Canning in Dorothy’s Mess
My philosophy about canning at home:
This post is different from my previous ones because I believe I need to explain my food preservation philosophy.
I am addicted to canning. My friends, neighbors, and family know that can many different types of food. Over the years, I have been asked by friends to teach canning in my kitchen, I have been nervous about it. So when my husband suggested I blog about canning, I was uncomfortable because there is lots of miss information about canning on the internet. Though there are many wonderful sites that I find helpful. In this blog post, I will list sites that have tested recipes.
Canning has a long history with many different methods of processing food. Many methods have been done for centuries, but many of these recipes are considered unsafe by food science. What most canners mean by unsafe is that it can be a higher risk for foodborne illness. For me, it is an age-old battle between tradition and science.
To me, this all about the risk of botulism and other food-borne illnesses. When I first started canning, my husband made one request, do not kill us. It is a joke but not a funny one to me. Botulism is a serious ailment and can be gotten from improper food preservation methods. It is tasteless, odorless, and can be deadly. Is is also important to remember is that just because a filled jar is shelf-stable does not mean it cannot spoil. All the process does is slow it down the decomposition. As for me, if I do not like the look or smell of a home-canned good, I throw it out.
Home food preservation methods have been around for years. Families have recipes and methods dating back centuries. It gets murkier for me to talk about canning and refute these time-honored traditions. When I talk to people about my canning methods, I get many questions like: “But mom did it this way. Or my great-grandmother did it in a certain way is that way not used anymore? But no one got sick.” It’s great, no one got ill, but today we have food scientists who create and test recipes that ensure that no one gets ill.
With that being said, I hate being the canning police! Which is why I loathe the question: Can you can this? Cause you are asking the wrong question. The question should be, is it safe to can it? What is the risk level for my family and friends? This is why I will not put up recipes that I do not feel are safe. To further confuse matters, I use recipes that others do not think are safe, and that is why I have been hesitating to do this type of blog. I came up with a solution, and that was to clarify why I feel this recipe is safe. I will tell where I got the recipe from, the process times and also let you decide on your safety level. I hope this did not scare you off canning, but I need to get that off my chest before I get into the fun and mess of canning!
Sites for canning recipes:
https://www.freshpreserving.com/