When starting to learn canning it's important to understand how to keep food from spoiling. This is the main key to canning your foods successfully but most importantly safely. With the economy as it is right now more and more of us are falling into the "old ways" of stocking our cupboards to save money. Once I started canning it wasn't only money I was saving in the long run but I was so excited I was eating my own fresh food made from my own two hands!
This post is a bit technical but please don't let it discourage you from canning. It's really not nearly as hard or complicated as it seems. We just have to get some of the "basic technical terms" out of the way first.
Spoilers:
These spoilers are all around us however, many microorganisms as those above can be helpful to us just as harmful under certain conditions. These guys live and go forth to multiply on the surface of all types of food. If your food is already showing signs of bruising or any spoilage odds are they are teeming with not so nice microorganisms associated with spoilage. These are not the foods you want to choose for your canning.
Lets talk about enzymes. Enzymes change the color, texture and flavor of food. Enzymes that go unchecked will result in the breakdown of food and cause spoilage.
TEST
Q. What are the common factors of food spoilage?
A. Molds, yeast, bacteria and enzymes
Have no fear Mrs. V is here! Here comes the fun part where we kick these "bad spoilers" to the curb!
Okay so we need to control these "spoilers" that encourage the growth of mold, yeasts, bacteria and enzymes right? How do we do this? Ok, I'm gettin' there :-)
- Wash your food to remove these lurking spoilers. They actually make special food wash
for cleaning your foods!
- Peeling and blanching reduces even larger number of these spoilers
- Blanching also is a great way to slow the effects of enzymes
When you can your foods you stop the normal spoiling and decaying of food when we heat the food put into the home canning jars that we vacuum seal (that's a later post) When heat is applied at the just right temperature and keep it steady for a certain amount of time (as your recipe states) you will be destroying those pesky and harmful spoilers as well as driving air out of your canning jar.
There is another technical term for what I just described and that is called "processing". So, by processing your canned food properly along with proper storage and handling of your vacuum sealed jars you are ensuring that your home canned goodies will be free of spoilage!
Alrighty then, until next time, see you 'round the table,
I Like Hugs 'n' Kisses But What I Really
Is Help With The DISHES!
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