by Karen Ward
Purchase mixing bowls with flat, not curved, bases. They won't slide all over your kitchen counter while you work. When mixing vigorously, place a damp dishtowel under the bowl. This prevents the filled bowl from sliding.
Colander: Colanders aren't just for draining pasta. They're perfect for washing and draining fruits and vegetables. Simply fill your colander with food and immerse it in a sink full of water. Remove the colander from the water and let your food drain while you move on to other tasks.
Wire basket: A collapsible wire or mesh basket with a lifting handle makes blanching a breeze. Place your filled basket of food into your pot of boiling water. When the blanching time is up, lift the food-filled basket out of the boiling water.
Specialty equipment to make work easier
All the items in this list are indispensable for your canning chores. They all save you loads of time.
Food processor: Purchase the best-quality food processor you can afford. It should be heavy and sturdy so that it doesn't bounce around on your kitchen counter as it's processing away. Figure 2-4 is one example of a food processor.
Food mill: A food mill (see Figure 2-5) purées fruits and vegetables as it removes the peel and seeds. You accomplish this by manually cranking the blade, which forces the pulp through the mill. Look for a food mill that rests on the edge of your bowl or pot, which enables you to use one hand to stabilize the mill while you crank the blade with your other hand.
Figure 2-4: A food processor.
Figure 2-5: Food mill.
Blender: A blender purées fruits and vegetables in a hurry, but you need to remove the peel and seeds first. Be cautious of incorporating too much air into your food.
Food scale: A food scale is essential when your canning recipe lists your fruit or vegetables by weight. The two most common types of food scales are spring and electronic. Examples of these are shown in Figure 2-6.
A food scale with metric quantity markings makes converting recipe ingredients a breeze.
A spring scale (sometimes referred to as a manual scale) allows you to place a bowl on the scale and manually adjust the weight setting to 0 before weighing your food. After placing your food on the scale, read the indicator on the dial to determine the weight.
An electronic scale is battery operated with a digital readout. It's more costly than a spring scale but easier to read. Look for one with a tare feature. This allows you to set the scale to 0 if you add a bowl to hold your food. If you have a choice, choose an electronic or digital scale.
Figure 2-6: Two types of food scales: electronic and spring.
Vacuum-sealing machines: A vacuum sealer is the most efficient appliance around for removing air from food-storage bags. Use vacuum sealers for packaging dried foods or for storing raw or cooked foods in the freezer. Although it takes up room and can be costly, you'll realize its full value after you own one. New on the market are hand-held vacuum sealers. They can provide a less-expensive alternative to purchasing an electric version.
Canning Equipment
The equipment in this section is especially designed for canning, which means you'll use it during canning season but not much otherwise. Make sure you store these items in a safe, clean location. And be sure to look over every piece each time you use it to check for wear and tear.
Canning vessels
The kind of food you'll be canning determines the type of vessel you'll be using: a water-bath canner or a pressure canner. Refer to Chapters 4 and 9, respectively, for detailed information on using each of these vessels.
Water-bath canner
A water-bath canner, also referred to as a boiling-water canner, is a kettle used for processing high-acid foods (primarily fruits, jams, jellies, condiments, and pickled foods). The canner consists of a large enamelware or stainless-steel pot with a tight-fitting lid and a jar rack. Check out Chapter 4 for an illustration of a water-bath canner and instructions on how to use one.
Pressure canner
A pressure canner, sometimes referred to as a steam-pressure canner, is used for canning low-acid foods (primarily vegetables, meats, fish, and poultry) in an airtight container at a specific pressure. A weighted gauge or a dial gauge measures steam pressure in the canner. This ensures that the high temperature of 240 degrees is attained to safely process your food. Pressure canners and how to use them are described (and illustrated) in Chapter 9.
Canning tools
These tools are must-haves for water-bath or pressure canning. Safety in the kitchen is number one, and the right tools for handling hot, filled jars and other large canning equipment are indispensable.
Jar lifter
A jar lifter is one tool you don't want to be without. It's the best tool available for transferring hot canning jars into and out of your canning kettle or pressure canner. This odd-looking, rubberized, tonglike item (check out Figure 2-7) grabs the jar around the neck (the area just below the threaded portion at the top of the jar) without disturbing the screw band.
Figure 2-7: Jar lifters.
Foam skimmer
A foam skimmer, shown in Figure 2-8, makes removing foam from the top of hot jelly, jam, or marmalade easy while leaving any pieces of fruit or rind in the hot liquid. (The openings in slotted spoons are too large to achieve quick and efficient foam removal.)
Figure 2-8: A foam skimmer.
Home-canning jars
Over the years, many types of jars with many varieties of seals have been used for home-canning. The most commonly used jars bear the names of Ball and Kerr and are commonly referred to as Mason jars. They use a two-piece cap to produce a vacuum seal in the jar after heat processing.
To ensure safe home-canning today, use only jars approved for home-canning and made from tempered glass. Tempering is a treatment process for glass that allows the jars to withstand the high heat (212 degrees) of a water-bath canner, as well as the high temperature (240 degrees) of a pressure canner, without breaking.
Home-canning jars come in many sizes: 4-ounce, half-pint, 12-ounce, 1-pint, and 1-quart (see Figure 2-9). They offer two widths of openings: regular-mouth (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter) and wide-mouth (about 3 1/8 inches in diameter). Regular-mouth jars are used more frequently for jelly, jam, relish, or any other cooked food. Wide-mouth jars are mainly used for canning vegetables and pickles and meats, because it's easier to get the large pieces into the wide opening.
Figure 2-9: Varieties of canning jars: wide-mouth, regular-mouth, and jelly jars.
Two-piece caps
Two-piece caps consist of a lid and a metal screw band (see Figure 2-10). They're made specifically for use with modern-day home-canning jars.
Lids: The underside edge of the lid has a rubberlike sealing compound that softens when it's heated. This compound adheres to a clean jar rim and creates an airtight seal after the heat-processing period. Lids aren't reusable.
Screw bands: The screw band holds the lid in place during the processing period and secures it in place when storing an opened jar in the refrigerator. After verifying that your cooled jars have successfully sealed (refer to Chapter 4), you remove the screw band before you store the canned food. The screw bands may be used many times as long as there are no signs of corrosion or rust and they aren't bent or dented.
Figure 2-10: Two-piece caps: lids and screw bands.
Mason jars
If the most commonly used glass home-canning jars bear the names of Ball and Kerr, why do we call them Mason jars? The Mason jar is named for its creator, James Landis Mason. He designed and patented a unique glass jar that uses a screw-top lid to create an airtight seal for food. This easy-to-seal jar replaced the large stoneware vessels that had previously been used for food storage.
The tapered jars we use today were introduced after World War II. They use a two-piece cap consisting of a lid and a metal screw band that fits the threaded jar top. Today, all home-canning jars are generically referred to as Mason jars. Thank you, Mr. Mason, for making the task of home-canning easy w
ith the use of screw-top closures.
Lid wand
A lid wand (see Figure 2-11) has a magnet on one end of a heat-resistant stick. With it, you can take a lid from hot water and place it on the filled-jar rim without touching the lid or disturbing the sealing compound.
Place your lids top to top and underside to underside to prevent them from sticking together in your pan of hot water. If they do stick together, dip them into a bowl of cold water to release the suction. Reheat them in the hot water for a few seconds before using them. Also offset the lids as you place them in the water. This keeps them fanned out and easier to pick up singly.
Figure 2-11: A lid wand.
Thin plastic spatula
A thin, flexible plastic spatula is the right tool for releasing air bubbles between pieces of food in your filled jars (check out Figure 2-12). Buy a package of chopsticks for an inexpensive alternative.
Don't use a metal item or a larger object for this job because it may damage your food and crack or break your hot jar.
Figure 2-12: A thin plastic spatula for releasing air bubbles.
Wide-mouth canning funnel
A wide-mouth funnel (see Figure 2-13) fits into the inside edge of a regular-mouth or a wide-mouth canning jar and lets you quickly and neatly fill your jars. This is an essential tool for canning.
Figure 2-13: A wide-mouth canning funnel.
Jelly bag or strainer
A jelly bag is made for extracting juice from cooked fruit for making jelly. These bags aren't expensive, but if you'd rather not purchase one, make your own using a metal strainer lined with cheesecloth. Use a strainer that hangs on the edge of your pot or mixing bowl and doesn't touch the liquid. Head to Chapter 6 for instructions on making jelly.
Stoneware crocks
Stoneware crocks are available in sizes from 1 gallon to 5 gallons, usually without lids. They're nonreactive and are used for making pickles and olives. Make sure you use only crocks that are glazed on the interior and certified free of lead and cadmium, a form of zinc ore used in pigments or dyes.
Be wary of using secondhand stoneware crocks. These crocks were often made with leaded glaze that will leach into your foodstuff. Because you do not often know the history of used items, this is an item that is best purchased new and not secondhand.
Tools and Equipment for Freezing Food
Some of the items required for this simple form of food preservation are already in your kitchen. For a more detailed list, check out Chapter 13.
A freezer: Usually, the freezer attached to your refrigerator is large enough for freezing food. But if you're serious about freezing lots of food, you may want to invest in a separate freezer unit.
Rigid containers: These can be made of plastic or glass. Use only containers approved for the cold temperatures of a freezer. Plastic containers should be nonporous and thick enough to keep out odors and dry air in the freezer. Glass containers need to be treated to endure the low temperature of a freezer and strong enough to resist cracking under the pressure of expanding food during the freezing process.
Freezer bags: Use bags made for freezing in sizes compatible with the amount of your food.
Freezer paper and wraps: This laminated paper protects your food from freezer burn, which results when air comes in contact with your food while it's in the freezer. Tape this paper to keep the wrap tightly sealed. Heavy-duty aluminum foil is another great freezer wrap and requires no taping.
For extra protection against freezer damage, wrap food items in foil and place them in a freezer bag.
Tools and Equipment for Drying Food
Dehydrating food is a long, slow process of removing moisture from your food while exposing it to low heat. Here are some items you'll want to have for this process, which is explained in Chapter 16:
An electric dehydrator: This machine dries your food in an enclosed chamber while it circulates warm air around your food.
A conventional oven: If your oven maintains a low temperature and you can stand to be without it for up to 24 hours, use it for drying before making the investment in an electric food dehydrator.
Oven thermometer: An oven thermometer tells you if your oven temperature is low enough to dry your food without cooking it (see Chapter 16 for detailed instructions for checking your oven's temperature).
Trays and racks: These are used for holding your food while it's drying. They're included with an electric dehydrator. For oven-drying, use mesh-covered frames or baking sheets. For sun-drying, clean screens are necessary, along with clean cheesecloth to keep hungry bugs off the food as it dries.
Chapter 3: On Your Mark, Get Set, Whoa! The Road to Safe Canning and Preserving
In This Chapter
Putting your fears of home-canned food to rest
Determining your processing method by your food's acidity
Making the acquaintance of food-spoiling microorganisms and enzymes
Recognizing the signs of food spoilage
The desire and determination to produce a delicious, safe-to-eat product without the risk of food poisoning is one thing longtime canners and people new to canning have in common. The canning and preserving techniques used today provide you with these results as long as you follow the proper steps and procedures for preparing, processing, and storing your food.
Before you begin your canning and preserving journey, take a stroll through this chapter, which introduces you to microorganisms, enzymes, and other potentially dangerous situations that cause food spoilage. You can also find info on how to prevent and identify food spoilage. The technical portion of this chapter shouldn't deter you from canning. Rest assured, after reading this information, you'll have no fear about preparing and serving your home-canned and -preserved food.
Dispelling Your Fears of Home-Canned and -Preserved Food
Preventing food spoilage is the key to safe canning. Over the years, home-canning has become safer and better. Scientists have standardized processing methods, and home-canners know more about using these methods. When you follow up-to-date guidelines exactly, you'll experience little concern about the quality and safety of your home-canned and -preserved foods.
The following sections offer some tips for handling, preparing, and processing your food.
Preparing your food properly
Use fresh, firm (not overripe) food. Wash and prepare your food well to remove any dirt and bacteria: Wash it in a large bowl filled with water and a few drops of detergent and then rinse it in a separate bowl of fresh water (see Figure 3-1). Can fruit and vegetables as soon as possible after they're picked.
No, you don't have to wash berries individually: Put them in a colander and submerge the colander, berries and all, in the wash bowl; then rinse them off with a running spray of water.
Figure 3-1: How to wash fruit and vegetables well.
Packing your jars with care
How you fill the canning jars is also important:
Don't overpack foods. Trying to cram too much food into a jar may result in underprocessing because the heat can't evenly penetrate the food.
Make sure your jars have the proper headspace. Headspace is the air space between the inside of the lid and the top of your food or liquid in your jar or container (see Figure 3-2). Proper headspace is important to the safety of your preserved food because of the expansion that occurs as your jars are processed or your food freezes.
Make sure you release the air bubbles from the jar before sealing the lid. No matter how carefully you pack and fill your jars, you'll always have some hidden bubbles.
Figure 3-2: Headspace.
The all-important headspace
When you're canning food, too little headspace in your canning jars restricts your food from expanding as it boils. Inadequate space for the expanding food may force some of it out of the jar and under the lid, leaving particles of food between the seal and the jar rim. If this occurs, your jar won't produce a vacuum seal.
Leaving too much headspace may c
ause discoloration in the top portion of your food. Excess headspace can keep your jar from producing a vacuum seal if the processing time isn't long enough to exhaust the excess air in the jar.
Always use the headspace stated in your recipe. If your recipe doesn't give you a headspace allowance, use these guidelines:
For juice, jam, jelly, pickles, relish, chutney, sauces, and condiments, leave headspace of 1/4 inch.
For high-acid foods (fruits and tomatoes), leave headspace of 1/2 inch.
For low-acid foods (vegetables, meats, fish, and poultry), leave headspace of 1 inch.
Headspace is also important when you're freezing food because frozen food expands during the freezing process. If you fail to leave the proper headspace in your freezer container, the lid may be forced off the container, or the container may crack or break. When your frozen food comes in direct contact with the air in your freezer, the quality of your food deteriorates and the food develops freezer burn (go to Chapter 13 for more on freezing food). On the other hand, too much air space allows excess air in your container. Even though your food doesn't come in direct contact with the air in the freezer, the excess space in the top of the container develops ice crystals. When your food thaws, the excess liquid reduces the food's quality.
If you don't trust yourself to eyeball the headspace, use a small plastic ruler (about 6 inches long) to measure the correct headspace in the jar.
Releasing air bubbles from your jars