Bookmark for anticipated reference :>)
I’ve been surrounded all my life by people who can their own produce. Forty years ago I did know one family whose members got botulism from bad canned goods. One family. Forty years ago.
If you follow the instructions and make sure all the jars ares are sealed properly, you shouldn't have issues.
Of course, it is much more fun to run through the forum screaming "BOTULISM!!!! WE ARE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!
"AND IT IS GEORGE BUSH'S FAULT!!!!"
It would seem to me that people are concerned with the leadership of this country today, and are preparing for the worst. One cannot blame them for being concerned after these past couple of years of the Obama mismanagement of our Nation.
There are many books available on canning to help anyone interested do it properly, and safely.
Be smart and avoid the problem.
The bug is anerobic, but produces gas as it grows.
If the can/jar has a “bubble” on the top/lid, DON’T EAT IT.
Also, let your nose rule. If it smells bad, DON’T EAT IT.
Home canning is safe and easy. The trick is to can what is so over-abundant that your ability to consume it freshly would result in most of your stock rotting.
Stuff like tomatoes, pears, plums, beets, eggs, green beans, pickles, apples, carrots, and even monster size cuts of chuck roast or serloin. Canned beef is the absolute best!
A good rule of thumb is to can one jar for each day of the year to supplement what you may bake or cook that day. It's unrealistic to think canning will be the sole source of your diet.
Hint.........Dry beans, rice, root crops in a root cellar, dried fruit, dry fish and meat, dry milk, lard, coffee beans bought in 25lb bulk, sugar and flour in 50lb bags will keep you fed all year.
I have canned for literally 27 years. No botulism. In fact, I can honestly say (as with most canners) that our finished product is far safer than anything you buy at the grocery store. It isn’t a complicated process. It is simply about cleanliness, following directions, sterilizing the equipment and following simple directions. If something didn’t go “right”, the jar won’t seal. Personally, I think we have enough to worry about then someone canning peaches or making blueberry jam. IMHO.
You do know that canning is 200 year old technology, right?
I am a home canner and have been for years. There are very good articles on Backwoods Home magazine on the subject written by Jackie Clay. Here is one on canning meats in a pressure canner. http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/clay105.html At this link, you can read many many articles on the subject by Jackie, and she has tons of great recipes too. I recommend subscribing to the magazine.
I had been canning fruits and pickles in a water bath for years, but reading Jackie’s articles gave me the courage to venture into canning low acid foods like veggies, meats, stews and the like in a pressure canner.
The USDA has free online canning guidelines here: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html
Preemptive fretting. A cheap attempt to scare the little people back to being totally dependent on others for every scrap of food instead of being more self sufficient.
My whole family has been canning food since I was a little kid, and we have never had a case of botulism from anything.
For starters, anyone who cans food knows that a bulging canning seal means the food has spoiled, and if the food has spoiled it generally smells pretty bad and might even have mold in it.
Everyone I know who cans uses a good canning cook book and they follow the directions closely.
I would also point out that spare canning rings and seals are a must have item for any emergency preparedness pantry.
Keyword “survival” in FR search - lots of good info on various threads.
Botulism normally kills so I don’t know anyone who has had botulism, and also it is very rare.
To prevent it you can correctly using the directions precisely, keeping everything clean and sterile. You wash the food like crazy using a brush, especially root crops because it is in the soil.
If you have any doubt about something you boil it for 20 minutes before you eat it.
Acidic foods don’t grow botulism and that is why you can can them with just a water bath method.
If you’re afraid, you could add a good dose of vinegar to everything, it would taste awful but it wouldn’t kill you.
People canned for years and botulism deaths were still pretty rare.
Some stuff (pickles) don’t need to be pressure canned...some stuff does. There are lots of books out there; and, I think the manufacturers of canning jars have instructions on their web-sites.
I would caution that if you live in the mountains, you might want to lean towards pressure canning even on foods where it isn’t required.
I’ve always assumed that a bulged lid would be an indicator that something bad was festering in the jar....and I have never had that happen.
My only fear this year, is we will all be canning food with radiation from Japan...
Botulism is not the risk if food is canned properly.
Radiation is though.
When the SHTF there will be more deaths from ignorant first-time gun owner accidents than caused by bad, home canned food.
I follow the instructions that came with the canner: http://www.gopresto.com/recipes/canning/vegetables.php
Never had a problem. Just process long enough for the vegetable and at a high enough pressure. I have a hard time keeping the pressure at exactly 11 pounds and end up processing anywhere from 12 to 15. Higher pressure is okay, lower pressure is not.
I’ve canned low-acid foods such as beans, collards, mustard greens, and soup stocks...haven’t killed anyone yet.
Lehmans has everything you need, if you are interested in buying online. They also sell canning lids in bulk. This post reminded me that I needed to order lids for this year. I just placed my order. The lids are backordered, but I’ll be glad to have them when they come in.