Posted on 08/20/2022 4:55:49 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.
This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table Recipes, Preserving, Good Living - there is no telling where it will go - and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.
NOTE: This is a once a week Ping List. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time!
The History of Home Canning
Home canning, or jarring as they say in Europe, dates back to the Napoleon War era starting in 1803. Surprised? I love sharing the long-standing history of home canning and preserving food because so many do not realize canning wasn’t “invented in America” by way of the USDA.
The History of Water Bathing
Napoleon was losing the war on the front line because his men were without food and without food, his men couldn’t sustain. “An army travels on its stomach,” Napoleon famously said. His men were without food because by the time fresh foods made it to the front-line from their kingdom, the foods would be rotten and inedible leaving his men to pillage or purchase whatever the native country offered as a food source.
Napoleon put it to his people, through the Society for the Encouragement of Industry, whomever could find a way to preserve large quantities of foods to sustain their soldiers, this person would receive a 12,000 franc reward.
Nicholas Appert, a chef, confectioner and distiller, collected the prize in 1810, after he spent 14 years experimenting so he could learn how food cooked within a glass jar would not spoil unless exposed to oxygen. He developed a method of jar sealing and successfully preserved soups, fruits, vegetables, juices, dairy products, marmalades, jellies, and syrups. With his award money, he developed the first commercial cannery, the House of Appert, which operated from 1812 to 1833.
Fast forward 50 years. It was Louis Pasteur who discovered how time, temperature and acidic value played a vital role is protecting us from harmful microorganisms by outlining how to properly process foods. It was Pasteur who was able to prove why food spoils and why beer and wine sour due to microorganisms. He therefore invented pasteurization. Pasteurization destroys microorganisms by heating beverages and foods, then allowing them to cool. Simply put, boiling water destroys germs – a process still used to this day. It was here that thermal processing was born.
The History of Pressure Canning
The early pressure cooker, called a Digester, first appeared in 1679 invented by Denis Papin, a French-born physicist and mathematician. The cooker heats water to produce very hot steam which forces the temperature inside the pot as high as 266° F (130° C), significantly higher than the maximum heat possible. The higher temperature of a pressure cooker penetrates food quickly, reducing cooking time without diminishing vitamin and mineral content.
Papin’s invention was created using a large cast iron vessel with a tight-fitting lid that locked. Sadly, without valves and a means to release pressure, his invention became dangerous and often exploded. Learn more about Mr. Papin in any Encyclopedia Britannica.
In the United States, National Presto Industries, Inc. was founded in 1905 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where it designed and manufactured pressure canners (known at the time as “canner retorts”) for commercial canneries. The company, originally called Northwestern Steel and Iron Works, was a major producer of fifty-gallon capacity pressure canners. Subsequently, the company also began production of thirty-gallon canners for hotel use and soon thereafter developed ten-gallon models suitable for home canning. The company installed an aluminum foundry in 1915 for the specific purpose of manufacturing large-size pressure canners for home use.
The business rapidly grew when the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined in 1917 that pressure canning was the only safe method for canning low acid foods without the risk of food poisoning. Soon after, the company decided to cater exclusively to the needs of the home market, rather than commercial business. The company marketed its products under the trade name ”National” and became one of the largest manufacturers of cast aluminum cooking utensils in the world. To more closely identify with the now famous brand, in 1925 the company name changed to National Pressure Cooker Company. I am proud to say I own four tall 23-quart Presto pressure canners and two smaller versions.
In the 21st century we have expanded upon these discoveries. Advancements in technology allow us to get water, and air, hotter than boiling water temperature, known as pressure canning. This combined with standardized safety methods using time, temperature, acidic value and density give people across the globe the ability to preserve a sustainable food source for years.
Two Current Methods of Thermal Processing
Because of these discoveries throughout history, we are now able to preserve even more recipes than Napoleon ever thought possible. As an educator, I make it a point in each of my books to I cover both methods of thermal processing. Each recipe will indicate which method of thermal processing is required to safely preserve the food in jars. Many times, processing can be interchangeable. For instance, many water bath recipes, like salsa, can be processed in less time when you switch to pressure canning.
Water Bathing. The first method is water bathing. Foods high in acid (with a pH between 1.0 and 4.6), like strawberries or apples, can be processed in a water bath using the temperature of boiling water, 212º F/100ºC, to kill harmful microorganisms.
Pressure Canning. The second processing method is pressure canning. For all low, or no, acid foods (with a pH between 4.6 and 14.0), like root crops or meat, we must go up to 240ºF/116ºC or higher to kill harmful microorganisms.
It is the overall acidic pH value of the recipe and the food’s density that dictates how long the jars must process and at what temperature, therefore warranting the use of either a water bath canner or a pressure canner.
Learn how to safely preserve food in jars with The Canning Diva® as she shares the science and math of home canning. Visit her online at canningdiva.com and follow her @canningdiva on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for recipes, tips, tricks and videos.
https://www.canningdiva.com/the-history-of-home-canning-and-preserving-food/
Good morning! Just getting ready to go and pick. Canning? This tear so far only 4 pints of stewed tomatoes. Have plenty of canned things still in the pantry. Update later, rain coming.
Tear = year. Haven’t finished my coffee yet.
Mom had a Presto pressure Cooker.
It came in handy with six kids.
Beau is taking some of the dogs to a Water Race, today. Also raining here, but the show must go on!
I have beans, grapes, pears and lots of tomatoes and peppers to deal with, today.
FIRST - I need to clean out my pantry and find my stash of jars and lids, then I need to decide where to start first with all of this bounty!
“Mom had a Presto pressure Cooker.”
Proving that All Good Things come from Wisconsin! ;)
Can do!
Yes!
Love to can.
I learned from my mom as a teen helping her can tomato juice and stewed tomatoes. Went on from there.
I am currently in the midst of a great tomato harvest and am collecting enough tomatoes for the next canner load. I am trying to wait until I have enough to actually get two canner loads out of them. It’s more time and energy efficient and I only have to set up and clean up once.
National Center for Home Food Preservation(Canning, Curing, Drying, Fermenting & Pickling)https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html
We used to can tomato juice and puree in champagne bottles with crown caps on them. Easy and cheap.
It’s frustrating that many of the new pressure canners only go to 10 psi. That doesn’t give enough pressure to raise the temp to around 150 degrees necessary to kill botulism spores.
So I went to the hardware store and purchased large washers to place on the pressure regulator weight. It works perfect to raise the pressure to get the exact temperature needed.
In all the years of pressure canning, I only had to mop the ceiling one time. And that was nothing in comparison to the mess when the mash cooked up into and clogged the coil on the still and blew the top off it.
😇
It has been EXTREMELY dry here in upstate NY. I can barely keep up with watering. Takes me two hours to water everything but the mini orchard. The pears are mealy.
That was worse than when my brother put the can of red beets in the oven of our wood fired kitchen stove.
My mother built fire to cook, not knowing the can was in the oven and the red beets exploded, blowing the oven door open and plastering the kitchen with red beets!
A bloody mess!
“It’s more time and energy efficient and I only have to set up and clean up once.”
Exactly. That’s my plan for the day, too. Grapes first, I think, because my steamer/juicer makes short work of them.
Then on to the Salsa. Still deciding on the pears, but I have time - they’re still pretty hard, but ripen up seemingly overnight!
The sound of the little regulator valve jiggling on top meant BEEF STEW for Supper! Yum! :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.