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Preserving Foods

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There are two methods you can use when preserving foods by canning. The food that is high in acid content such as fruits, tomatoes, sauerkraut, and pickled vegetables are processed in a boiling water bath.

This means that the jars of food are cooked in boiling water for a specific amount of time. The combination of acid and heat is enough to destroy the tiny organisms that may spoil the food.

The majority of vegetables have a low acid content. To safely process these, it is necessary to cook them under pressure at a temperature of 240 degrees in order to kill harmful bacteria.

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Equipment for Preserving Foods

The boiling water bath container used for canning foods that are highly acidic can be any large kettle that is deep enough to hold the canning jars.

For canning low acid vegetables, you will need a pressure canner. The lid of the pressure canner can be locked down tight. It has a vent or safety valve with a pressure gauge on top to permit accurate control of the temperature. If you buy a model deep enough, it can be used as a boiling water bath container as well.


Canning and Preserving

There are two ways of preparing food for pressure canning or the boiling water bath. In both methods of home canning, the fruits or vegetables are first cleaned, peeled, and stemmed. If desired, they can also be sliced or chopped at this point. Add any seasonings at this time as well.

In the raw or cold pack method, the food is now packed immediately into the jars. Then boiling water or sugar syrup is added to fill the jars.

Using the hot pack technique of canning, the food is precooked before being packed into the jars. The advantage of precooking is that the food becomes more pliable, which permits a more solid pack.

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Preserving Foods Tips

* Sterilize all canning jars and lids.

* A small space is left between the liquid and the top of the jar called headspace, which varies with the type of food being packed.

* Make certain the seal is clean, so that it makes complete contact with the jar rim.

Follow the home canning recipes for the processing times listed on your pressure canner or boiling water bath. After the processing time is complete, remove the jars from the kettle and allow them to cool.

When the jars have cooled, test the seal by pressing down on the center of the lids. If it stays down when pressed, the jar is sealed.

Home Canning Recipes

‘Roma', ‘Red Top', and ‘San Marzano' are a few good meaty tomato varieties if you are going to use tomatoes for making paste or sauces. Excellent choices for canning and preserving because of their intense color, resistance to cracks, and few seeds are ‘Moira'. ‘Heinz 1350' and ‘Campbell 19'. Try the following preserving foods recipe for making homemade tomato ketchup, which yields about 3 pints.

Tomato Ketchup

Peel, core, and chop tomatoes. Combine with onions and pepper. Cook until soft. Remove from the heat and put ingredients through a food processor. Return to the stove and boil until the volume is decreased by about half, stirring often.

This process should take about an hour. Combine the whole spices and put into a cheesecloth bag. Add this along with the sugar and salt to the tomato mixture. Continue cooking for another 25 minutes, still stirring frequently.

Add the vinegar and paprika, continually stirring and cook until thick. When the ketchup reaches the desired consistency, pour immediately into hot canning jars. Leave a ½ inch space at top. Cover the jars with lids. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

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