My apologies to William Shakespeare for the bad pun, I just couldn't help myself. Having gotten that out of the way, recently I have received several questions via email from readers wanting to know when to use a pressure canner versus a water bath canner to safely preserve food. I hope this short article will clarify the differences between both types of canning and when you should use one method as opposed to the other.
In my earlier article 'Yes You Can!'
(http://culinaryyou.blogspot.com/2015/07/it-has-been-said-that-averageamerican.html),
I briefly talked about the differences between water bath and
pressure canners and why you would use one over the other. In this
article I will go into the specifics about which foods are safe to
preserve in a water bath canner and which foods should be pressure
canned. Water boils at 212°F therefore water bath canners can only
heat foods up to 212°F. Whereas pressure canners heat foods up to
240°F. That 38° difference may not seem like a lot, but it can be
the difference between feeding your family and friends foods that are
safe, or foods that can make them sick because they are contaminated
with harmful bacterias.So, when it comes to canning, foods are
divided into two basic groups 'high-acid' and 'low-acid', and each group must be processed by a different method.
High-Acid Foods (Water Bath Canner)
High-acid
foods have a pH of 3 to 4.6, these foods include: tomatoes, salsas,
relishes, pickles, chutney's, vinegars, fruits, fruit juices, jams,
jellies fruit spreads and some sauces. Because the spores of harmful
bacterias such as clostridium botulinum (which causes botulism i.e.
food poisoning) do not grow in the presence of acid, high-acid foods
can be safely processed in a boiling-water canner.
 |
| Not listed here, Poultry, Seafood, Beef and all other Meats are considered Low-Acid foods. |
Low-Acid Foods (Pressure Canner)
Low-acid
foods have a pH of 4.7 to 7, which increases the risk that they could contain harmful bacteria. Because of the increased risk of botulism when preserving low-acid foods, low-acid foods should only, I repeat ONLY,
be canned using a pressure canner. These foods include: vegetables,
soups, stews, stocks, meats, poultry and seafood. In addition, any
recipes that combine high acid foods, such as tomatoes, with
low-acid foods, such as vegetables or meats, are for canning purposes
considered low-acid foods. Therefore the recipe for grandma's famous
Spaghetti sauce with ground beef would be considered a low acid food
because of the addition of the ground meat and needs to be processed in a
pressure canner. If, however, you decided to make up a big batch of grandma's
spaghetti sauce and left out the ground beef, then it would be safe
to process in a water bath canner.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is only one
question to answer when determining whether you should use a water bath or
pressure canner. Is the food low-acid or high-acid? There really is
no middle ground when it comes to safely canning your bounty. If you
are unsure as to whether a food is low or high-acid, treat it as a
low acid and use your pressure canner. It really is that simple.
If you want to know more about growing
an awesome garden and increasing your garden's yields, go check out
my friend Steve Coyne's blog and Facebook page on the links below.
Vegetable Blog:
http://igrowvegetables.blogspot.com/
YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/IGrowVegetables
Other Canning References:
Complete Guide to Home Canning, Guide
1: Principles of Home Canning, United States Department Of
Agriculture,
http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE%201%20Home%20Can.pdf
Water Bath Canning High Acid Foods, http://www.freshpreserving.com/tools/waterbath-canning
Pressure Canning Low Acid Foods,
http://www.freshpreserving.com/tools/pressure-canning
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