Some recipes I download claim that if the jar makes the sealed pop before you waterbath them that you dont have to bother with the waterbath. Thats not true is it?
An old-fashioned (but considered dangerous by today's standards) technique is called "open-kettle" canning.
That's basically what you describe. Hot food and liquid is put in hot jars. They are capped. And allowed to seal.
Because there is great potential for the entry of pathogens doing this, it is held in disrepute in the U.S.. All high-acid and sugar-preserved foods should be boiling-water bathed. And low acid foods must be pressure canned to be safe.
Many old timers believe that by boiling food for long periods you kill off any "germs." To some degree that's true. But the really dangerous bugs, the ones that cause things like botulism, require temperatures of 240F+ to be killed. No amount of boiling, I don't care if you measure it in hours, will every bring the food to that point. Heavily salted water (like to the point of sea brine) can be boiled at about 220F, which is still far too low.
Safety aside, a real problem with open-kettle canning is that the food is cooked so long that the quality is non-existent. Everything turns to mush.
It's like the old advice that canned foods should be boiled for ten minutes to destroy any toxins. Does that work? You betcha. But just imagine the result when you take a quart of green beans which have been pressure cooked for 40 minutes to begin with, and then boiled hard for another ten. I'd just as soon starve as eat that.
Anyway, to sum up: High acid and sugar-cured foods can be done outside the way you describe. But not low acid. And that most emphatically included green beans.
That's basically what you describe. Hot food and liquid is put in hot jars. They are capped. And allowed to seal.
Because there is great potential for the entry of pathogens doing this, it is held in disrepute in the U.S.. All high-acid and sugar-preserved foods should be boiling-water bathed. And low acid foods must be pressure canned to be safe.
Many old timers believe that by boiling food for long periods you kill off any "germs." To some degree that's true. But the really dangerous bugs, the ones that cause things like botulism, require temperatures of 240F+ to be killed. No amount of boiling, I don't care if you measure it in hours, will every bring the food to that point. Heavily salted water (like to the point of sea brine) can be boiled at about 220F, which is still far too low.
Safety aside, a real problem with open-kettle canning is that the food is cooked so long that the quality is non-existent. Everything turns to mush.
It's like the old advice that canned foods should be boiled for ten minutes to destroy any toxins. Does that work? You betcha. But just imagine the result when you take a quart of green beans which have been pressure cooked for 40 minutes to begin with, and then boiled hard for another ten. I'd just as soon starve as eat that.
Anyway, to sum up: High acid and sugar-cured foods can be done outside the way you describe. But not low acid. And that most emphatically included green beans.
Janie, modern pressure canners and pressure cookers are perfectly safe. They have all sorts of safety features, and automatic pressure valves, and the like.
They are not like the old ones, which could cause accidents. Plus, if you look at the literature, the incidence of such problems has been greatly overplayed. And in most cases accidents were caused by people not following instructions.
I cannot believe a gadget freak like you isn't using a pressure canner.
They are not like the old ones, which could cause accidents. Plus, if you look at the literature, the incidence of such problems has been greatly overplayed. And in most cases accidents were caused by people not following instructions.
I cannot believe a gadget freak like you isn't using a pressure canner.
I bought a 6 quart pressure cooker a couple of years ago. I mostly wanted it to quick cook greens. For three hours before I try it I get stories from Jon about how many times his Mom had accidents with hers. Blowing the valve out of it once when she forgot to put water in it just to mention one. I used it once for greens and was a nervous wreck. I was trying to watch it and the whole time I was Jon was on the phone with one of his buddies joking he was about to die. I didnt like the way the greens came out of it anyway. It is in the cabinet and I havent used it since.
When I was making the pickles the other night several of them went ahead and sealed when I put in the hot liquid. Jon heard them and assumed since they sealed they didnt have to be water bathed. I told him I didnt think that was right. From what you guys said and what my Ball Canning book says you still need to water bath to get the temp up to kill bacteria. I still went ahead and water bathed them.
Jon's Dad...I dont know why he is obsessed with trying this outdoor tub method for the greenbeans. He usually cans them inside in the pressur canner. Last year he just froze what he wanted to keep. I made some dilly beans from what he gave me.
His stove is an accident waiting to happen. He has to smack the front of it to get the burners to work and all of the handles just spin free on it. He can well afford to get another one. He just never does. Something about it was his Mom's stove and never worked right for her either. I would be scared to go to sleep with that thing in my house if I were him.
Thanks for the info KYH.
Oh yeah..this gadget freak is on the wagon :p
When I was making the pickles the other night several of them went ahead and sealed when I put in the hot liquid. Jon heard them and assumed since they sealed they didnt have to be water bathed. I told him I didnt think that was right. From what you guys said and what my Ball Canning book says you still need to water bath to get the temp up to kill bacteria. I still went ahead and water bathed them.
Jon's Dad...I dont know why he is obsessed with trying this outdoor tub method for the greenbeans. He usually cans them inside in the pressur canner. Last year he just froze what he wanted to keep. I made some dilly beans from what he gave me.
His stove is an accident waiting to happen. He has to smack the front of it to get the burners to work and all of the handles just spin free on it. He can well afford to get another one. He just never does. Something about it was his Mom's stove and never worked right for her either. I would be scared to go to sleep with that thing in my house if I were him.
Thanks for the info KYH.
Oh yeah..this gadget freak is on the wagon :p
