Safe Canning - Debbie's Back Porch

JAM23 wrote:. . . I was given this as a gift last Christmas and have earmarked some of the recipes that I would like to try this summer. Have you found any that are really good ones to try Scorpio Rising? I just canned some strawberry jam yesterday and I am excited that they all sealed and set up! I love hearing the sound of the lids popping. So exciting!

sanderson wrote:An alternative to water bathing: steam canning.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t18519-steam-canning?highlight=canning

AtlantaMarie wrote:So Easy to Preserve is one of the books I use when teaching canning.  I also show Ball's Complete Book of Home Preserving.  Both have some great information!  Definitely safe canning books.  There is also a video series for So Easy.  Some can be found here or at least lead you in the right direction:

Dr Elizabeth Andress - Healthy Canning

The Univ of GA is the home of the National Center for Home Food Preservation.  They do all of the testing for USDA.  Unfortunately Dr. Andress retired a couple of years ago.  She spent ALL of her time teaching & testing.  The school slowly but surely took her assistants away & she ended up being basically a single-person department.  It was very frustrating.  I don't know how much testing was done in her final few years as a result.  (And I don't know what they're doing now.  My main contact who did a lot of work with Dr. A has moved out of state & she loaded me up with teaching supplies before she left.)  You can download the USDA books from the NCFHFP website:

National Center for Home Food Preservation | Publications Home (uga.edu)

Ball was purchased by Newell Rubbermaid in 2015, I believe.  (NR also owns Food Saver, btw.)  I've been hearing complaints for a couple of years now that they no longer completely use tested recipes.  For those who are interested only in safe canning practices, this is a major concern.  I would say use any older Ball books (pre-2016) but avoid the newer ones if this is a concern for you. 

I do not own the Bernardin book.  But in some of the FB canning pages I belong to, some folks have expressed concern about safety.  I can't make any judgements or suggestions on this one.  

Hope this helps.

AtlantaMarie wrote:"I can't remember the success/failure rate in forming a safe seal for Pur, nor for Golden Harvest."  

Golden Harvest lids have worked fine for me in the past.  But I've heard a LOT of complaints over the last 2 years about some of the imposters that look very similar to Ball's....

And those used mason jar lids can be reused to vacuum seal jars.  That's what I do.

sanderson wrote:SR,  Have you ever used Pickle Crisp?