Post on 24-Dec-2015
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Preserving the Harvest
Brian NorderVermont Food Consulting Services
Brian@Vermontfoodconsulting.com
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Food Safety Canning Basics Freezing Drying and Dehydrofreezing Fermenting Questions
Topics
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Food Safety Cleaning vs. sanitizing Chlorine- 2
teas./gallon=120ppm◦ Should have only
slightest smell When in doubt… Bare hand contact
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Canning Basics
3 Control Measures◦ Temperature◦ Acidity (pH)◦ Available moisture (water
activity or aW) Hurdle concept
◦ Low acid- one hurdle, heat◦ Pickles-two hurdles, heat,
acid◦ Jams, jellies-three hurdles,
heat, acid, aW So Easy To Preserve-
http://setp.uga.edu/
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Developing your own recipes◦ A good digital thermometer and pH meter a must
pH meters-◦ Handheld◦ Removeable/replaceable electrode◦ 4.0 buffer solution◦ Temperature appropriate
Canning Basics
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Canning basics Low acid- pressure canning,
no guessing! Pickling- finished pH below
4.0◦ Brine (pH 3.0)+Veggies (pH
6.0+)=finished pH ~4.0◦ Measure, don’t guess
Jams, jellies, preserves◦ Generally around 50/50
fruit/sugar Fruit spreads and syrups
◦ Less sugar,(60/40, 70/30)◦ Need thermometer and pH meter◦ pH of <3.7 desirable,
<3.4needed for set-up
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
To Water Bath or Not to Water Bath…◦ If you have a good thermometer and pH meter
you can use commercial guidelines for jams, tomato sauce, salsa, etc.
Minimum Fill/Cap Temperatures at Various pH Ranges pH Temp. (F) <3.7 160 3.71 to 3.8 180 3.81 to 3.9 185 3.9 to 4.1 190 4.11 to 4.2 195
Source: Cornell/NYSAES
Canning Basics
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Freezing Blanching improves
quality Bulk freezing IQF-allows you grab as
little as you want
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Drying Removes 80 to 90%
moisture◦ Watch for mold
development Oven with pilot
effective Excalibur has rugged
affordable dehydrators for serious home preservers
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Dry to roughly 30% moisture contend Freeze- bulk or IQF Great for soups, stews
Dehydrofreezing
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Fermentation Sauerkraut, kim chee, carrots
common fermentation Lactobacillus or commonly
lacto-fermenters develop acid to bring finished pH below 3.7
Prolonged temperatures above 70F can result in spoilage
Salt is most common starter, yeast and whey also used in some products
Ample resources on-line
(c) 2015 Brian Norder, Vermont Food Consulting Services
Questions?