Ultimate Guide to Canning Jars and Food Preservation Techniques

1. Preservation

2. Canning Jars • Glass jars • pint to quart size • Do not use other jars like mayonnaise jars • Two piece vacuum caps • Screw band and a flat metal lid

3. Preparing jars and Closures • Hot, soapy water and rinse them • Submerge in a sink for 10 minutes • Place in a dishwasher to sterilize and get them hot • If it is processed less than 10 minutes you need to sterilize them

4. Hot water bath (ten minutes) • Filling Canning Jars • Raw pack – pack raw fruit, veggies tightly into jars • Hot pack – heat food in water, steam, syrup or juice • Pack loosely in jars and cover with cooking liquid

5. Headspace – space between the food and the closure of a food storage container • ½ inch for high-acid foods • 1 inch for low-acid, pg 408 • ¼ inch for jams and jellies • Liquid should cover food or it will turn brown

6. Food Spoilage • Microorganisms – microscopic living substances • Bacteria, mold, yeast • Bacteria – single celled, can cause diseases

7. Mold – growth produced on damp or decaying organic matter • Yeast – microscopic fungus that can cause fermentation • Enzymes –complex proteins produced by living cells that cause specific chemical reactions (buttermilk, sauerkraut)

8. Need to grow: • 1. food • 2. moisture • 3. temperature

9. Canning Foods • Why????? • Over abundance in gardens • Special recipes • Avoid preservatives • Seasonal fruit

10. Food used in Canning • Fruits, vegetables, juices, meats, pickles, and jellies

11. Pressure Canning • Use for green beans (low acid) • Meats, poultry and fish • Petcock –allows air to be exhausted • Pressure gauge – measures steam pressure

12. Processing Time • Amount of time canned foods remain under heat

13. Boiling Water Canning • For high acid foods like tomatoes, fruits, and pickled vegetables • Use a large metal container, fill the water to cover jars and to boil freely • Use a cover but don’t lock in place • When water comes to a rolling boil, start time

14. After Canning • Press center of each lid • Remove each screw band carefully

15. Check for Spoilage • Flat-sour – caused by bacteria (looks normal but acidic) • Botulism – food borne illness from spore forming bacteria (improperly processed) soft and mushy, smells like rancid cheese

16. Jelly products • Made from fruit juice • Fruit juice • Jelly bag to extract juice • Thoroughly washed fruit

17. Ingredients • Pectin – carbohydrate found in fruits to make jell • Acid --- adds flavor and helps to jell • Sugar – helps jelly become firm and adds flavor and preserves jelly

18. Making Jelly • Bring mixture to full boil, remove from heat, skim off foam • Pour into jelly jars

19. Other Jellied Products • Marmalade – tender jelly containing small pieces of fruit or fruit rind • Jam – made from crushed fruit • Preserves – are whole fruits or large pieces of fruit

20. Conserves – made from a mixture of fruits including citrus • Fruit butters – are not jellied but cooked and pureed fruit

21. Freezing Foods • Quick Freezing • Subjected to temps between -25 & -40 degrees

22. Equipment • Chest and upright • Containers • Moisture and vapor resistant • Shape of containers affect how much food you can store

23. Freezing fruits • Can freeze most fruits, wash and separate, do not soak

24. Anti darkening Treatments • Ascorbic acid – prevents color and flavor loss • Another name for Vitamin C • Ascorbic Acid mixtures – contain ascorbic acid and sugar or with sugar and citric acid

25. Packing Fruit • Dry pack – fruit placed in shallow pan and frozen (may treat with anti darkening agent) • Sugar pack – shallow pan and then add sugar, turn piece until sugar dissolves • Syrup pack – prepare syrup and chill

26. Freezing Vegetables • Blanch – placing in boiling water for a short amount of time • Prevents vitamin loss, spoilage • Cool veggies and drain as soon as possible

27. Packing Veggies • Put in air tight containers as soon as possible

28. Freezing Meat • No special preparation • Do not freeze in original wrappers • Rewrap in moisture proof and vapor proof paper

29. Freezing Prepared Foods • Baked pastry, cookies, breads, etc • Freeze casseroles, stews

30. Thawing Frozen Foods • Cook some veggies without thawing • Does take extra cooking time

31. Food Drying • Drying removes moisture • Dry fruit, veggies, meats, etc • Are lightweight • Fruit leathers – pliable sheets of dried fruit puree

32. Preparing to Dry • Dry food completely to prevent spoilage • Select young and tender veggies • Sulfuring is an anti darkening treatment used on fruits

33. Procedure for Drying • 1 sun drying • 2. oven drying • Trays and screens to help air circulate

34. Storing and Using Food • Eat in dry or re-hydrated state • Freeze drying – involves the removal of water vapor from foods • Aseptic packaging – food and its packaging material are sterilized separately

35. Retort packaging – food is sealed in foil pouch • Irradiation – exposes food to low level doses of gamma rays, electron beams, or X rays