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Old canning recipes can be hazardous to your health

Susan Troller  —  9/04/2008 2:15 pm

Food preservationists, beware: That canning recipe from grandma could be hazardous to your health.

"We've learned that we need to do some things quite differently to make sure the produce we preserve is safe," Joan Laurion, UW Extension Dane County Family Living Educator, said in a recent interview.

She explained that some canning recipes handed down through generations may not be safe, especially with modern tomatoes that may have lower acidity than older varieties.

Issues regarding food safety and food preservation are timely right now because tomatoes are ready for harvest, and so is plenty of other produce from the garden.

With increased interest in eating locally raised food as well as concerns over rising food prices at the grocery store, more consumers seem to be interested in learning the skills they need to preserve and can the fruits of the harvest while it's bountiful, and locally available.

Food preservation safety questions from what methods are suitable for preserving which foods to how to make sure that equipment is properly sanitized -- must be answered before plunging into food preservation, Laurion noted.

She will be teaching a class at the Dane County-UW Extension building at 1 Fen Oak Court, from 6 - 9 p.m. on Sept. 23. The subject is canning tomatoes and freezing vegetables safely. For more information or to register (by Sept. 15) for the $20 class, call 224-3707.

She emphasized that anyone looking for canning help should always use a research-based recipe, and recommended a series of eight food safety guides. They are available for free downloading at http://www.foodsafety.wisc.edu/preservation_publications.html. Printed copies of the guides are also available for fees that range from $1.50 to $4.

At the Willy Street Co-op, two upcoming canning workshops, titled Preserving the Flavors of Summer and taught by Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Charles Dykman, sold out almost as soon as they were announced, coooperative services manager Lynn Olson said.

"Every year, these are among our absolutely most popular classes," Olson noted. "Judge Dykman has years of experience on this subject, and he's absolutely meticulous. These classes fill up almost immediately."

Olsen said the Dykman often helps class members find low cost canning equipment for their own home use, and that the hands-on classes give a great canning education to the 14 participants in each session, using both the hot water bath and pressure canning methods for jams and jellies, pickles, salsas, fruits, vegetables and meats.

The cost is $5 for co-op members, and $20 for anyone else. All equipment and tomatoes are provided for the class, and each participant takes home a quart of tomatoes.

Olsen said the co-op is planning to offer a class that will introduce children to home food preservation in October.

"We're very close to setting a date," she said. She suggested anyone interested in the class go to the co-op's Web site at www.willystreet.coop.

Laurion said she is available to teach canning classes to neighborhood, book or church groups, community gardeners or other groups who have access to an institutional kitchen and who are interested in the latest information on home canning.

She said she would also be willing to do a canning class in a private home, if the group is small, or the kitchen is large. Laurion also said she is willing to field questions if she is in her office (224-3722) for anyone in the midst of a canning session.

Linda Brazill contributed to this article.

Susan Troller  —  9/04/2008 2:15 pm