1. Home food preservation update
Dr. Ben Chapman
Food safety extension specialist
Dept of 4-H Youth Dev and FCS

2. Recent illnesses March 2011: British Columbia Watermelon Jelly
Was “not quite set”
pH was too high
One illness
No tested recipe for watermelon jelly

3. Proposed law changes
MI – allow for in-home produced low-risk products (not canned/acidified, but jams are included.
Must carry a label that says:
Produced in uninspected kitchen
Ingredients
Address

4. Reminders Summer squash Low acid tomato foods One-piece lids
Not all that uniform
Just have to assume that tomato foods are low acid
One-piece lids
Not recommended, failure rate is too high (from NCHFP)

5. Process Food Properly: Don’t be Rachel Ray
Encourage following a credible recipe exactly
The following slows heat penetration:
Extra sugar or fat
Oversized food pieces
Added thickeners
Salt and spice are for taste
Sugars, in jams/jellies are needed for pectin interaction

6. The Resources So Easy to Preserve, University of Georgia
(soeasytopreserve.com)
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning
(free download on UGA site)
Ball Blue Book
(amazon, Wal-Mart)
-- $6.04 with shipping and handling 6 6

7. Selling home preserved foods
NCDA resources on this
It is okay to sell jams and jellies
Acidified foods are allowed but vendors must attend specified training

8. Preservation Websites
National Center for Home Food Preservation
NC State home food preservation
Homefoodpreservation.ncsu.edu
Alltrista Consumer Products OR
USDA guide to home canning 8 8

9. Judging suggestions State fair experience
entries in 236 categories
20 judges, 6 helpers
$8,185 in premiums

10. Judging preserved products at fairs
Prior to the fair
Only include categories that have tested recipes
No squash, no watermelon jelly
When entrants come with products/questions tell why
Give a list of requirements
Nothing decorative on lids etc (hard to see fill).

12. Judges Depending on entries, judge between 150-200 products each
Canned Fruits/Veg (2 judges)
Dried Fruits/Veg
Preserves (2 judges)
Jams, Conserves, Marmalades (4 judges)
Jelly (2 judges)
Juices/Syrups (2 judges)
Pickles, relishes, chutneys, salsas (6 judges)
Junior (2 judges)

13. Gather the following materials
Pencils
Staplers
Processing time charts
Comment cards
resources on chapmanfoodsafety.wordpress.com site

15. Tasting State fair and NCHFP guidelines:
The only canned foods that should be tasted are jellies, jams and other fruit preserves made with high concentrations of sugar or flavored vinegars.

16. Day of the event
Have judges meet before hand and go through requirements
Talk about comment cards and processing times
Encourage to be encouraging

17. From NCHFP best practices
Judge the item, not the exhibitor.
Be consistent. Judge all projects against the same standards.
Start comments with a positive remark.
Inspire the exhibitor to plan ahead for future successful projects.

18. Have on hand So Easy to Preserve USDA guide
Extra sheets, pencils and staplers

19. Judging resources chapmanfoodsafety.wordpress.com And

20. Questions from consumers
Can I pressure can outside with a gas burner?
Not a best practice because of wind gusts and not being able to regulate temperature evenness
Boiling WB is probably okay

21. Best tomato to buy/use for canning
All the same, safety-wise
I prefer red rounds (less surface area, more pulp)

22. Wants to can cabbage and does not know the processing time.
Nope, no tested recipes for cabbage canning (straight up). Just fermented cabbage. Yes, sauerkraut is good:
or freezing:

23. Dr. Ben Chapman
Follow me on