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Food Preservation
UC Master Food Preservers of Central Sierra: Article
Canning Basics: Make sure your canning jars start hot and stay hot Canning jars should always be washed and rinsed well before being used. And while they don’t always need to be sterilized (unless the processing time is less than 10 minutes), the jars do need to be hot when filled with food, and kept…
Canning Basics: Mason jar myths are rampant on the internet! MYTH: Brand new canning jars fresh out of the box are sterile and do not need to be washed. New jars are not sterile. Before use they should be checked for breakage or manufacturing defects, and then washed. In fact, jars should always…
Canning Basics: Busting more Mason jar myths MYTH: Canning jars can be sterilized in the oven. Canning jars can even be used for baking. No and no. Canning jars are made from annealed glass and are not designed for the dry, fluctuating heat of an oven. These conditions can cause…
Preparing canning jars is an important step in the process. One of the very first steps in the canning process is preparing your equipment, including canning jars. Here’s how to go about prepping your jars for canning.Inspect. Whether used or fresh out of a new box, inspect jars to make sure…
Commercial product jars are not designed to be repurposed for home canning. Is it possible to reuse mayonnaise and other similar commercial product jars for home canning? Some people have done so with some success. But even though it’s technically possible, it’s really not advisable. Here’s why…
It's not always necessary to sterilize jars before canning.When canning, sterilizing jars is essential only when processing times are less than 10 minutes. For processing times of 10 minutes or more, pre-sterilization is not required – the jars become sterilized during processing. Can you pre-sterilize…
Canning Basics: Thermal shock and how to prevent it. There are many reasons that canning jars can break during the canning process. One common cause for jar breakage is thermal shock, caused by a temperature differential between hot and cold. The break is characterized by a crack that runs around…
Cook them properly and not in a slow cooker! Red kidney beans are a healthy food – unless they’re not cooked properly. They contain a compound (“PHA”), found in many types of beans, and at especially high levels in red kidney beans. PHA can be toxic at high levels; in fact, consuming only 4 or 5 raw or…
When in doubt, throw it out! Leftovers can be a lifesaver when you need a meal in a hurry, but unfortunately they don’t last forever. Or even a long time. And no, turning leftovers into another kind of leftover does not extend the life of the original food. Keeping food at proper temperatures and…
There has been no testing with monk fruit sweeteners to determine their effects on pH Monk fruit sweetener is becoming popular amongst people looking for alternatives to sugar. Its sweetness is derived not from traditional fructose sugar molecules in the fruit, but from extracted chemicals that provide…
