Is my family weird canning method safe?

[Que]

So I only just got into canning and my mom showed me the family method for canning and im....really not sure about it? I made some jams with it and they seem to be ok.



It goes like this.


You put the empty jars in the oven at 400 degrees on a cookie sheet

Your jam should be almost ready when you do this.

Put the lids and rings in a pot and boil to sterilize



Once jars have sat in oven for about 20 minute take jars out begin filling. Place lids on jars and screw rings on loosely



Put back in oven at 400 for about 10 to 15 minutes (longer for bigger jars. )


Remove and tighten and allow to cool on towel upside down.



Like I said my jams seem to be stable thus far. I have some blackberry I made a year ago that still seems to be ok. Lids are tight and no discoloration or weirdness.



Do you think I could make pickles using this method? From what iv been reading this is kinda like pressure cooker canning. Sorta. But does anyone have thoughts on safety and such? Any issues I may run into?

 

[GotGarlic]

So I only just got into canning and my mom showed me the family method for canning and im....really not sure about it? I made some jams with it and they seem to be ok.

It goes like this.

You put the empty jars in the oven at 400 degrees on a cookie sheet

Your jam should be almost ready when you do this.

Put the lids and rings in a pot and boil to sterilize

Once jars have sat in oven for about 20 minute take jars out begin filling. Place lids on jars and screw rings on loosely

Put back in oven at 400 for about 10 to 15 minutes (longer for bigger jars. )

Remove and tighten and allow to cool on towel upside down.

Like I said my jams seem to be stable thus far. I have some blackberry I made a year ago that still seems to be ok. Lids are tight and no discoloration or weirdness.

Do you think I could make pickles using this method? From what iv been reading this is kinda like pressure cooker canning. Sorta. But does anyone have thoughts on safety and such? Any issues I may run into?

Hi and welcome to Discuss Cooking [emoji2]

I'm sorry, but from the first instruction, this is not a safe method. The result can be botulinum bacteria growing in the jar, creating a very dangerous toxin.

Canning jars are designed to be used in a wet environment, either steam or boiling water. They can be damaged and crack when put in the oven.

You don't need to pre-sterilize jars and lids that will be water-bath canned for at least 10 minutes.

This is not like pressure-canning at all. Pressure canning involves increasing the pressure within the pot so that the temperature of the water climbs to around 240 degrees (water boils at 212 degrees). This is high enough to kill the botulinum along with other pathogens and create the vacuum seal on the jars. Just because jars have sealed doesn't mean the contents are safe.

Here are some reliable sources of canning information:
- https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html
- https://foodinjars.com/blog/resources-new-canners/

 

[Que]

Hi and welcome to Discuss Cooking [emoji2]

I'm sorry, but from the first instruction, this is not a safe method. The result can be botulinum bacteria growing in the jar, creating a very dangerous toxin.

Canning jars are designed to be used in a wet environment, either steam or boiling water. They can be damaged and crack when put in the oven.

You don't need to pre-sterilize jars and lids that will be water-bath canned for at least 10 minutes.

This is not like pressure-canning at all. Pressure canning involves increasing the pressure within the pot so that the temperature of the water climbs to around 240 degrees (water boils at 212 degrees). This is high enough to kill the botulinum along with other pathogens and create the vacuum seal on the jars. Just because jars have sealed doesn't mean the contents are safe.

Here are some reliable sources of canning information:
- https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html
- https://foodinjars.com/blog/resources-new-canners/

Yeah that's kinda what I figured. It seemed dubious at best when mom showed me. I made some blueberry jam two days ago and canned it like that. Do you think it's fine at this point to pop in the freezer? The BlackBerry we made was devoured in only like 2 months. So maybe it was at least ok that long. I'll definitely be binning the last two jars of it though ? miserable, it was so ****ing good to.



I'm making some pickles with a boiler right now. We'll have to see how they come out ? waiting for them to cool right now. I followed all the instructions. Hopefully they dont try to kill me.

 

[Que]

Could have definitely got more pickles in there. Ah well, we are learrrrning.

 

[GotGarlic]

I think the blueberry jam is probably okay, as long as the acidity is high enough.

For the pickles, use regular-mouth jars and pack the veggies as tightly as you can. The "shoulders" help keep the cucumbers submerged.

 

[dcSaute]

the sugar and acid in fruit preserves are a special set of circumstances.
we used to do a 'hot pack' - hot jellies/jams/conserves poured into clean cold jars and melted wax poured over the top to seal.
grandmother, five children, 22 grandchildren, we're all still here.


so - "it depends" applies.

 

[dragnlaw]

hot ingredients into cold jars? wow, I'm a little surprised.

We packed our hot ingredients into hot and sterilized jars then the wax treatment.

When the wax went out of style I started with the water bath.

 

[GotGarlic]

the sugar and acid in fruit preserves are a special set of circumstances.
we used to do a 'hot pack' - hot jellies/jams/conserves poured into clean cold jars and melted wax poured over the top to seal.
grandmother, five children, 22 grandchildren, we're all still here.

so - "it depends" applies.

Food poisoning doesn't necessarily kill people. A lot of people attribute food poisoning to "stomach flu," which doesn't exist, and they don't connect a stomach ache a week later to something they ate.

A lot of fruits, including tomatoes, have been bred to be less acidic than they used to be.

Sugar is not a preservative in this context. It's used to preserve and maintain color and texture and adjust the flavor of preserves, but you can make safe preserves without sugar.

"There are two aspects to the word “preserving.”

1. Food safety, to avoid food poisoning;
2. Preserving the “appeal” of the food: the quality of the food in terms of texture, colour, taste,and appearance.
In the quantities used in home canning, sugar has texture and colour preserving properties, but not food-safety preserving properties.

Sweetness plays a role not just in jams, jellies and fruits: it also plays a flavour role in savoury items such relishes and pickles. Sweetener helps to make the food product more palatable by masking the tartness and sourness of the acidity. Without sweetness, some pickled products might just be inedible to many people’s tastes.

https://www.healthycanning.com/sugars-role-in-home-canning/

Everyone can do whatever they want. I like to stick with recipes and techniques that have been proven safe through rigorous testing.

 

[Que]

The recipe i used for the blueberry jam was pretty straight forward. To pints of blueberries, one cup of sugar and a table spoon of lemon juice.



So for the acidity. That should be fine then I would think?

 

[GotGarlic]

The recipe i used for the blueberry jam was pretty straight forward. To pints of blueberries, one cup of sugar and a table spoon of lemon juice.



So for the acidity. That should be fine then I would think?

I'm going to say yes, but in the future, I suggest that you use tested, approved recipes and techniques.

Here's one for blueberry jam: https://foodinjars.com/recipe/blueberry-jam/

 

[pepperhead212]

Welcome to the forum!

I remember seeing a system in one of my old cookbooks that called for heating jars to 400º. But I never saw that anywhere else, and I never used that system.

 

[Rob Babcock]

That's not really a safe and reliable method but with fruit jelly or jam you can probably get away with it. The acidity and sugar go a long ways towards inhibiting microbial growth but I would strongly recommend getting the Ball Book of Canning and giving it a good read!


Apropos of nothing, when I was growing up my mom canned a lot of deer another meat and never used a pressure canner. Technically that's not 100% safe either but I didn't die.

 

[dcSaute]

sugar is a natural preservative.
botulism does not grow in high sugar compounds.

using other methods, like pressure canning, it is superfluous.

 

[dragnlaw]

I water bath my jams and jellies, not so much as worrying about botulism, but to pressure out the air for a good seal helps prevent obvious mold that could develop on top.