[x-posted to rec.food.preserving]

No kids 4 you wrote:

> In anticipation of the fall harvest and some time off I am planning to can
for
> the first time ever. I have an endless collection of old blue jars that I
> thought might look nice filled with my neighbors tomatoes, they let me
pick
> them. I thought for a second about using the old lids that go with the
jars, I
> think they are zinc with milk glass inserts. I'm going with those easy
seal
> lids instead. Any sage words from experienced canners?


DON'T DO THAT! Botulism is not a pretty or easy death...you'll have to use
a pressure canner for tomatoes.

As far as older jars go, make SURE that they have no tiny chips or cracks
around the rims. Otherwise they won't seal correctly...

First off, please read these sites; the homecanning.com site is done by the
folks who make Ball canning jars:

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/

http://www.homecanning.com/


You also might want to pick up a copy of the _Ball Blue Book_ which is a
good basic guide for canners. Costs about $7.00 or thereabouts or you can
get it at homecanning.com. Another good book is _Putting Foods By_....

Canning is fun and it's also therapeutic. You can also save some money,
even if not it's a neat thing to do...I've canned lots of stuff in my
time...makes lovely gifts and folks "ooh" and "aah" when they see your
finished products gleaming all in a pretty row...


Lastly, here is an article about Barb Schaller, who is a regular on
rec.food.cooking and rec.food.preserving (the latter to which I've x -
posted this message). She knows her stuff, as she's won lots of awards at
the Minnesota State Fair and attends workshops, seminars, etc. on home
canning and preserving. An excerpt:

http://www.womenspress.com/newspaper/2004/2014cann.html

[...]

"By fun stuff, Schaller means experiments. In the past couple of years she
tried two new flavors of jam: boozeberry, with blueberries, Southern Comfort
and triple sec; and fuzzy navel, with oranges, peaches and triple sec.

Schaller doesn't shy away from the science of canning, either.

She's vehement about using the safest methods.

"My [mom's] methods would make any responsible home canner's hair curl right
now," said Schaller. "She did it in a boiling water bath, which is
absolutely verboten. A boiling water processing method does not get hot
enough to destroy the botulism spores."

The best way to can vegetables, explained Schaller, is with a pressure
canner (like a pressure cooker, but bigger). The pressure canner heats up to
240 degrees or above, which is enough to kill the botulism-a danger Schaller
takes very seriously. "The killer about botulism is you can't see it, you
can't smell it and you can't taste it," she said. "And if nobody knows what
you've eaten in the last 12 hours or so-whatever the incubation period
is-you could wind up dead."

State Fair officials agree with Schaller. If vegetables aren't processed in
a pressure canner, for the right amount of time, the judges won't even taste
them. Fruits, jellies and jams are a different matter: because they're
higher in acidity, they can be processed in boiling water."

[...]

Happy canning :-)

--
Best
Greg