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Yes, you can can

HEATHER SOKOLOFF

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 3:47 PM EDT 12/07/08

As worries mount about bisphenol A, foodies are kicking it old school - and preserving at home ...Read the full article

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  1. Randal Oulton from Toronto, Canada writes: I've tried doing pickles, but they never taste as good as Bicks!

    On another note, never fiddle with basic ingredients in a canning recipe such as salt, vinegar, sugar, etc because you want to make it "healthier" in your eyes. In canning recipes, such ingredients are there to keep you alive. If you want another recipe, hunt for another recipe.

    (from Practically Edible: You need to create an inhospitable environment for microbes. With vegetables, you do that by using vinegar which makes the environment very acidic and toxic for them. With fruit, you do it by sweetening the environment.

    Use only vinegar whose acidity level you know for a fact. If your acidity level is too low, you're playing Russian roulette with botulism. The vinegar used in pickling solutions needs to be 4 to 6 percent acid to be safe, though many food safety people are now advising 5%. Consequently, only use store-bought vinegar, which comes with the acid content clearly indicated -- with homemade vinegar, you can't be sure of the acid content. Food safety experts today like to see a recipe that calls for equal amounts of vinegar and water, not 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar.

    Don't even think about using imitation salt substitutes. They are meant to fool your taste-buds, but they will not fool deadly bacteria.)
  2. William J Gillies from Canada writes: As energy in all its forms becomes more expensive, freezing and stove-top food processing for canning will become less and less feasible. Unless you have your own off-grid electricity source, solar drying systems will be more economical.
  3. Kay A from Canada writes: So now people are being "scared" into cooking again?
    Well, I suppose it was necessary...if not a little melodramatic kind of like Gilles' comment.

    I have a mustard pickle recipe a friend gave me. I think this is the year to give it a go.
  4. Mark H from Columbus, IN, United States writes: Everything old is new again, it seems. All it took was another trumped-up health scare.
  5. Justin Payne from Richmond BC, Canada writes: Thanks for the useful information. I've considered canning a few veggies this year and need to do a bit more research, you're info is a great start.
    J
  6. Justin Payne from Richmond BC, Canada writes: Whoops...my comment was addressed to Randal Oulton...
  7. SusieQ 321 from NoWhereVille, Canada writes: It is funny my mom still does her own sauces etc... jams and jellies and has since as long as I can remember...
    Most of my italian friends do the same they choose a weekend and the whole family makes the traditional sauce the traditional way and split it between the adults... hit any farmers market and you will find tons of people who have canned, preserved and jarred food for years...
  8. Julie White from Toronto, Canada writes: There is something about preserving that really brings home the abundance that we live with in Canada. I remember one summer watching the fall of the Soviet Union while preparing lush ripe tomatoes for winter pasta and feeling so lucky and grateful to be Canadian. Even if you don't preserve, it's worth a trip to the farmer's market just to look at the beauty and availability of our harvest.
  9. stand up mimi from Vancouver, Canada writes: Canning applesauce is an interesting idea, but is it necessary? Apples last all winter if you have a cool place to store them. Then it's time for other fruits to appear, in late spring and summer. I don't miss apples at all during the "apple gap" because so much else is available. It's also nice to eat with the seasons to some extent - fill up on fresh fruit in the summer, and stop eating the preserves.
  10. H K from winnipeg, Canada writes: A few commenters have brought up some cons to canning. First, you can't reduce the amount of sugar or salt when preserving fruit/vegetables because you risk spoilage. Me, I try to avoid sugar in all forms - and I'm better for it. Secondly, there's some evidence that our bodies function differently in the wintertime and eating foods normally only available during the summer might not be appriopriate (although most of us in Canada are displaced from the lands/seasons of our ancestors).

    But to each their own.
    I have an aunt who cans/preserves and I'm thrilled to receive her pickles and winter squash - squash comes in it's own packaging and stays for months quite nicely in a cool/dark room.
  11. A S from Toronto, Canada writes: Great info, both from Ms. Sokoloff and Mr. Oulton. Just may try my luck with the tomatoes (using the lemon juice instead of salt).
  12. Justin Payne from Richmond BC, Canada writes: A S from Toronto, Canada writes: Great info, both from Ms. Sokoloff and Mr. Oulton. Just may try my luck with the tomatoes (using the lemon juice instead of salt).

    Um...salt brings out the sweet in tomatoes and the lemon, well, I'd do a tester before canning toms and lemon together.
    I make my tomato (mother)sauce and freeze it. When I reheat the sauce I will sometimes put a chunk of ginger in and finish with a squeeze of lemon as both will brighten up the sauce.Very nice with sauteed prawns n pasta. BTW. table salt is awfully harsh stuff. Try (coarse)Koscher and or sea salt instead..much much better tasting.
  13. Some Thoughts from Canada writes: Watch out for food poisoning,best to avoid tomatoes...
  14. James Snow from London, Canada writes: Good article, but make sure you use the right sweeteners, and stay away from glucose/fructose.

    Fructose is just as dangerous as bisphenol A. The food manufacturers are investing in it big time to keep costs down, and the corn industry is subsidized in the US. Do a little research on high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and glucose/fructose, and start reading more labels on the processed foods you still buy. Soft drinks often say sugar and/or glucose/fructose. The problem is, the ratio between the two is never stated. It could be 75% fructose and 25% glucose.

    Too much fructose in your diet will eventually cause liver disease. Cirrhosis of the liver has long been associated with alcoholism and fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

    They're using a lot of it in the bread you eat. Read the label!
  15. James Snow from London, Canada writes: In other words, you no longer have to be an alcoholic to get cirrhosis of the liver. Comprendo?

    Yes, stop buying canned food like pork 'n' beans and tomato sauce until the food manufactuers stop using bisphenol A to line their cans and pockets with, and bone up on HFCS before it's too late.

    Ciao.
  16. James Snow from London, Canada writes: Myself, I use organic sugar cane as a sweetner in things.

    And ladies, stay away from diet soft drinks! The artificial sweetners used in them have been known to cause brain cancer. Of course the food technologists are going to deny this, as the diet drink industry pulls in millions and millions, if you catch my drift.

    And eat a piece of fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. The plup in the fruit slows down the assimilation of sugars into the body and helps to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
  17. stand up mimi from Vancouver, Canada writes: Some Thoughts from Canada writes: "Watch out for food poisoning,best to avoid tomatoes..."

    There's no need to avoid tomatoes - just be careful to follow directions and become familar with the signs of an unsealed jar. There are good books available to help with this. Fruit is the easiest, so an inexperienced canner should probably begin there, but tomatoes are not that difficult. And if there's any doubt whether or not a jar is sealed, just put it in the fridge and eat the contents right away. Canning is very rewarding, but it's not for the careless!
  18. James Snow from London, Canada writes: LOL! This is a breath of fresh air compared to arguing about Don Cherry and estranged Hitler youth in the opinion section. ;-)
  19. James Snow from London, Canada writes: Yes, watch what you put into your mouth, and what comes out of your mouth.

    But always feed your head. ;-)
  20. garlick toast from Canada writes: wash whole tomatoes,pat dry and freeze in an ice cream container.Perfect for sauces.
  21. brm 2000 from hogtown, Canada writes: As rising energy costs cause long range transport of food to become unfeasable, canning and preserving will become mainstream. The days of eating exotic fruit and veg in the the middle of the winter will become -- exotic. Canning and preserving allows the use of surplus food and will become useful and even government mandated as Mexico and Florida become too expensive to ship. Say goodbye to mandarin oranges and hello to apples.....
  22. A S from Toronto, Canada writes: Thanks Justin Payne. Will follow your advice and go with the salt :-)
  23. Jennifer Menna from Canada writes: My mother canned a lot when I was young and I have started to do so recently as it seems the only way I can get Ontario Produce. I pick up the ingredients at the Farmer's market and follow directions for each of the plants.

    It is possible to can fruit without added sugar. One of the main canning supply companies makes a product for fruit canning that does not need Sugar and if you want you can use a sweetener. They have a good website with plenty of different receipes.

    www.homecanning.ca

    I am going to try the Beet Receipe that was list however. It looks tasty.
  24. Justin Payne from Richmond BC, Canada writes: garlick toast from Canada writes: wash whole tomatoes,pat dry and freeze in an ice cream container.Perfect for sauces.

    Howlong will frozen Toms last as inif I freeze them in late Sept will they go for 3 months? Just asking. Thanks

    A S from Toronto, Canada writes: Thanks Justin Payne. Will follow your advice and go with the salt :-)

    You are very welcome and good luck ; )
  25. bob london from Canada writes: I have not been to a grocery store since Dec 3 last year. After preserving, canning, freezing, making bread, beer, wine, I could never go back to the bland store salt/oil/sugar recipes. It is faster to make it at home than go and eat or do take out after you have survived your first month of mistakes.

    We have to go back to what the Greatest Generation did, and forget the waste of the boomers. Plus, we are helping our farmers and saving the environment. What a combination, and Opa did it because he was cheap.
  26. stand up mimi from Vancouver, Canada writes: I freeze a lot of berries and other things as well, and use a vacuum sealer. It keeps the food far longer and in much better condition than just using ziploc bags or containers. The sealer bags aren't cheap, but the food fares so much better.
  27. Randal Oulton from Toronto, Canada writes: >> stand up mimi from Vancouver, Canada writes:
    There's no need to avoid tomatoes - just be careful to follow directions and become familar with the signs of an unsealed jar.

    Botulism can still develop in a perfectly sealed jar, if the acidity level is not high enough.

    "Clostridium botulinum, ...... is naturally present on most fruits and vegetables that come in contact with soil, from germinating, growing, and producing a deadly toxin. This bacteria requires no or very low oxygen levels to grow. Canned foods are of particular concern because air is driven out with heat and prevented from reentering by sealing the jar. This may provide ideal conditions for growth and toxin production." (from University of Minnesota extension service.)
  28. Randal Oulton from Toronto, Canada writes: >> James Snow from London, Canada writes: Myself, I use organic sugar cane as a sweetner in things.

    Huh? You hack up bits of an actual cane of sugar -- like the stalk -- and stir it into things????
  29. Randal Oulton from Toronto, Canada writes: >> H K from winnipeg, Canada writes: There's some evidence that our bodies function differently in the wintertime and eating foods normally only available during the summer might not be appriopriate

    Some evidence??? Or one or two people opining?

    Anyway, good luck with converting Canadians to winter diets of lichen, tree bark, boiled pine needles, walrus blurber and slow sparrows.
  30. siren call from Canada writes: Justin Payne from Richmond BC, Canada writes:
    Howlong will frozen Toms last as inif I freeze them in late Sept will they go for 3 months? Just asking. Thanks
    ...............................

    I do the same thing with tomatoes as garlick toast does. (My, that's a weird sentence, but you know what I mean.)

    Except that I put them in plastic freezer bags.
    They last at least a year, perhaps more, but that's when I run out.

    Run the frozen tomatoes under cool water, the skin splits, help it peel and then use the tomatoes in sauces.

    Waaay easier than canning but then, you can only cook with the frozen tomatoes.
  31. stand up mimi from Vancouver, Canada writes: Randal Oulton from Toronto, Canada writes: "Botulism can still develop in a perfectly sealed jar, if the acidity level is not high enough."

    That's why I said follow the directions.
  32. Oakville Curmudgeon from Canada writes: I made strawberry jam this month and will be doing raspberry jam this weekend. Next up will be peaches in syrup, then zuchinni relish. Come September the canning kettle will be going full tilt for quite a few weekends.

    All of this tastes so much better than commercial equivalents and offers a whole lot of satisfaction.

    And best of all you are eating food grown by local farmers and not some chemically adultered crap from China.

    The choice is yours.
  33. R. M. from Regina, Canada writes: My mom canned alot too and a great job she did too but we had a garden plus a number of apple trees so we had a ready source. I also remember it was ALOT OF WORK for her and many supplies needed. Plus sometimes she canned more than was needed or wanted and on occasion it had to be thrown away because it was past the good by "date" so it is not always efficient nor as Randal Oulton said in his first post anything to "experiment" with. Food poisoning/botulism can easily come from home canned food because people do not follow the proper procedures or good hygiene.
  34. guy tozer from Saskatoon, Canada writes: As stand up mimi stated: follow the directions. I have been canning for over 40 years and will do any vegeable , fruit, or fish and chicken. Any problems usually come from not sealing properly or not water bathing long enough. So follow the recipe directions to a T and you won't have to worry about botulism, which I have "never" encountered.
  35. Emma Hawthorne from Canada writes: You can make freezer jam and reduce sugar content.
  36. Stephen Dedalus from Canada writes: I hope this thread hasn't been abandoned already. Okay, I'll ask the idiot question: if you've never preserved anything but your charm and intelligence, where do you begin if you want to preserve food?
  37. jenny g from Ottawa, Canada writes: Mom used to peel and freeze bags of homegrown tomatoes for use in soups and stews throughout the year. You put the tomatoes in boiling water to make the skins split, peel them quickly (and carefully - they're coming out of boiling water!) and toss them in freezer bags/ reused milk bags. Put them in the deep freeze and use them as required. They were great, no additives like canned tomatoes and stayed tasty. She also made freezer jam with picked strawberries. A friend of mine made pickled beans a couple of years ago and I've requested that she teach me this year so I can have lovely dill green beans all winter. :) Yum! Thanks for the article - everything old is new again!
  38. Anger Equals Danger from Canada writes: stand up mimi from Vancouver, Canada writes: Canning applesauce is an interesting idea, but is it necessary? Apples last all winter if you have a cool place to store them. Then it's time for other fruits to appear, in late spring and summer. I don't miss apples at all during the "apple gap" because so much else is available. It's also nice to eat with the seasons to some extent - fill up on fresh fruit in the summer, and stop eating the preserves.

    * * * * * *

    oh, but applesauce is so yummy with porkchops. Or heated over ice cream. Or in aplesauce bars or cookies.
  39. Anger Equals Danger from Canada writes: We make sangria jelly, rosemary merlot jelly and champagne crabapple jelly in little 3oz jars. Each batch makes about 48 jars, so 144 jars total. Three jars stacked up and tied with a ribbon equals 48 Christmas gifts.

    Berries are best frozen on baking sheets lined with wax or parchment paper so they are easier to handle and don't freeze into a big lump. When the berries are frozen, either portion them into 2 cups per freezer bag for pies, or in the 4 liter icecream pails and just take out what you need for the recipe, since the berries are loose from eachother. With several different pails, I can mix and match the fruit for my recipes . . . . sometimes more blueberries than raspberries, other times it's more raspberries. . . .as long as the amout of fruit going into the cobbler or whatever is equal.

    If you freeze the tomoatos whole and on the parchment paper as the fruit, then once frozen they can go in a big (new and clean) garbage bag. so you can see them. We have a bag in our freezer chest (the big 8 ft one we've had for ages!) that started out the fall with 40lbs or tomatoes, and just grabbed a few each time we needed them for soups or sauces.
  40. Daisy O'Byrne from Surrey, B.C., Canada writes: Yes, I can remember my Mother canning. She was subjected to the heat produced by the wood stove and the sweltering kitchen. Then on to the kids who got so tired of the "same old stuff" as winter went on and on and on.
  41. Senior Citizen from Brighton, Canada writes: I'm another avid bottler and canner. Quite aside from knowing what ingredients have gone into things, it saves a lot of money if you have your own veggie garden and/or fruit trees and you can preserve the bounty to use up over the winter.
    Love to make my own home-made jams ... bluebarb is especially good (blueberries and rhubarb), as is lemon ginger zuchini marmalade.
    I also bake Zuchini bread in quantity and freeze. Freeze my tomatoes as many others have commented. Now if only I knew how to preserve all the Swiss Chard I have on hand at the moment! Any ideas out there?
  42. Senior Citizen from Brighton, Canada writes: To Anger Equals Danger from Canada writes: Good for you! Those gifts of home made jellies are so much nicer than "stuff" you buy at some big store. They also show that you have put some thought into the gift.
    Have you tried basil wine jelly? It looks lovely in small jars, and also makes great gifts. It's great with crackers and cheese among other things. And if you have a bounty of roses you can make rose wine jelly too. Delish!
  43. guy tozer from Saskatoon, Canada writes: Senior Citizen: You can freeze chard just as you would with rhubarb ( same family). I usually cut it up into 1' pieces and freeze them in 2 or 4 cup amounts. for cooking later.
  44. Morgiana Halley from Bangor ME, United States writes: Live alone, but still want the homemade jam, without doing a day's major canning and producing enough for an army? Choose a berry or non-citrus fruit you can get cheaply (preferably at one of those "pick-it-yourself" places). Buy enough to have a couple of nice desserts and still fill a two-quart pan with well-cleaned fruit. Clean the fruit and fill the pan to about a half-inch below the rim. Do not add water, but crush the fruit slightly and start it at a fairly low heat, increasing as you go, until the juice is extracting itself and bubbling away. Add about a cup of sugar for each cup of fruit pulp/juice, and stir until it's completely dissolved. Keep ot at a low bubbling boil. Get a clean, dry saucer and put one drop of the sweetened juice in the middle of it, then tip the saucer. If the juice runs easily, cook it longer. When it no longer drips, but just sort of bulges and stays in the same place on the saucer, it's ready. Put clean, small jars (it's a good time to recycle jars from store-bought items) in the sink and fill them with boiling water (you can actually put warm water in them earlier, and replace it with the boiling just before transfer. Using tongs, empty each one and immediately fill it with boiling hot, sweetened fruit mush, leaving 3/8" to 1/2" of space at the top. (This should be done on a convenient work surface. It can be *IN* the sink, on the counter, or on an island or table.) Before the jam has a chance to cool, melt paraffin wax in a small pan and fill each jar almost to the top. Leave them to cool and set. Any leftover jam that will not fill a jar can be refrigerated and used in the next week or so. The wax-sealed jars will keep well for about a year, if you put a cover over the wax and keep them where they dont get too hot. Best non-berry fruits are peaches, apricots, plums, pears, cherries, and their relatives. I learned this from my great-grandmother over 50 years ago, and it still works.
  45. Anger Equals Danger from Canada writes: Morgiana Halley from Bangor ME, United States writes: The wax-sealed jars will keep well for about a year, if you put a cover over the wax and keep them where they dont get too hot. Best non-berry fruits are peaches, apricots, plums, pears, cherries, and their relatives. I learned this from my great-grandmother over 50 years ago, and it still works.

    * *

    Make sure the wax area will not be wider at the bottom than at the top of the seal, or it will be difficult to get out. The sealed area should be straight-sided (like forming a wax hockey puck or disc).

    to remove the wax seal, run the sides of the jar where the wax is under hot water. The sides of the wax will start to soften. Slip a sharp knife between the loosened seal and the side of the jar, and pop the wax "puck" off.
  46. Oakville Curmudgeon from Canada writes: Some great comments and ideas here. Zucchini Marmalade is on the list for this season.

    And Morgiana, keep those wax pucks and melt them for re-use. My Auntie kept the same parrafin going year after year after year.

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