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Hi Rod,
Thanks for the great article. I am looking forward to reading more of them.
I use to can vegetables and fruit back home in New Jersey, but when I moved to Texas I stopped. I was always told to store the canned items in a cool, dry place. I have a garage to store them in, but it is dry and warm. Does it really matter what temperatures you store the canned items?
Thanks,
Patti
Here are the guidelines for storing canned foods from the USDA.
"If lids are tightly vacuum sealed on cooled jars, remove screw bands. Label and date the jars and store them in a clean, cool dark, dry place. Do not store jars above 95 degrees Fahrenheit or near hot pipes, a range, a furnace, in an uninsulated attic, or in direct sunlight. Under these conditions, food will lose quality in a few weeks or months and may spoil. Dampness may corrode metal lids, breaks seals, and allow recontamination and spoilage.
Food that has been properly canned will keep indefinitely, but after a year, some chemical changes do occur. These changes may affect the flavor, color, texture and nutritional value of the canned product. It is recommended that you keep home canned produce no longer than one year."
You know Patti ~ I had always wondered how the canned goods were stored before a/c. When we see 100+ temps you can only imagine how much hotter to jars would be... Perhaps they did less canning and more drying ~
Fantastic article...I love learning this bit of trivia to some but I have never tried to can food...Didn't most people have basements for the sole purpose of preserving food. My great grandmother did I remember. Then my grandmother always put up food, etc. just like he was talking about (pressure cooker and all)...
I can't wait to see exactly how to put up fresh fruit or preserves...
Nope, no basements in my area of Tx and as you get closer to the coast ( like Houston), the water table would not permit a basement. Makes me wonder what they did for canned goods storage in the earlier days.
I remember my great grandma's house in Skidmore , texas ...about 30 miles from here...the house was built way up high on pier and beam...thus providing the basement for food...remember how high the houses were built...I am 65 and I still remember when I was a little girl she kept potatoes, onions, and all kinds of food down in "that room" we called it...with a very low ceiling...
Thank you, Rod. Your article gives me the itch to pull out my
canning jars and give it another whirl. The only problem is
that there is no farmer's market nearby and the fruits and veggies
from the grocery stores never give a satisfactory result - too green,
too ripe, too deteriorated for an excellent result.
I am also finding that I don't have a cool enough space here
for storage - no basement - and even if I had a garage, it would
be about 130 degrees in there on any summer's day. Sigh.
I don't think the carport will do either, and there's no room in
the fridge. I'll keep watching this thread - maybe I can finally
get some use out of that dehydrator I bought on a whim some
years ago :o)
LOL, Podster, you have no idea about how forgetful
I can get. I'd be finding something in 2025 that I just put
away this year ! Good ideas though - I'll start scouting
around for unused space, but it'll probably be filled with
quilting fabrics.
What really bothers me the most, Podster, is that
I often can't remember where I put the stuff I want to
keep safe or the things I'm not supposed to lose track of.
I'm afraid my Sometimers is turning into Ofteners.
