Do not forget to sign up for the Food Preservation Work shop on Saturday, April 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Harvey County Courthouse Community Rooms, Lower Level. Specialist Karen Blakeslee, M.S. from the Rapid Response Center at K-State, is the instructor. Registration of $40.00 which includes lunch is due on April 17. Class requires a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15. Call 316-284-6930 if you have questions.
Do I need to test my pressure gauge? If you have a dial gauge pressure canner, the answer is YES! If you have a metal weighted gauge pressure canner that does not require testing. However, a dial gauge must be tested for accuracy before each canning season. Contact the K-State Research and Extension Office in Harvey County to get your gauge tested. We are located in the lower level of the Harvey County Courthouse.
If the gauge is in our office by 9:00 a.m. Thursday, we will test it and have it ready on Friday morning. The cost of the test is $1.00. If the gauge is one pound off, the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning recommends replacing it.
When canning low acid vegetables, meats, fish and poultry, it is essential to use a pressure canner to get the product to high enough temperature to kill any Clostridium botulism spores that may be present. If your pressure gauge is registering one pound high, that will result in a 10% reduction in heating and if the gauge is two pounds high, you will have a 30% reduction in heating. This could be the difference between safe food and potentially deadly food. If your gauge is reading too low, you could be over processing your food, resulting in a lower quality product. So for the safety of everyone consuming your pressure canned foods, please check your dial gauge every year.
New publications this year that you will want to review are:
10 Tips for Safe Home Canned Food MF3170
Sassy Safe Salsa at Home MF3171
Dry Meat Safely at Home MF3173
What?s Your Elevation? MF3172
These are available at the Harvey County Extension Office or can be searched for at our www.ksre.ksu.edu Website. At the top of the page in the blank space in the upper right hand corner type in the number of the publication that you want.
For a complete home canning guide google USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.
By : Susan Jackson
