Canned Cucumbers and Pickles
With summer coming to a close, so many of us are working on preserving the last of the vegetables for winter. Many of these may be low acid foods. Low acid foods, when it comes to canning, include:
- Meats
- Poultry
- Vegetables
- Dairy
The trick with canning low acid foods safely is to use a pressure canning method vs the less involved water bath method. Using a pressure cooker a higher temperature of at least 240 degrees can be reached – allowing any bacteria, such as Clostridium botulinum, to be killed and destroyed.
Then, when the cans are sealed, the food is safe. When canning with low acid foods you will need a glass jar, lid and ring. You’ll also need a pressure cooker, and it’s helpful to have a jar remover to grasp the hot jars and remove them from the boiling water. You’ll also want a timer of some sort. See some helpful canning resources if you need to stock up on your supplies.
Tips to Make Canning More Successful:
- Make sure your jars are clean. Rinse everything, or scrub if reusing jars, very well. Let the jars stay warm when you put them into the water…cold jars are more likely to break.
- Follow the recipe directions for the particular type of food you are canning – green beans will can at a different time in the pressure cooker than meat or pre-made soup will!
- Pay close attention to the headspace – the amount of empty space at the top of the jar. Your recipe will state how much headspace to allow.
- Wipe the rim of the jar after filling and heating it, but before you place the lid on it. Any food particles on the rim can make the seal fail.
- Cans that don’t seal properly don’t have to be thrown away but should be treated like a freshly opened can – refrigerated and the food inside used up before it spoils.
Canning is a great way to store perishable foods for long-term storage. Store your jars out of direct sunlight, and you’ll have a source of food that won’t go bad even if you lose power! We like to can some things and freeze some things, too, so as not to put all our eggs in one basket, so to speak.
