How about these canning methods? (((cringe)))

18 years ago

A co-worker stopped by my office this week to talk shop about gardening, which we do quite often. He gardens (farms?)on a big basis, like three acres. We got onto the subject of tomatoes and I told him I was going to try more plum/paste varieties this year to can.

He said he loves canning tomatoes and put an old stove outside his new house just to do this. He said he liked to put a big pot on the stove and put in whatever tomatoes were available that day and cook it down for a couple of hours and then pack it up into hot jars.

I then asked what process he did - hot water or pressure? His response was "what do you mean?" I said, "you mean you don't process them any after packing the tomatoes?" He said, "no, the heat makes a seal and tomatoes have enough acid to be o.k."

Yikes! I told him to not be offended if I turned down his offer of canned tomatoes. He said he had done it this way for years and never had any problems. I told him he was going to wind up killing himself but I don't think I made any headway on changing his opinion.

What do you think of this? ;>

Elaine

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

melva02
18 years ago
I tend to go overboard in this kind of situation so for me the challenge is not turning the person off to the conversation.

But I would tell him that botulism is the only food-borne illness that scares me, and try to convince him to at least add lemon juice to the jars. Then again, if he's not heat processing, he would need a lot more lemon juice. I guess I would tell him not to give his tomatoes to people with weak immune systems, but then again pretty much everyone is weak when it comes to botulism (as opposed to say eggs...I don't serve partially-cooked egg dishes to pregnant women or people with weakened immune systems).

Tough one Elaine...at least you gave him some info. The bigger question is, what do you do if you know he gives canned tomatoes to other people at work? That would be a good question to send in to Randy Cohen, the ethicist who answers questions in the New York Times and on NPR.

Melissa
shirleywny5
18 years ago
It is amazing how many people can tomatoes and do it incorrectly. They have been canning for years and still do it the way their grandmothers did. Believe it or not, I don't know a single soul who uses lemon juice when canning tomatoes, except you guys here on the forum and myself. The folks I'm talking about don't know what the Blue book is, and only can tomatoes.
Related Professionals
Allentown Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Pittsburgh Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Logan Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Tuscaloosa Landscape Contractors · Lake City Landscape Contractors · Dalton Landscape Contractors · Madison Landscape Contractors · Los Angeles Landscape Contractors · Glenwood Springs Landscape Contractors · Cheyenne Landscape Contractors · Belleville Home Builders · Fergus Falls Home Builders · Erie Home Builders · Wenatchee Home Builders · Calgary Home Builders
bejay9_10
18 years ago
The one thing that might be a saving grace, is the fact that he is boiling those maters down first. Maybe (not a fact mind you), any botulism spores may be killed off before being canned - ???? But the sealing process then would become the next target suspect.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay
robinkateb
18 years ago
Actually as far as botulism is concerned the only problem in his methods is not adding acid. BWB canning cannot kill of botulism, which is why it is only used for high acid canning. The BWB is for the other nasties like mold, and to make sure you get a good seal. Lets just hope the variety he is canning is high in acid. Some have more acid then others.

-Robin
digdirt2
18 years ago
As Shirley said, it always amazes me how many continue to use and to defend these old techniques that have repeatedly been proven to be unsafe. But they do and in my experience, there is no way anyone is going to change their minds. They simply refuse to admit that they might be out of touch. Maybe it's an ego thing. ;)

So unless he displays some curiosity or willingness to learn about proper ways to do it, it's a lost cause. You'd only irritate him further. If he does show some interest, print out the canning tomato guidelines from NCHFP and just suggest he read through them and then make his own decision. Sometimes all you can do is "plant the seed" in their mind. ;)

Good luck!

Dave
laura_sue
18 years ago
Makes me glad I've learned how to can by reading, and the help of those on this forum. A lot of those passed down methods can be scary.
zabby17
18 years ago
I agree that there's no point pushing people who don't want advice to change their ways. It's a kindness to share the latest guidelines, but leave it at that.

The good news is that botulism poisioning from vegetables really is quite rare. As several folks have observed, lots of people don't follow the latest recommendations, and can their whole lives with no problem. And most tomatoes, while on the borderline, are the correct side of the acid line.

So your colleague has a good chance of being fine. I choose to follow more current guidelines because I prefer a 100% chance of being fine after eating my canned goods. Like Melissa, I find that botulism scares me, and canning for me is a hobby and a pleasure, so I have no reason not to do it as safely as I can.

A few people DO get sick --- some fatally so --- from badly canned vegetables. I do hope this person doesn't end up being one of them.

Zabby
ksrogers
18 years ago
"Yup, thats the way my grandma did it and she didn't get sick.." That's the thinking that seems to seperate the person who wants to can things safely, compared to those who like to live on the 'edge'. They probably never tell you about the spoilage they see. I wonder if he had ever come across any of his canning that made anyone sick? One word of advice though, if the guy offers you any canned goods, either nicely refuse, or take them and BOIL THE HECK OUT OF THEM!!