Harvest season is almost here!
Years ago, we got ourselves the Ball Blue Book Guide On Preserving – the canning guide everyone just starting out should get. This book has been an indispensable reference for our canning journey.
Of course, as time passes, new versions come out. Today you are more likely to find the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (I recommend the spiral bound version for kitchen use). But the core advice is still the same, with safe recipes for canning.
While it’s totally possible to water bath can most things, safety becomes a big factor. Do I want to poison my family to cut a few corners on food safety?
I see this all the time on Facebook or Instagram. People totally content, even picking fights, over their canning practices. Especially when it comes to meat or low acid foods. “That’s the way I’ve always done it” they say, or “my grandma did it this way”.
But what was safe yesterday might not be the same today. It’s pure fact that things have changed.
Modern chemical farming, synthetic soil treatments, and GMO varieties have dramatically altered the quality and nutrient makeup of our foods. Coupled with changes in equipment, testing standards, and even the acidity of the items we are canning at home, the food going into our jars is different than it was a few generations back. (Source)
And these new factors change the way our food safely preserves.
I don’t want to be the cause of someone getting sick. There are times to wing it in the kitchen and times to follow the recipe. Long term food safety pushes me towards following the recipe. Plus who wants to throw out lots of food because we decided to wing it and it failed.
This week, I talked about getting started with food storage and doing your deep rotations. Fall is the perfect time of year to ensure what you have on the shelf is ready for winter. You are likely going to do some home canning anyway. Why not rotate the food at the same time?
The end goal is food storage to help our family in tough times. To get us through the winter storms. Do you really want to gamble a part of your food security on hope? I don’t. So back to my trusted guide.
And while printed is not perfect (is anything?), it’s better than random recipes on the web. Or asking AI to make the recipe for you. Believe me, it will lie to you!
If you don’t have food storage, check out the guide on creating a Fall Food Storage Plan. If you already have a good start, maybe this year is the time to add home-canned food to your shelves.
No matter where you are, make fall your season to get going and feel the success when real food is ready on your shelves.