Beware of canning tips on Pinterest and other internet blogs

I love to browse the internet and get ideas of some things to can.  Today I was looking for some berry jam recipes with alcohol. 

I found some great ideas on pinterest as well as other sites.  As I read some of the recipes, I found people stating that they do the 'French' canning method and 'easy' canning methods.  Being curious and always looking for an easier way to do things, I read their recommendations.  What they said was to put the lid on a hot jar and put the jar upside down.  Everyone said it's perfect because the jar always seals.

THIS IS NOT SAFE!!!  While the end result of canning is to have the jar seal, that does not deal with the main purpose of canning....to kill bacteria in the food that is being canned.  Without the jars being processed the appropriate way (water bath for high acid foods and pressure canning for low acid foods), pathogens may be in your nicely sealed jars. 

People love to say 'my grandma used to do it and we are still here'; however, food is grown differently now than it was when granny was young.  Processing methods have been updated to assure safety.

I always follow current safe canning practices and you should too.  A good canning book from Ball is a great place to start.  There are also wonderful places on the internet that are proven recipes and concepts.  Probably the best one in my opinion is National Center for Home Food Preservation (http://nchfp.uga.edu/).  They have tested information on lots of food and do's and don'ts for safe canning.

With canning season coming shortly, PLEASE do so safely.

Waterbath canning made easy video

A while back I did an educational video for the Valley Dish TV program in Phoenix.  This video dealt with waterbath canning.  In the video, I gave you step by step methods for waterbath canning.  While there are many safety rules you must follow, this will give you an idea of how waterbath canning is done.  See Waterbath Canning by Judy Toth

For those of you who are new to canning, there are a few canning methods you can use.  Waterbath canning is done for high acid foods like pickles, tomatoes, jams, etc.  There is another method that is used for low acid foods like green beans, meat, etc.  That is called pressure canning.  This video DOES NOT deal with pressure canning and canning low acid foods using the waterbath method can make you sick or even kill you.

Comparison of easy ways to remove skins from tomatoes for canning

In the past I have used several different methods for removing skin from tomatoes with varying degrees of success.  This time I decided to get ideas from fellow canners.  They gave me a few great ideas to try.   

I purchased 50 lbs of tomatoes and wanted to can them. I didn’t want a hassle or mess, so I decided to try a few different methods.  To be clear, these are MY experiences.  Your experiences may be different. 

Blanch/ice bath -- .  In the past, I’ve cored the tomatoes, cut an X in the bottom and blanched them in boiling water.  After a minute or so, I removed them and put the tomatoes in ice water.  The skins are supposed to come right off, but sometimes they do not.  While this is considered the standard, for me, this method is messy and time consuming.  I rate it ‘average’. 

 

Messermeister
Thin skin peeler

Peeler – if I just have a few tomatoes to peel, I just use a thin skin peeler.  It’s quick, not messy, and very easy to do.  I’ve done this method with 20 or 30 tomatoes and can peel them quicker than I can bring the water to a boil.  I rate it ‘excellent’ for small amounts of tomatoes.

 

Food mill – the last time I bought a case of tomatoes, I decided to use the food mill.  No peeling, seeding or anything.  I just blanched and rough chopped them and used the food mill to remove all the ‘stuff’.  While the end result was wonderful, it was time consuming and my arm just about fell off before I was done.  I rate it ‘below average’ because it is difficult.  Now, I understand there are many electric powered food mills.  If I was using an electric one, I would have to rate it ‘excellent’.

 

Roasting – Someone suggested that she roasts the tomatoes at 425° for about 30-40 minutes.  I never thought to do that.  I washed, cored and cut the tomatoes in half and placed on a rimmed baking sheet.  In about 35 minutes, the peels just about removed themselves.  I rate this ‘so much better than excellent’.  Actually, after I was done with all the other methods, this is the one I went back to. 

 

 

Freezing – in the past I froze peaches and their skins fell right off when defrosted, so I assumed that this method would be the best.  I washed, cored, cut an X in the bottom and froze the tomatoes.  I placed one batch on a rimmed baking sheet in the freezer and the other in a ziploc bag.  I left them in the deep freezer overnight.  When I removed them and allowed them to thaw, I was very disappointed.  With some, their peels came off easily; but with most of them, the peels were very difficult to remove.  I gave up and decided to cook them and remove the peels after they were cooked.  I rate this ‘below average; however it is possible that they would have worked better if I left them in the freezer for another day or two.

 

Food processor/blender – last time I made crushed tomatoes, I blanched them whole then threw them in my vitamix.  I whirled it a few times and the tomatoes had the perfect consistency.  There were not hunks of peel or core for that matter.  I rate this as ‘superior’, but only for crushed tomatoes. 

So as you can see, there are many ways to prepare tomatoes for canning and depending upon what you are trying to achieve, there is no one right way.  You pick your favorite.  I have picked mine.