Pressure canning tests set at Carroll OSU office

It’s just about time to fetch canners out of the basement or garage with fresh summer produce on its way. 

When was the last time your dial gauge pressure canner was tested for accuracy? If it’s been more than one year, it’s time for a re-check. OSU Extension will test dial gauge pressure canners July 30 at the Carroll County Extension Office.

Home canning is a relatively simple process, but many variables can affect your finished product. There are so many resources with unsafe information that it is important to make sure you are following the most recent safe home canning guidelines. One guideline for home canning foods safely is using a pressure canner to process low-acid foods, such as vegetables, meat, poultry, and fish. These low-acid foods must be pressure canned at the recommended time and temperature to destroy Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism food poisoning. Home canning low-acid foods in boiling water canners is absolutely unsafe because 212 degrees F is not high enough to destroy botulinum bacteria.

With good reason, most people have a healthy regard for the possible dangers of pressure canners. Usually this respect is based on an old story of a pressure canner “blowing up” in someone’s grandmother’s kitchen. Regardless, it is important to realize pressure canners are safe if the safety precautions are followed and the canner is used properly. Dangers arise when the unit isn’t maintained and/or used properly. To make sure your pressure canner is working properly, all dial-gauge pressure canners should be tested for accuracy each year.

Home food preservation can be safe, simple and easy to learn!

To register for an appointment, contact Bridget Britton at 330-627-4310 or [email protected].