Food Preservation

Safe ingredient swaps for home-canned salsa Salsa contains a combination of high- or borderline high-acid ingredients (such as tomatoes or fruit) and low-acid ingredients (such as peppers, onions, or other vegetables). Acid in the form of vinegar or bottled lemon juice is added to ensure the appropriate…

Salt is salt is salt - except when it's more than salt Salt is an essential mineral for health and one of the five basic human tastes. It’s indispensible in the kitchen for many reasons beyond taste. Whether gathered from coastal or inland salt pans, evaporated from sea water, or mined from salt…

Sure, you can, but they may not be the best pick Supersweet varieties of corn are popular because – well – super sweet! They are wonderful for fresh eating, but supersweet and white varies of corn are not necessarily the best choices for canning. Canning supersweet and white varieties of corn do not…

Tartrate crystals are a common occurrence in grape products  Hard, crystalline shards or granules are often found in home canned grape juice, syrups and jellies. These formations are the result of tartaric acid, a naturally occurring compound in grapes, reacting with potassium. The reaction forms…

Added acid is always required when canning tomatoes Once upon a time, tomatoes were considered a high-acid fruit. But research has since shown that they are, in fact, variable in acidity, with pH levels sometimes going higher than 4.6, the dividing line between high-acid and low-acid foods – and the…

Canning previously frozen tomatoes is not safe in all situations When your vines are producing tomatoes like crazy (or the farmers markets have end-of-season bargains that are simply too good to pass up), keeping up with canning them before the fruits become overripe or spoil can be a challenge…

Tomatoes from frost-killed vines are not for canning As the weather turns cooler and overnight temperatures dip, you may find yourself scrambling to pick the last of your tomato crop. If a frost kills the vines before you get to them all, are the remaining fruits safe for canning? The short answer is no…

Lower acidity in overripe tomatoes makes them unsafe to can Care should always be taken when choosing produce for canning. It should be fresh, of good quality, and not overripe. This is especially important for tomatoes. The acidity of tomatoes varies during the growing season, and if overripe, they can…

Vinegar powder is a versatile condiment, but it is not for canning Vinegar powder is dehydrated vinegar to which carrying or bulking ingredients are added (such as maltodextrin, which is a modified corn starch). Available in white, apple cider, malt, and other vinegar types, these powders are used by…

Safe food handling helps prevent illness  All fruits and vegetables should be washed prior to consuming. But raw meat, poultry or fish should NOT be washed. This may seem counter-intuitive or contrary to what you’ve previously been taught, but times change and so do food handling recommendations. …