Tips to Make Canning Safe: Separating Fact from Fiction
Canning, if done properly, is one of the safest forms of food preservation. However, there are a lot of myths out there that lead to catastrophic results as well. Let’s take a look at some misconceptions regarding canning so that you can avoid building a food stockpile that may end up doing more harm than good.
Not the Way it Used to Be
Many people follow recipes along the lines of how “gramma” or “mom” used to do things. While maybe they got lucky that no one was sick, many old-school methods are far from safe. One example is the practice of turning jars upside down while the contents are hot in order to create a vacuum seal instead of using a canner. While this method may create a seal, you can almost be certain that it won’t last and contamination is almost inevitable. Another old trick is to remove moldy parts of canned goods before eating what looks fresh. Just because the visible contamination has been removed doesn’t mean that bacteria or other microorganisms are not present in the rest of the product.
Remember that the cardinal rule with canning is that if one part of the product is compromised in any way, you need to discard the entire thing, no matter what. The last thing anyone needs during a survival situation is facing a food-borne illness. Make sure that you follow tried-and-true, established canning guidelines. Make sure that you are using the proper equipment, conducting regular inspections and rotating stock to maintain the safety of your food reserves.
Any Canned Item in Stores Can be Processed at Home
I wish this was the case, because this would open up a lot of doors of opportunity in terms of canning delicious recipes. However, it’s important to remember that the process of canning that commercial products undergo is much different than what we do at home. Items are cooked to much higher temperatures, and they are placed in cans that are much more air-tight than we could ever hope to accomplish at home. Furthermore, store-bought items contain a lot of additives and preservatives that are arguably not as healthy as what we can make at home as well. Make sure that you only can recipes that have been tested and proven to be safe to do at home.
If you want to mimic some of your favorite store-bought items, you can do so with a little bit of improvisation or cooking certain ingredients separately before combining them into the finished product. For example, you can use canned vegetables and then mix them with bullion and pasta to make soups, but you shouldn’t be mixing everything together as while you can soups at home.
Ovens are Just as Good as Canners
Another common misconception is that items can be processed in an oven, and you can achieve the same results that you get from a water bath or pressure canner. Nothing could be further from the truth. At best, you can use the oven to heat jars or dehydrate foods for long-term storage. However, you should never use an oven to can any recipe whatsoever, no matter what anyone tells you. If you choose to go down that route, you will be doing so at your own peril.
Ovens do not draw out oxygen from jars in the same way as the other methods. Ovens do not produce a uniform internal temperature that boiling water and steam does. Ovens also can cause jars to crack and lids or seals to deform and fail. Even if the product looks fine after oven canning, chances are that the product will not hold up to long-term storage.
All Seals are Equal
Just because we check the integrity of seals before labeling and dating the finished product doesn’t mean they will hold over time. Seals can even fail if it appears that the lids are vacuum tight. It’s very important to inspect canned goods on a regular basis to check the quality of seals. It’s also important to err on the side of caution if a particular items doesn’t look right, especially when compared to other ones. Finally, make sure that you are looking for anything out of the ordinary when you open a sealed jar as well. Anything that doesn’t seem right should be discarded immediately.
Canning is a very safe and effective way to preserve foods for long-term storage. However, it is equally-important to follow established guidelines, be aware of the shelf life of products, and inspect your stockpile. It only takes a little bit of contamination to create a whole bunch of problems that you do not want to contend with during a crisis.
