I'd Much Rather Freeze Foods Than Can Them.

[Alix]

It sterilizes the dishes.

[Corey123]

Can you tell me the water temp that it uses to do this with?

If it's less than 212 degrees, then it does not sterilize the dishes.


~Corey123.

[JMediger]

Originally Posted by Constance

...Listening for the little "ping" of the jars sealing, and the sight of the jewel-like jars sitting on my shelves was very satisfying.

When we were little, my sister and I would sit so patiently for that little sound. Our job was to take off the ring, dry it and stack them up in mom's box, ready for the next year (or round of canning). I love canning and personally think that the taste is better for most things. Then again, I don't have a food saver thingey so I always tend to get air in the bags which I know contributes to the freezer taste.

[bethzaring]

Originally Posted by Alix

I could be grossly mistaken, but the kitchen I work in has a sterilizer that has a super heated cycle at the end. It is labeled sterilizer, NOT sanitizer. I don't think they would look kindly on me doing my jam there when I am supposed to be cooking for the kids though.

ya know Alix, and I am relying on memory which is not a good thing , but the Hobart dish machine at the nursing home where I retired from, has a seperate heater, called a booster heater, that was considered a sterililzer. If I remember correctly, a dish machine could sterilizer via heat or chemicals and we used heat. The booster heater was activated at the end of the rinse cycle. I remember being paranoid about any thing mechanical in the kitchen and I required the staff to watch the digital read out of the water temp for every cycle to make sure the items were sterilized.

[Alix]

Beth, yes that is exactly what we use. And Corey, I haven't looked lately at the temperature gauge, but I am pretty sure it would be plenty hot enough to merit the name "sterilizer". You can't claim something here without having the proof in the pudding so to speak. When I say this machine super heats the water, I am not kidding. After the light turns off you open the door, stand aside and then take the tray out. My hands are pretty well asbestos after cooking for so long, and there is no way I can touch the dishes with bare hands. I will be sure to check the exact temperature for you the next time I am in. I have to warn you though, I am not back to work until July 31st. Hope you aren't in a hurry to have a more specific answer than the one I have given.

[Michael in FtW]

Originally Posted by lkcheat

Lots of opinions about proper canning. Makes me wish I had a dishwasher to make sterilizing easier, then I could attempt this.

Ok - bethzaring and Alix - I believe the intent of Lisa's post was regarding using an average "home" model dishwasher to sterilize jars for canning. I'll stick to my previous answer - nope, it will only sanitize. Yep - if it reaches a temp of 180-F and maintains that temp for about 20 minutes ... you'll kill most food pathogens ... but it takes 212-F for 10 minutes to be sterile!

In a restaurant/hospital/nursing home environment food service dishwashing equipment generally only needs to sanitize. Hobart, if anyone, may make one that might sterilize - but looking at their line ... even the ones with the external/super heaters (in the $12,000 - $15,000 range) they only have a "sani" cycle and only claim to sanitize, even when used with sanitizing chemicals. In the hospital/nursing home environment - if someone has a seriously communicable disease that sanatizing will not handle - they get their meals served on disposable plates with plastic forks/knives/spoons, and are usually in isolation.

[Corey123]

Originally Posted by bethzaring

ya know Alix, and I am relying on memory which is not a good thing , but the Hobart dish machine at the nursing home where I retired from, has a seperate heater, called a booster heater, that was considered a sterililzer. If I remember correctly, a dish machine could sterilizer via heat or chemicals and we used heat. The booster heater was activated at the end of the rinse cycle. I remember being paranoid about any thing mechanical in the kitchen and I required the staff to watch the digital read out of the water temp for every cycle to make sure the items were sterilized.

Yeah, that's usually the case. And to save energy and water costs, that same hot rinse water is recycled back into the wash water tank and is used to hellp keep the wash water scalding hot to effectivley clean the dishes.

Most places where I worked has those booster heaters.


~Corey123.