply do not reach the required temperature to kill the Botulinum bug in the core center of the jars. Now I have lost count on how many times that I have heard something to the effect of "Well, my dear old Great Grandma did this for years with no one getting sick" Well, what your dear ol' grandma did was to play a game of Russian Roulette and was damned lucky that no one became sick.

Home Canning is a very rewarding and cost saving practice and hobby, but for those that do partake in the art of home preserving, always keep an open mind to the latest information that is published. It will help save your and your loved one's lives.

 

Damn I hate agreeing with the USDA, however after reading their canning procedures for meat, poultry, and seafood I see no problems. If anything, in a few cases, my processing times on a few items are a bit longer than theirs.

 

Interesting about the pureed pumpkin/winter squash. Have about a half dozen squash we are getting ready to can. Thanks of the cautionary note.

 

Well we have a few cans of store-bought pumpkin as is, so no reason to can that for now. I do have a question though, if you're going to bake the canned pumpkin/squash when you do use it, say 350 degrees Farenheit for like half an hour, would that be enough to kill the botulism?

 

Factory canned foods are as safe as they can get. Cooking and using the contents as soon as you open them are the safest way to keep all types of food borne illnesses at bay.

The thing is, it is not the Botulinum bug that kills you, it is the toxin the Botulinum bug produces that kills you, and it takes very little to be lethal. In theory, it would only take ONE POUND of the Botulinum toxin evenly distributed to kill every human being on this planet. That is how toxic this toxin is.

As for the safest way that I employ to can pumpkin is in a cubed, uncooked form. I simply cut my pumpkins in manageable slices, peel the rind off, cut into cubes and place into my canning jars. Process at 11 pounds for 90 minutes.

 

The booklet with my canner said to cut pumpkins/squash into 1inch cubes for canning. And the 11pounds for 90minutes. Of course my altitude would require 13pounds with a dial gauge, or 15pounds with the weight gauge.

 

Love this cheat sheet for choosing the correct jar, though personally I prefer the wide mouth jars.

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