Recipe Question

[Lyons682]

Hi all,

New to the forum, and canning as well.

My question is: I see a lot of information stating that you can only use recipes in canning that were lab tested by USDA or extensions etc. The main reasons for this seem to be getting a proper PH level in water bath canning, and to be sure the contents are not too thick to interfere with proper through heating, as well as recommended times to process. For this process, it makes sense to me that you would want to know the ratio to acidic and non- acidic ingredients.

However-

It is to my understanding that pressure canning is used when there is not a high enough PH in a food to safely water bath can, so it need to be processed at a higher temperature than boiling- hence the pressure canner.

Wouldn't this mean that the PH is not really an issue any longer?

Also, shouldn't you be able to (as long as it is not a thick puree or starch added recipe) pressure can your recipe to the time of the ingredient with the longest recommended time for the jar size? (for example, a meat sauce or chili- providing its viscosity is not that of mud... should be able to safely be pressure canned at 75 min for pints or 90 min for QTs?)

I'd really like to be able to can some of my own recipes for things, and I feel like based on everything I've read it should be fine if it is pressure canned and is not highly viscous.

Thanks!

 

[pepperhead212]

Welcome to the forum!

You have it figured out fairly well - if it's not acidic enough, it should be pressure canned, which we can do at home, as long as it's not too thick. That's simplifying it, but pretty much what I go by. But others here can a lot more than I do!

 

[taxlady]

The problem is that you might not know all the gotchas of pressure canning. For example, a friend pressure cans stew. But, when she posted pictures of jars of the stew, it looked like they were in water. That's because it isn't safe to home pressure can with gravy in the stew. She makes the gravy when she opens the jars later. It looked very strange to call that concoction of beef, vegis, and clear liquid a stew. I'm sure there a lot of other gotchas.

I suggest looking for safe recipes and seeing what comes closest to your recipes.

 

[GotGarlic]

Hi and welcome to Discuss Cooking [emoji2]

I agree with taxlady - find a recipe that's close to yours and use that. In general, you can swap out similar ingredients - use different herbs or vegetables with the same density (hot peppers for bell peppers, for example). The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a great place for reliable information.

nchfp.uga.edu

 

[taxlady]

Hi and welcome to Discuss Cooking [emoji2]

I agree with taxlady - find a recipe that's close to yours and use that. In general, you can swap out similar ingredients - use different herbs or vegetables with the same density (hot peppers for bell peppers, for example). The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a great place for reliable information.

nchfp.uga.edu

I wanted to include the part about swapping similar ingredients, but couldn't think of a good way to describe it. Thank you for the description.

 

[Lyons682]

Thanks for the replies everyone.
I guess my main thing is I'd rather know the "why's" instead of the "how/rules". I would rather understand the reasoning behind the rules because, well.. the USDA has a tendency to over err on the side of caution and I can see no real valid reason that as long as your recipe is not the thickness of gravy or pudding, and you are pressure canning to the duration of the ingredient with the longest processing time, how it could possibly be unsafe if following procedures properly (IE proper headspace, venting, allowing it to cool/seal on its own and storing properly etc..)

 

[Lyons682]

I feel like they've allowed for a HUGE margin of error.

https://www.healthycanning.com/safe...FU_I2wAkM4dJ-L-n_T-IcpmcXMMfj08bI-JbwxEYLxyRE

 

[GotGarlic]

I feel like they've allowed for a HUGE margin of error.

https://www.healthycanning.com/safe...FU_I2wAkM4dJ-L-n_T-IcpmcXMMfj08bI-JbwxEYLxyRE

From that page:

Oftentimes the reasons the USDA either withdraws recommendations, or won’t make recommendations, for canning a certain food item, such as unpeeled potatoes or carrots, is NOT that there have been any issues, but rather that they haven’t had the funding to research and document a 110% safe process for that food item in that particular state. Given their position, they can’t possibly say, “oh, you’re probably safe.” They tried that approach in the first few decades of the 1900s and people were dropping like flies. Because of that, they have to be able to say, “you will be safe.”

You'll find that we use the same amount of caution here. None of us wants to be responsible for someone poisoning themselves or their families. If you want more information about the USDA's recommendations, I suggest you contact them directly.