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Feature Articles: Cooking and Produce Summer garden produce brings bounty of food preservation questions, concernsEileen Yager Communications Officer Extension & Ag Information, University of Missouri |
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When backyard gardens are overflowing with cucumbers, grandma’s
home-canned pickles are not far behind. Before you take the
first bite of that crisp, tangy pickled cuke, it might be wise
to ask, “Is her recipe safe?”
No offense to grandma, but it’s probably not safe. Many of
the old family favorites use methods that have been deemed
unsafe, said Sarah Janicek, who answers food safety questions
for University of Missouri Extension’s nutrition education
programs.
“People are still using really old recipes that are not
reliable or safe,” Janicek said. For Janicek and other extension
nutrition specialists, home canning questions are as much of a
summer tradition as grandma’s pickles. Answers to those
questions focus first and foremost on ensuring that home canners
know the current recommendations to prevent the possibility of
food-borne illnesses and spoilage.
Common mistakes include failing to heat pickles in a
boiling-water bath, and under-processing tomatoes and other
items produced using recipes based on trial and error rather
than good food science.
Though the U.S. Department of Agriculture--the definitive
source on home food preservation--completely revamped canning
recommendations in 1989, old methods still persist.
“Sometimes they (home canners) don’t realize the risk they
take because up to this point they’ve managed to escape the most
serious consequences, or have not understood why jars come
unsealed or spoiled on the shelf,” said Cynthia Fauser, an MU
extension nutrition specialist in St. Louis.
For years, “cold packing”--treating vegetable-packed jars in
a hot-water bath--was the favored method for green beans and
tomatoes, vegetables still popular among home canners. The
technique was based on pre-World War II science when
microbiology was still in its infancy, Fauser said.
Food scientists now know that water-bath canning is not safe for low-acid foods, which includes vegetables, meats and vegetable-meat combinations, she said.
“CI Botulinum goes active when it’s canned,” Fauser said. “It
particularly likes low-acid, air-free environments, as in
canning jars with low-acid vegetables. “It’s undetected by taste
or smell, but one taste can produce potentially deadly
stroke-like symptoms,” she said.
Janicek said, “Low-acid foods need to be pressure canned to
kill the botulism spores.”
Tomatoes are borderline acidic, so safeguards include added
lemon juice and increased processing times for many tomato
products, Fauser said.
Tested recipes use processing times based on the specific
recipe’s pH, the size of the jar, thickness of the product and
even altitude. “That’s why home canners need to stick to tested
recipes and follow procedures precisely,” Fauser said.
“Just because the recipe has been published in a book doesn’t
mean it’s been tested. There’s no requirement for recipes to be
safety tested,” Fauser said.
Fauser and Janicek advise getting the latest processing
recommendations from the
National Center for Home Food Preservation, the home of
USDA’s and extension’s research for home canning.
They recommend using only tested recipes from current MU
Extension publications, the “USDA Complete Guide to Home
Canning,” or the “Ball Blue Book.”
“I only recommend recipes from these three sources because
they are based on the recommendations from the National Center
for Home Food Preservation,” Fauser said.
Fauser added: “The bottom line is that you have to take the
safety into your own hands when you want to be a food
processor.”
Missouri residents with questions about home canning can
contact the MU Extension’s Show-Me Nutrition line at
1-800-515-0016 or email Jessica Kovarik at
kovarikj@missouri.edu.
Residents can also call their county extension
office and ask for the nutrition specialist.
MU Extension Quality for Keeps food preservation publications
provide additional information. They may be viewed or ordered
online at
http://extension.missouri.edu or purchased at local
extension offices.
Sources: Sarah Janicek, (573) 882-2428; Cynthia Fauser (314) 615-7603
Last update: Wednesday, June 25, 2008
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