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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Still more harvest...

This is my pantry so far this year. Lots of homegrown goodness saved up for the long winter. My mom also kept a pantry of canned vegetables in her basement. We never had much money, but we had enough to eat.

Recently I read a blog post that spoke of boiling canned veggies for 10 to 20 minutes after opening. I couldn't understand why anyone would do that because of course you would end up with overcooked mush. No wonder they didn't like canned vegetables! After being assured that this was recommended for all home canned items, I did some more research. Based on an average of 25 cases of botulism each year this is the recommended practice. Uh huh...it still sounds like scare mongering to me. My family has canned for generations without any illness. The pressure canner is designed to work at the same temperature and pressure used by commercial canning factories. Clean jars and lids, pressure canner with a good seal, appropriate pressure and time are all that's needed. If you are uncertain of canning safety, then freezing may be what is best for you. I will continue to can my harvest and enjoy a full pantry that won't be at risk when the power goes.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I freeze my harvest ..purely because it's quick, easy, I have the freezer space but i to think it would be bad to cook canned veg. for 25minutes..eeewwww

I think a lot of the time the scare mongering is to make us buy the produce out of the supermarkets at crazy prices for things that don't last!!!