Russian Roulette

It's great to see so many new folks learning how to preserve food. In these tough economic times, we're definitely seeing an increase in the number of people who want to feed their family for less. Freezing, canning, pickling, drying, and root cellaring can help you achieve this.

Caveat emptor

However, as with any new venture, there are some rules and regs to follow. Why, you ask? Well, when you're dealing with your family's health and safety, it's important to do things right. Sometimes you can do things wrong and nothing bad happens. Other times, you might not be so lucky. It just doesn't pay to take chances. Do the job right every time and you'll be fine.

Fun with Math

On Friday I gave you sort of a math problem. If you loved word problems as a kid, you probably went right to work, ferreting out clues. If you hated word problems, you're my kind of person. I found them intriguing, sort of like ancient Egyptian curses on pharaohs' tombs. So, without further discussion, here's the scenario again and the explanation.


The Scenario: "I created and canned my own salsa recipe. I used onions and peppers and squash. I added tomatoes and fresh lemon juice and even some vinegar. I used the open kettle method to finish it up. I poured it into jars and put on the lids.

The Problem

This salsa sounds delightful. It's an interesting mix of good foods and would be delicious freshly made and served. Leftovers should be refrigerated and used within a reasonable amount of time. However, if you've made enough to feed the 101st Airborne Division, freeze the rest. This is a safe and easy way to ensure it's going to remain healthful. Because......

The Solution

The operative word here that should have set your danger antennae up and alert is canned.

Vegetables are low-acid foods. This means they must be processed in a pressure canner or have enough acid added to them to ensure they will not grow some nasty, nasty organisms when the food is sealed in canning jars. What's the danger here?

We don't have any way of knowing the amounts of anything that's gone into this recipe. It's a hit or miss affair and while it may taste wonderful fresh out of the cooking pot, there's a definite danger waiting in the wings. How acid is it? We don't know. Is this salsa safe to eat? Maybe. Maybe not. Want to take a chance? You're flirting with....

BOTULISM

When you heat food and then put it into jars and seal those jars, you have created an anaerobic environment. This means an environment without air. Botulism finds this homey and comfortable and sets to work making itself to home.

The problem with botulism toxin is that it's colorless, odorless, and tasteless. However, it can kill you.

Insurance Policy

Follow tested and approved recipes when you're planning on canning. You can get the Extension Service Bulletin "Salsa Recipes for Canning" by calling your local office. The number is in the phone book.

Experiment to your heart's content when you're serving fresh foods. Follow the recipes to the letter of the law when you're canning. Sterilize your jars and measure ingredients exactly. I've been told some people have played Russian Roulette many times. True, but others only play it once.

On Wednesday, more on open kettle canning and why you shouldn't do this.

Check out the Fact of the Week in the right hand column for an additional safety measure.

Everyone Likes a Quiz - Test Your Knowledge

Dear Blog Readers,

It's time to test your knowledge about food safety and home food preservation. I'm going to give you a scenario and then solicit your feedback. I'll post the answers to this little quiz on Monday. But for now, here are the directions:

1. Read the problem.
2. Find the errors.
3. Propose your solutions.

Ready? Here you go.

The Scenario: "I created and canned my own salsa recipe. I used onions and peppers and squash. I added tomatoes and fresh lemon juice and even some vinegar. I used the open kettle method to finish it up. I poured it into jars and put on the lids.


That's it. That's the scenario. You, the jury, have the evidence. Please render your verdicts.

Teach Your Children Well

On Monday I was working at the Council Quilt Guild Annual Quilt Show. It's being held at Council Elementary School in Council, Idaho. (In case you didn't catch the location - it's Council. ). From 11:00 to 1:00 each day during the summer, a free lunch is served to needy children at the school. So two different events were going on at the same time.

I went out to my car to grab my knitting - I know, I know, but the quilt in progress was too big to haul down there - and heard some boys screaming "Starling! Starling! Kill the starling!"

They were chasing and running and then converging upon a nest that had been built high above the entry door of the school. I stopped and in my best retired teacher voice inquired, "What the heck are you doing?"

"It's a starling! They're bad!" one of the about 10 year old boys informed me, eyeing the nest with 5 babies perched on the rim.

Seizing the teachable moment, I explained, "Those are swallows. They eat mosquitoes. Do you like mosquito bites?"

"I thought they ate worms," the young ringleader replied.

"No," I repeated. Mosquitoes. And each of those baby swallows, when it grows up, will eat nearly 3,000 mosquitoes a day. " I finished up this mini-lecture with, "Leave them alone."

At this point, a young mother walked up to see what was going on. She said nothing. I waited until the gang of four had wheeled off in search of other trouble to get into and then smiled at her. She looked confused. She most likely didn't know the difference herself. More disturbingly, she probably didn't care.

The point here, and it's a long way around the barn, is that ignorance is the big problem and it manifests in many different guises. We can't just assume that people know what we know. Children need to be taught right from wrong, good from evil, good decisions from ones that will bring them painful consequences, and sometimes - the simple difference between a starling and a swallow. A brief aside here - starlings also have their place in the greater scheme of things.

The Arrogance of Ignorance is a far more serious problem than the fuel crisis or the crippled economy. Some people are certain of what they know, even when what they know is actually incorrect. So, what's the connection to food preservation?

You'll encounter many well-intentioned people who will all too willingly give you advice on how to put up your food, using shortcuts their great-aunt Tillie or their hairdresser gave them. They'll treat these orts of info as gospel. Be careful. Always check with a reliable source before setting out on a shortcut that seems too good to be true. The Extension Service is always available for you, to give you the right answers. You'll find their number in your phone book.

With the right information you'll learn to distinguish a starling from a swallow, dill from hemlock, and morels from their poisonous cousins. And you'll be able to pass on this knowledge to others.

Waxing is Taboo

Hope that got your attention. Actually I'm referring to using paraffin to seal your jams and jellies. It's been done forever, I know, and you may be thinking, "It was good enough for grandma, it's good enough for me." And you may very well be right. However, the Practical Preserver is all about safety, so hear me out and then make up your own mind. I promise not to sulk.

Back in the day, jams and jellies and other fruit spreads were generally stored in very cool conditions - an unheated back porch, the basement (or cellar if you grew up back East), or in some other dark, cool place. Today, homes are heated to the max. We've got coils embedded in our cement garage floors to keep our cars nice and toasty warm throughout the winter. Not too many of us even have a back porch, and if we do, it's probably not designed with food storage in mind. You most likely will be storing your preserves in the pantry right off the kitchen. Warm. Comfy. But not if you're a preserve. And especially if you're a preserve sealed with paraffin.

So much for the background. Molds and fungi grow beautifully in warm conditions. Once these spoilers get growing, they can penetrate all the way down to the bottom of the jar. Yes, I know that folks used to just scoop and scrape off the mold and use the preserve, but it's an iffy idea. You're preserving food to nurture your family, so feeding them mold or fungus isn't a spiffy idea.

One final convincer: Making preserves is a fun family activity, but heating paraffin so you can pour it on top of the jam or jelly is literally playing with fire. It can give you a nasty burn and can also catch on fire in the blink of an eye.

So, there you have it. Best practice is to use lids and rings and ensure a tight, safe seal.

Accessorizing Your Canner

Safety is always Job #1 in home food preserving. Anything you can do to ensure your worksite is as safe as it can be, is good. From your experience in cooking, you know how important potholders are. They work by providing a level of insulation between your fingers and hot cookware. Canning, however, introduces another element: hot water. And we’re talking boiling hot.

When potholders get wet, they’re worse than not having anything at all. You may have had the unpleasant experience of grabbing a wet potholder to lift a lid on a hot pot and found that you dropped it fast. You may also have gotten a slight burn in the process.

You want a short stack of potholders by your stove, to be sure, and you want to be sure to replace them with dry ones as necessary. However, their use is limited. They’re designed to lift pot lids. To get those filled jars into the canner safely and to remove them safely once they’ve finished processing, you need a jar lifter.

A jar lifter is not a luxury. It’s a necessary item. It provides you with safe distance between the boiling hot water and the jars that have gone into and come out of it. Here’s a picture of one in action.

It works like a clamp, although one that opens and releases easily. Simply hold it in one hand and position the ends around the neck of the jar. It does exactly what the name implies. It lifts. It allows you carry the jar away from the canner and position it on a clean, dry surface where the jar will cool down.

You can find jar lifters at any store that sells canning supplies: hardware stores, the big discount chains (such as Walmart), and the larger grocery chains are some sources. You can also find them online.

Hint: when the canning season is over, store it inside the canner and you’ll not have to search madly for it next season.

Green Beans

There've been some questions about green beans recently, so here's the skinny.

Some varieties of beans are best put by in the freezer, while others handle the canning process quite nicely. Be sure to read the seed catalogue descriptions, when you are planning your garden, so you are not disappointed with the final product. Vesey and Burpee are good about that, and both companies carry varieties that do nicely with short seasons.

Canning does not improve the quality of the food put by. If beans are past their prime, they’re not going to get any better by dumping them in jars and pressure cooking them. You’ll have much better results, if you can beans that are slightly immature.

Because green beans are low-acid, they must be pressure canned to ensure safety. At our elevation (about 3,000 feet),that means 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts at 12 pounds pressure. You do have choices, as to hot or cold pack and whether to salt or not, and that is nice. Salt is only added for taste, not to preserve. You may can beans whole (tip and tail them first) or cut into one inch pieces for convenient additions to soups and stews.

For hot pack, cover beans with boiling water. Boil 5 minutes. Pack loosely in canning jars; add salt, if desired. Cover with boiling cooking liquid. Leave one inch head space.
For cold pack, pack tightly in canning jars; add salt, if desired. Cover with boiling water.
Processing time is the same for both methods.

Remember to vent your canner properly to be sure your foods are safely processed. Air trapped in a pressure canner lowers the temperature inside the canner. To vent a pressure canner, allow steam to escape steadily from the petcock for ten minutes, then close the petcock or put the weighted gauge on the canner.

Food Safety -Finale

Last week we covered important aspects of preventable foodborne illness, specifically botulism, which is caused by a toxin produced in food by the bacteria, Clostridium botulinum. Using approved recipes and approved procedures makes botulism nothing more than an interesting topic. This week we finish up. For those of you who think botulism only results from improperly home-canned food and have therefore decided to avoid Aunt Mabel’s green beans forever, read on! Her properly home-canned food might be the safest food around.

Botulism has occasionally been caused by foods that were not vacuum-sealed by caning. Smoked fish can develop anaerobic conditions under the skin and in the visceral cavity. Baked potatoes wrapped in foil and meat pies have also been the cause of botulism. A large pot of sautéed onions left in a warm place resulted in botulism cases from persons eating the onions. Garlic in oil also caused multiple cases of botulism at a Canadian restaurant. Pickled eggs left at room temperature developed botulism in the yolk, which had been pricked with a toothpick, before the acid pickling solution was able to equilibrate throughout the egg.

Each of the above instances was preventable. Repeat the mantra: “Wash, scrub, refrigerate or freeze.” To prevent botulism toxin from forming in non-canned foods, low-acid foods must be refrigerated after they are cooked. Long-term storage of smoked fish should be in the freezer. This is because type E Clostridium botulinum, which is found in fish, can produce toxin at refrigerator temperatures. Smoked fish can be safely stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.

For low acid foods that are pickled, vinegar must be added in sufficient quantity to lower the pH to below 4.6. The vinegar in pickling recipes must be at least 5 per cent acidity. Approved pickling recipes are provided by Extension offices or the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.

Botulism symptoms include difficulty in swallowing, speech, and respiration and double vision. Respiratory failure may cause death. Before 1950, fatality rates from botulism were about 50 per cent, but with availability of antitoxin and modern respiratory support systems, the death rate has decreased to about 10 per cent. Still, if you are in that unlucky percentile, your death is 100 per cent guaranteed, and that is not good.

If you cannot get enough of this fascinating topic, additional information can be found in The Bad Bug Book, www.cfsan.fda.gov/~now/intro.html

Food Safety Issues

Reading about the recalls of packaged salad mix and packaged spinach got me thinking about toxins that can cause illness, specifically E. coli and Clostridium botulinum, commonly referred to as botulism. We live in strange times, indeed, when women have botox injections to smooth out wrinkles. Yessir, nothing like pumping your face full of deadly poison to get that baby-smooth complexion.

What is botulism? Glad you asked.
Botulism is caused by a toxin that is produced in food by the bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, which is found in soil all over the world. The soil in the western United States is high in type A Clostridium botulinum, which is the most dangerous type to humans. Alaska and Washington have the highest rates of botulism occurring in soils.

This bacteria forms spores, which are very resistant to heat, chemicals, and physical stress. When the spores grow, they produce the deadly neurotoxin that causes botulism.
The frequency of botulism cases is rare, but each year several outbreaks occur. Often these are caused by improperly home-canned foods. Fish, green beans, corn, beets, spinach, asparagus, and chili peppers are the most common foods implicated in botulism cases. Recently a case involved home-prepared “pickled” eggs.

Several conditions are necessary for a botulism outbreak. First, the botulinum organism must be in the food. Second, the acidity level must be low. The organism cannot grow when the acid level is high. A pH level of 4.6 or less means conditions are not right for the growth of Clostridium botulinum. Most types of this organism grow best at warm temperatures; however, growth has been observed at temps as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as 118 degrees Fahrenheit. The organisms cannot grow if air or free oxygen is available. Oxygen-free (anaerobic) conditions occur when food is canned.

Home food preservers understand the necessity for pressure canning foods that are low acid. That means processing these foods at higher temperatures than just boiling, if we are to destroy the extremely heat-resistant botulism spores. Just because your jar has sealed, doesn’t mean you have a safe product. Processing foods under pressure raises the temperature inside the canner to a level that does destroy these nasty spores. That temperature is 240 degrees Fahrenheit and can only be achieved by pressure canning, which can be thought of as simply “higher-temperature” canning. Properly home-canned food is safe. For an extra guarantee of safety, home-canned veggies, meat, and fish may be boiled for ten minutes at 1,000 feet altitude before eating. Boiling destroys the botulism toxin. Remember to add an additional minute boiling time for each additional 1,000 feet of elevation.

Next week we’ll finish up this delightful topic. A parting thought: mistakes most often occur at two times in our lives. The first time is when we are learning a skill, and the second is when we get sloppy, careless, and take shortcuts, because we have been doing something for a very long time. It’s good practice to review the rules and instructions before we begin anything. Better safe than sorry, to use an old and very true aphorism.