Jarring
I'm considering giving out giftbaskets with jars of my homemade pasta sauce as part of my holiday gifts this year; however, I haven't the slightest idea how to go about it in a way that with minimise the risk of food poisoning, etc. Does anyone have any experience doing this who might be able to give me some pointers?
Élise
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Canning
It's hard to say with a home-concocted recipe whether you should water bath can or pressure cooker can, but if you don't want to process your jars at all you MUST refrigerate the basket and tell people to get the jars into the fridge asap and use them soonest.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
Thanks/follow-up question
Would it be erring on the side of safety, then, to water bath/pressure cooker can? How does one go about that?
Thanks again,
Elise
My Mother In Law
Pours boiling water into the jars just as she is about to fill them to heat them. Then she pours out the water, fills them with very hot filling all the way to the top, closes them tightly, and turns them upside down. They kinda vacuum seal themselves as they cool, and the ones you can see did not seal, she puts in the fridge.
*******disclaimer********
I can't vouch that this is as safe as a water bath or pressure cooker, but she has been doing it for 35-40 years. Just thought I'd share.
Water vs. pressure canning
Water baths are fine if your can filling is acidic. Water bath meaning you boil the filled jars for a certain period and pull them out. Pressure canning is for when your foods aren't acidic enough for water baths.
If your pasta sauce has tomatoes, chances are it's acidic enough to just water bath, but to be sure, you should find out. You can get ph test strips to gauge, though I can't remember at the moment what level of acidity is the minimum. Lynn's link probably tells.
If it's not acidic enough, you can fiddle with the recipe by adding lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, or something acidic until the proper level is reached. If that would ruin the taste of the sauce, you'll have to pressure can. And your not supposed to use a regular pressure cooker, you're supposed to use a pressure canner built especially for the purpose.
I sterilize my jars and lids, fill them up with hot stuff, wipe the rims, put on the lids, and water bath for however long the recipe says. I've never had a jar not seal except for the time Grandma insisted that it was OK to use an old Miracle Whip jar. Lid popped off during water bath. That jar got refridgerated and eaten right away. So, only use canning jars!
I've never had to can anything needing a pressure canner, so I don't even own one.
Let us know what you end up doing!
Anhata
www.familynaturally.com
Your Family's General Store, Naturally
Acidity
Thanks, Anhata, witchiepoo, and Lynn for your advice. My sauce is definitely quite acidic - it includes substantial quantities of tomatoes, in addition to balsamic vinegar and other low-pH ingredients (doesn't it seem appetizing when it's phrased that way?
).
I'm still not entirely sure whether I'm going to do it this year. My mother, for one, thinks I'd be crazy to send out my first attempts at canning as gifts, since I would prefer to avoid giving my friends and family food poisoning.
Who knows, maybe I can get DGF to snag a couple of petri dishes and some agar from work and I could just do cultures to ensure sterility.
Assuming, however, that I end up doing this, here's what I'm thinking of including:
One or two jars of my assorted sauces, one block of parmigiano reggiano cheese, and a pack of spaghettoni or fusilli.
go for it!
Elisa -
I think you should do it - what a fantastic gift! I have canned tomatoes and it was really quite easy -
Andrea
go for it!
Elisa -
I think you should do it - what a fantastic gift! I have canned tomatoes and it was really quite easy -
Andrea
Wow
Wow Elisa, I would love to receive a gift like that! I really do think people appreciate a gift that is homemade. It does add such a personal touch.
canning veggies,salsas ect.
I can quite a bit and was confused about the shelf life of canned goods. does it depend on the type of food?
I'd really appreciate any feedback as I'd like to give all valid info. with my canned Christmas gifrs this year.
Thanks so much......Terri
The USDA says:
Properly canned food stored in a cool, dry place will retain optimum eating quality for at least 1 year. Canned food stored in a warm place near hot pipes, a range, a furnace, or in indirect sunlight may lose some of its eating quality in a few weeks or months, depending on the temperature. Dampness may corrode cans or metal lids and cause leakage so the food will spoil.
from The National Center for Home Food Preservation (Yea, that's it's name!)
____________________
Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embraceable You" in spats.
-- Woody Allen
a good introduction to canning
here. I suggest you pick up a copy of Ball's Blue Book or something similar, or call your county extension service if you have one. It's too much to go into in a forum post.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
Definitely not as safe
If you know what you're doing you can often get away with this, and obviously your MIL knows what she's doing. But for the beginning canner, I wouldn't recommend it--especially anyone who's giving away the results rather than eating them herself. YOU know what it's supposed to smell like.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
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