Hi Folks,
Jarden is doing a live broadcast on July 15th / 16th on Canning Myths and I thought all you foodies who have an interest might want to know about it.
http://ball.yourbrandlive.com/c/canningmyths/
If you sign up for their newsletter, you get notices on canning supplies and these kinds of live 'lectures'.
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Interesting. That's one thing not to mess with. We have a book by ball on how to can. I call it the "big book of don't". Curious what myths there are and how one tests these.
Brian, always good to check in on current recommendations. I know life-long canners who still do somethings the old fashioned way and are fine but for anyone needing best information this would be a lecture to see.
One of the 'that was then' 'this is now' issues is water-bath canning vs. pressure canning of tomatoes. Seems they modified the criteria to PC over the move away from high-acid heirloom tomatoes to low-acid hybrids, and the always prevalent fear of botulism.
I also read an interesting article recently about canning using an oven. That struck me as suicidal but it's really quite interesting how canning works. Thanks for the heads up.
I have some pH paper that goes down to 3.0. Water bath can happen at less than 4.6 pH. I always test my food prior to deciding how I will process it. I like the pH to be 4 or less to water bath it. I would rather err on the safe side so if the pH is above 4 I will pressure can it. Looking forward to seeing what Jarden has to say. Thanks for posting the link.
Green Shoes, that is a great idea. Never thought of it. I want very much to can my favorite tomato sauce recipe but most information indicates it needs to be PC because there is butter/oil in it. Now I know how to check. Thank you so much for the tip.
That also answers Brian's question.
Is the pH paper the kind at pool stores?
No, unfortunately those strips do not go low enough. I bought mine from Teraganix, the Bokashi people. You might be able to find it elsewhere but I could not when I bought mine. You have to be careful to notice that it measures from at least 5 to 3 pH. I just put a little of the item in a bowl and dip the strip in.
Hi Green Shoes, I thought I would let you know I found some pH strips that go from 1-14 at Home Grown Hydroponics in Tempe.
Thanks Catherine, good to know. I bought mine before there was a hydro store on every corner. Makes sense that they would have strips.
You are welcome - I'm going to try them out on my tomato sauce and see if I can get away with Water Bathing instead of pressure canning :-)
Thank you for the info, Green Shoes, will get some soon to have on hand.