BlueLand Farm
local, sustainable, regenerative
Canning Safety
After I wrote the post about applesauce, I figured that a post with some home canning safety tips would be in order. I have found that the website www.healthycanning.com as well as the NCHFP and the CDC are great resources for home canning guidelines.
Internet-land can be a great deep pool of knowledge, but sometimes the problem when cruising around in all that knowledge is that you are really just getting a lot of people’s opinions, like MINE! 🙂
Just because someone’s grandmother canned using (insert unsafe canning method here) and everyone was fine…..does not mean that it IS a safe method. I equate it to driving without a seat belt. A majority of the time, you will get to your destination and everything will have been fine, but that ONE time you get into an accident, you’ll be sorry you weren’t wearing it! In most situations it doesn’t take any more time or effort to do it the right way, just like buckling up! Just do it!
When we are talking about the safety of the food that MY family is going to eat, I want to know that everyone is going to be safe. Food tainted with botulism or other food born illnesses do not always look and smell rancid!!! HealthyCanning.com has straightforward, easily understood articles about canning safety and I encourage you to head over there for some reading before venturing out into the internet to learn different recipes and techniques. And always after every article they provide resources for you to read more about the topic. Evidence-Based practice? What? Instead of antidotal accounts? YEA!!! That’s what my little nurse heart loves!! Never trust the first thing you read. Go out and search for the thing that proves it right!!
And just in case you are wondering, here are MY home canning rules:
- Do not fly by the seat of your pants – home canning is not the time to get creative. Find tested recipes and follow them to the letter. This includes measurements, cooking and processing times.
- Always use proper, safe, inspected equipment – Always inspect your canning equipment before getting started and follow manufactures suggestions for care and maintenance. Pressure canners should have their rubber seals replaced at regular intervals and dial gauges should be certified yearly. Make sure you are using genuine mason jars and never re-use lids (unless you sprung for the fancy reusable lids). Also make sure you are pressure canning what needs to be pressure canned and water bath can what should be water bath canned. They are not necessarily interchangeable.
- Do not store cans with rings and more that two jars high – rings left on can rust lids more quickly or allow a lid to stay “sealed” that may not have sealed properly. Stacking jars too high can cause jars to fall and break as well as the weight can cause seals to pop on lower jars.
That’s it! Follow the recipe, use proper equipment, and store them safely! Not so complicated right? GO forth, you can CAN!!!!
BlueLand Farm 