What are you canning?

[ninnymary]

flowerbug, I've never heard of oven canning. I do water bath for my salsa and I think it's a pain to wait forever for the water to boil. Then I'm scared to death that I will drop a jar and burn myself! Tell me what oven canning is please.

Mary

 

[flowerbug]

this is not recommended to anyone...

BWB is safer for good reasons (if the jar breaks you don't have a mess in the oven).

oven canning is the method where you do your normal prepping and sealing of the jars with the lids, but instead of putting the jars in hot water to finish them off you instead put the oven at a specific temperature and put the jars in the oven instead.

for high acid items where you only need to get some pressure reduced in the jar to get the seal to set, this can be anywhere from 15 minutes. if i'm wondering if the tomatoes might be borderline i'll go 35 - 40 minutes. at 250F. we do mostly quarts or pints.

but like i said the oven has to hold a fairly steady temperature. we've only had a few problems over the years. some generic lids blew off instead of sealing properly and one jar broke and made a mess. i do think it is a lot easier and uses less energy. if your racks aren't that good you can put the jars on cookie sheets.

for other items other than high acid the time limit was extended to several hours. i have never done any myself because i just don't trust it and botulism isn't worth the risk, but Mom used to do green beans, potatoes, beets, etc and none of us died... still... i'd go pressure canning if i were doing low acid anything.

 

[ninnymary]

Does anyone else do oven canning? I'm wondering about your experiences/input.

Mary

 

[ninnymary]

flowerbug, I'm not worried about the jar breaking. I have a self cleaning oven. I once tapped a jar with another one in my water bath. Didn't realize till later and it was all over the water.

Mary

 

[Nyboy]

Does normal cooking kill botulism ?

 

[flowerbug]

Does normal cooking kill botulism ?

botulism is the poisoning one gets by eating food that was not prepped or stored well. the bacteria clostridium botulinum gives off the toxin. it is a common bacteria in soils/root crops but really can be in about anything.

often when you hear about it in the news it can be deadly.

boiling for a period of time will destroy the toxin, but seriously, if i suspected anything i wouldn't eat it at all.

the conditions it likes are low acid or non-acid and also air-free. so anything low acid that is canned improperly can be suspect. Mom did some beets a few years ago, and i just would not eat them. they were fine. i much prefer things like that fresh steamed anyways. pickled beets are much safer.

this is why i repeat the phrase "pressure cooker" often when it comes down to canning because at least then the temperature gets high enough to kill off the bacteria (when done correctly).

 

[flowerbug]

flowerbug, I'm not worried about the jar breaking. I have a self cleaning oven. I once tapped a jar with another one in my water bath. Didn't realize till later and it was all over the water.

well from the times when i was a kid and the current round of living here i'd say i have about 20yrs experience with it. Mom has a few decades on me.

the risks from hot jars and oven burners are there. get some good long oven mitts with gripper nubbies on the fingers.

 

[ducks4you]

Mary you need some good lifter tongs!
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71uotnT4opL._SY450_.jpg
The only time I have had broken jars was with a rapid temperature change. Many times I will put the jars that are waiting on the glass top of my stove about an 2-3 inches away (but not over the coils) from the hot water bath pot to keep them really hot. I also place the hot jars on a wooden cutting board to cool so that they don't touch something cold on the counter. I don't know about any of YOU, but I have been gifted quite a few jars from people who got tired of canning. Still, don't like to lose any.

 

[baymule]

I use an All American pressure canner. It will hold 17 pints or 7 quarts. I call it The Beast. I love it.

Today I canned 17 pints of tomatoes, okra and onions. Yesterday I canned 12 quarts of dog food, made from sheep liver, kidneys, hearts, squash and rice.

 

[ninnymary]

Mary you need some good lifter tongs!
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71uotnT4opL._SY450_.jpg
The only time I have broken jars was with a rapid temperature change. Many times I will put the jars that are waiting on the glass top of my stove about an inch away from the hot water bath pot to keep them really hot. I also place the hot jars on a wooden cutting board to cool so that they don't touch something cold. I don't know about any of YOU, but I have been gifted quite a few jars from people who got tired of canning. Still, don't like to lose any.

I have those lifter tongs. Still scary that I may not be squeezing them hard enough.

Mary