1. Let’s Get Ready to Preserve!
Barbara Ingham
Extension Food Scientist
Welcome to the first in a series of Wisline programs on home food preservation. Today we will talk about the basics of food preservation as we get set for a season of home canning, freezing or dehydrating. Then, in upcoming programs we will look into specific methods for canning green beans, making jam and jelly, and other topics.
Before we get started, let’s see who is joining us today. (Roll call)
Thanks to everyone for joining us today. Today’s program may be slightly longer than other programs in this series so that we can cover all the basics. I have tried to save time for questions throughout, and extra time at the end for you to share your ideas, questions and concerns. So….let’s get started.

2. Today’s topics: Why preserve foods?
What are the basic food preservation guidelines?
What resources are available to help you get started on a successful food preservation season?

3. Take a minute to consider……. Why do we preserve foods?
Think back to your first experience with home canning, freezing or drying of foods. Maybe you were very young when you first helped grandma start a crock of genuine dill pickles. Or maybe you remember helping your mother or father freeze strawberries and green beans for the winter. Or perhaps it was only a few years ago when you started preserving food at home. Take a few seconds to consider why you decided to start preserving food at home, or why this is part of your family tradition. Share one of these ideas with anyone listening in with you today before we move on. (30-60 seconds)

4. Why Preserve Foods? Increase the shelf life of food.
Provide convenience.
Retain the nutritional value.
Improve how food tastes.
And because it’s fun!
Now that you’ve had a chance to think about this question. Let me share some answers to this question that I have heard as I have taught food preservation classes for the last 10 years:
Increase the shelf life of food: raw meat can be safely stored in the refrigerator for just 3-5 days, but put that same meat in a jar and process it in a pressure canner and you’ll have meat that will remain safe for many years.
Provide convenience: spending some time this summer freezing, canning or drying food will be worth the effort when, come December, you can make a pot of delicious soup by opening a few jars of your home canned produce.
Retain the nutritional value: if you take care to process food soon after harvest, they will end up being more nutritious than foods that you buy in the store, especially if you buy those foods out of season. And sometimes preserving food is important if you are worried about what might be in your food, like pesticide residues, or allergenic compounds.
Improve how food tastes: the blending of flavors that takes place as we preserve food can increase their palatability. We all know 5 and 6 year olds who refuse to eat tomatoes but who love to eat ketchup.
And because it’s fun! For many families preserving foods at home is a tradition that is shared from generation to generation. The satisfaction of providing for yourself and your family can be well worth the work that you put into preserving foods at home.
What other ideas did you have?

5. Freezing, Drying, and Canning
……Which method will you choose?
Our aim: safe, high quality food.
There are 3 main methods of food preservation: canning, freezing and drying. The method you choose will depend on whether there are safe guidelines for preserving your food using that method; and which method best suits your needs. For instance, you may want to can a new salsa recipe, but if there are no safe guidelines for doing so, you may end up freezing the product instead. Or, if you have a bounty of delicious strawberries from your garden, you might consider canning strawberry jam, or freezing the berries ‘as is’ … but not drying, because drying strawberries results in a poor quality product. Canning, freezing and drying, if done correctly, can help you store safe, high quality food for later use.

6. Food Preservation Quiz

7. Cold Preservation Set refrigerators to 32° - 40°F
Set home freezers to 0°F or below
Rapid freezing is best (less damage)
Freezing Fruits & Vegetables (B3278)
Proper packaging is critical for quality
Storage of frozen foods
Meats: 3 to 9 months
Fruits and vegetables: 1 year
Refrigeration slows spoilage by slowing microbial growth and slowing general decay reactions. Freezing stops microbial growth and stabilizes product.
UWEX publication: Freezing Fruits and Vegetables B3278

8. If water is not available,
Drying Foods
Air drying for herbs; Sun drying for fruits (ONLY!)
Controlled drying using an oven or dehydrator is best
Resource:
NEW! Recipes for making safe
Jerky coming in August 2009
If water is not available,
microbes can not grow
Storage of dried foods- fruits and meat 6 months, and vegetables 1 year

9. Heat Processing Blanching Pasteurization Canning
Short heating to stop enzymes, soften tissue, prevent color loss and remove air from tissue (vegetables before freezing/canning)
Pasteurization
Mild heat treatment designed to stop enzymes, to destroy growing bacteria, and to kill yeast and molds (milk & juice, and pickles & jam too)
Canning
High heat to destroy harmful microbes (especially pressure canning of meat, vegetables)

10. Two Types of Canning
Boiling Water Canning (212°F) – fruits and acid-added foods
Pressure Canning (240°F or above) – meats and vegetables (dial gauge or weighted gauge canners)
Remember…adjust for elevation!

11. How do we know which canning method to use?
What is the pH (acidity) of the food? below pH 4.6 above
Boiling Water Fruits, Pickles, Salsa
Pressure
Meat, Vegetables
pH is the measure of acidity in a food. Foods with a pH below 4.6 are high in acid; fruits are high in acid and can be boiling water canned. Acidified foods (foods where we add acid) like pickles and salsa (and tomatoes) are also high in acid and can be water bath canned. Some fermented foods are also high in acid.
Foods that are low in acid have a pH above 4.6. Meat, cheese, vegetables, and a few fruits have a pH above 4.6. Foods with a pH above 4.6 (meat/vegetables) must be pressure canned.

12. What is ‘magic’ about pH 4.6?
IF the pH of the food is above 4.6
IF there is no oxygen present
IF the temperature is warm
 Clostridium botulinum can grow and produce TOXIN (botulism poisoning)

13. ‘Recipe’ for Danger
1 Food, pH above Vacuum sealed canning jar 1 standard temperature ADD: C. botulinum spores WAIT! You don’t need to add these, they are everywhere!

14. Conditions for neurotoxin production: Spores of C. botulinum No oxygen
pH greater than 4.6
The spores of C. botulinum are not harmful, neither are the vegetative cells. Botulinum is hazardous only when spores grow and produce a powerful neurotoxin at pH greater than 4.6 in an anaerobic environment.
There are often NO signs of spoilage!
Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. There are three main kinds of botulism. Foodborne botulism is caused by eating foods that contain the botulism toxin. Wound botulism is caused by toxin produced from a wound infected with Clostridium botulinum. Infant botulism is caused by consuming the spores of the botulinum bacteria, which then grow in the intestines and release toxin. All forms of botulism can be fatal and are considered medical emergencies. Foodborne botulism can be especially dangerous because many people can be poisoned by eating a contaminated food.
In the United States, an average of 145 cases of botulism are reported each year. About 15% of these botulism cases are foodborne.
Growing cells produce TOXIN

15. What does this mean for home canning?
Foods with pH above 4.6 that you want to can:  Process in a pressure canner to destroy spores of C. botulinum. Adding pressure increases temperature At sea level, water 212°F 10 pounds pressure (psi) - 240°F 15 pounds pressure (psi) - 250°F
The higher temperature of pressure canning allows you to process for a shorter time so that you retain more nutrients and quality is higher.

16. Home Canning Resources
Using & Caring for a Pressure Canner(B2593)
Wisconsin Safe Food Preservation Series (2008): canning fruits, salsa, vegetables, meat, tomatoes, pickles & jam (
Ball Blue Book
National Center for Home Food Preservation (
*Resources MUST be from 1994 or later!

17. Botulism Strikes Spokane Mother, Two Children February 28, 2009
…The Associated Press reported that three people in Spokane, Washington, have become ill from botulism. The botulism apparently occurred from improper canning techniques used in home-canning of green beans vegetables from a private home garden.
The woman was a nurse in her 30s with two children under ten. She became ill enough to be put on a ventilator; the children suffered milder symptoms. The incident was linked to difficult economic times.
Readers of the Seattle, Washington Spokesman-Review on February 28, 2009 were greeted with the news that a Spoke, Washington woman and her two young children were sickened by botulism from improperly canned green beans from a home garden. The Spokesman-Review reported that the victims were a nurse in her 30s and two children younger than 10. The Woman was placed on a ventilator and is recovering slowly. The children suffered milder symptoms.
The classic symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. Infants with botulism appear lethargic, feed poorly, are constipated, and have a weak cry and poor muscle tone. These are all symptoms of the muscle paralysis caused by the bacterial toxin. If untreated, these symptoms may progress to cause paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk and respiratory muscles. In foodborne botulism, symptoms generally begin 18 to 36 hours after eating a contaminated food, but they can occur as early as 6 hours or as late as 10 days.
    

18. What affects canning besides pH?
Pack method – raw pack or hot pack
Jar size – half-pints, pints or quarts
Elevation - affects boiling point of water
Tomatoes, whole*
Boiling water canner – 85 minutes
Dial gauge canner psi
Weighted gauge min @ 10 psi
*hot pack, Qt. jars, 1,000 ft.
p. 15 Tomatoes Tart & Tasty

19. Tips for Successful Canning
Properly pre-treat jars and lids
Fill jars with hot liquid (never cold!)
Leave the proper headspace
Boiling water canning: jars covered with 1-2 inches of boiling water at the start of processing
Pressure canning: vent canner for 10 minutes before pressurizing
Adjust for elevation

20. Don’t harm your family with these canning methods!
Boiling water canning of low-acid food
Open-kettle canning
Dishwasher canning
Oven canning
Some home canning practices to avoid at ALL COSTS:
Do not use a boiling water canner for low-acid foods. Always use a pressure canner for low-acid foods. You risk botulism poisoning if you do not.
Never open-kettle can foods. Open-kettle canning is when you place hot food in hot, clean jars and seal, with no further processing. Open kettle canning is NOT acceptable for any type of foods: fruits, tomatoes, or vegetables. With open kettle canning you risk spoilage or even food poisoning.
Never oven can foods. Oven canning is when you place canning jars with food such as meat in the oven, heat the jars for a period of time, remove the jars and seal. The jars are likely to break, and the food is not heated sufficient to ensure safety.
Here’s an easy way to explain why oven canning does not ensure safety. Think of the last time you had your oven heated to 375 degrees F. You can open the oven door, and place your hand in the oven and, as long as you don’t touch anything, you can leave your hand there a few seconds. But, consider holding your hand over a kettle of boiling water. The boiling water is at 212 degrees F, 163 degrees cooler than the oven, and yet your hand is instantly burned by the steam. So…we can say that dry heat (like an oven) does not act in the same way as moist heat (steam). In home canning we use steam in a pressure canner, or boiling water in a BWC to create the heat needed to ensure safe food.

21. Don’t Forget
Process at the correct temperature (boiling water or pressure canner)
Follow an up-to-date, research tested recipe
Adjust for elevation
*Note: darker areas on the state map have an elevation above 1,000 feet. Increase time when boiling water canning; increase pressure when pressure canning.

22. And now a word about…canners vs cookers
Pressure canners and pressure cooker are NOT necessarily the same thing.
Pressure canners must hold at least 4 Quart jars and be able to regulate pressure at 5, 10, 15 pounds (psi).
Pressure cookers are NOT recommended for home canning.
Pressure canners are not necessarily the same thing as pressure cookers.
Small pressure cookers or pressure saucepans are used to rapidly cook meats, vegetables and other foods for a family meal. But they may not maintain adequate pressure, and they heat and cool too quickly to use them to safely pressure can foods. 
Pressure canners have either dial or weighted gauges. Pressure canners are necessary to safely can foods such as meats and vegetables that are low in acid.
Pressure canners and pressure saucepans come in a wide variety of sizes. Pressure canners may hold up to 22 Quarts of canned food, and are able to process food at pressures up to 25 pounds of pressure.  Some popular brands of pressure canners are Mirro, Presto, and All American. Pressure cookers usually hold no more than 4 to 6 Quarts of liquid, and they may, or may not, have a way to regulate the pressure. Some pressure cookers come equipped with a weight to cook at 5, 10 or 15 pounds of pressure, while others have no way to regulate pressure settings, or simply have settings of ‘low’, ‘medium’ and ‘high’. Pressure cookers are not recommended for home canning.

23. Will preserving food at home save you money?
Do you have a ready supply of fresh produce or meat?
Do you have canners and jars?
Do you have a working freezer with plenty of space?
Do you have the time….?
The method of food preservation that you choose will depend on a number of things: the tested recipes that are available, the type of equipment that you have, and the quality of the resulting product, but the choice is yours to make.
Will preserving food at home save you money? What do you think?
Many people have home gardens with an ample supple of fresh fruits and vegetables, or they have a ready supply of meat or wild game. Preserving this food can be a real boost to your family’s food budget. If you don’t have a ready supply of fresh food, then you will have to consider the purchase of food as one of the costs in food preservation.
The equipment that you will need for food preservation can be an investment. Many people choose to have on hand a pressure canner, a water bath canner, and jars and lids of various sizes. If you like to freeze large quantities of foods, then you many need to have a special freezer on hand. And for drying foods at home, you’ll want to have a dehydrator on hand. Sometimes you can find the equipment that you need at garage sales. You need to check all canners and jars carefully before you use them, but garage sale purchases can certainly be helpful. Regardless, for home canning you will need to buy new lids every year. The screw bands for the 2-piece lids can be reused (as long as they aren’t terribly rusted) but you must purchase new jar lids each year.
And then, of course, there is the cost of utilities like gas, electricity and water, and your time.
But even if home food preservation doesn’t save you a lot of money, for many people the satisfaction of preserving your own food is definitely worth it!

24. Food Preservation Updates
Add acid to tomato products!
Adjust for elevation when canning
Just because it sealed….it doesn’t mean it’s safe!!!!!!
Check pickle recipes for safety (even refrigerator pickles)
Safety of steam canners
A word about vacuum sealers

25. Getting Started…Equipment
Assemble Boiling Water and Pressure Canners
Check dial gauges and rubber gaskets
 Dial gauges must be checked each year!
Inspect jars, rims & lids
Purchase freezer containers
Clean your dehydrator
Now is the time of year to check your equipment to see that you have everything that you will need for a successful food preservation season.
If you can both high- and low-acid foods, then you will need at least a pressure canner, and most people have a boiling water canner too. Your canner must be fitted with a rack to hold the jars off the bottom of the canner. Any large pot with a tight-fitting lid and rack can serve as a BW canner.
Pressure canners come in 2 types, dial gauge and weighted gauge canners. Dial gauges must be checked every year for accuracy. Your county extension office can help you with this. Now is a good time to check your gauge, before green beans and corn are ready for processing. Check the rubber gasket on your pressure canner too , and replace it if necessary.
Inspect your supply of jars and lids. Home canning jars should be free of cracks, scratches and nicks. Replace jars that are damaged. And be sure to use only appropriate home canning jars. For pressure canning you MUST use standard home canning jars, like Mason or Ball jars. For BW canning, you CAN use mayo or spaghetti sauce jars, as long as they take a standard 2-piece lid. Because the sealing compound will deteriorate, you will want to purchase new lids every season. Don’t try to use last year’s lids, as they may not seal.
If you plan to freeze produce, clean our your freezer to make room for this year’s supply. Produce that was frozen last year will be lower in quality and have less nutritional value than fresh produce. Plan to use up last year’s frozen food, or compost fruits and vegetables that you can not consume before this year’s crop is ready. Purchase containers that you will use to store frozen foods.
Bring your dehydrator out of storage, and give it a thorough cleaning so you are ready for the season.
Please refer to the handout: Food Preservation Resources for information on where to obtain food preservation equipment.

26. Getting Started…Produce
Start with tested varieties
Harvest at the proper stage of maturity
Discard diseased produce
Rapidly chill harvested produce
Always start with high quality produce.
Start with tested varieties. Check current UWEX recommendations for varieties of fruits and vegetables recommended for your area. Seed catalogues, too, are a good source of information.
If you have your own garden, pick produce at the proper stage of maturity. Don’t pick under-ripe fruit or immature vegetables, unless your recipe calls for those. The quality of fruits and vegetables don’t improve after harvest. It’s better to hold some fruits of a day or 2 in the refrigerator as you wait for other fruits to ripen, rather than picking fruit that isn’t ready yet. The same holds for vegetables that are not yet mature.
Carefully inspect all fruits and vegetables, and discard those that are obviously diseased. Small blemishes can be trimmed away, but it may be unsafe to can diseased produce.
Once harvested, fruits and vegetables should be chilled as soon as possible to avoid deterioration in quality. And most produce should be washed before chilling. Harvest produce early in the day. If you shop at a farm market for produce, do your shopping early and then return home to chill or process the produce that you selected.

27. Getting Started…Recipes
Use ONLY up-to-date, research-tested recipes!
Don’t (necessarily) do what your Mother told you!
Current canning instructions
date from 1994 or later.
Time to leave creativity behind!
Depending on the method of home food preservation that you choose, you may have a variety of recipes to choose from, or your choices may be limited. Every year, check to make sure your canning recipes are up-to-date. Leave the creativity behind when home canning! Don’t experiment with your health and that of your family.
Be sure that you:
Use recipes as they are written, don’t adapt . Changing the amount of sugar and salt is sometimes OK, but making other changes is generally not alright. As we talk about specific recipes later this summer, I will make sure to mention if any modifications are safe.
For instance, it generally isn’t OK to add more onion or celery than is called for; it isn’t OK to add butter or flour if it isn’t called for; and it isn’t OK to use a larger jar and ‘guess’ on the processing time. It also isn’t OK to leave a critical ingredient like acid out of canned tomatoes.
Follow current recipes. Research published in 1994 indicated that some canning procedures were no longer safe. For instance, before 1994 it appeared to be safe to can tomatoes without added acid, but we now know that this isn’t true. So, if your canning recipes pre-date 1994, be sure to order new publications.
Call for help BEFORE canning, not after. If you aren’t sure if you are following a safe method, call your county extension office before you start, not while you are waiting for the jars to cool.

28. Canning and Preserving for Special Diets
Choose recipes that don’t require sugar or salt for safety
Read the recipe carefully
Don’t choose your own substitutions
 see
Many recipes lend themselves to preserving food for people who are watching their salt and/or sugar intake.
First, choose recipes that don’t require sugar or salt for safety. Some fermented foods like genuine dill pickles and sauerkraut require a certain amount of salt; but in most other recipes the salt can be omitted without affecting safety. Sugar is rarely needed, other than to allow jams and jellies to gel and to provide a nice texture to canned fruits. In the coming weeks we will talk about how you can modify jam and fruit recipes for low sugar diets.
Next, read each recipe carefully. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of vinegar but only a teaspoon of salt, chances are that the salt is only for flavor, but the vinegar is necessary for the proper acid level.
And never choose your own substitutions. For instance, lemon juice and vinegar both add acid to a recipe, but they aren’t interchangeable!
The National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia has some recipes for special diets.

29. Happy Preserving!