Recent questions directed to Penn State Extension food safety educators remind us that the basics still matter. Here are a few of those questions along with answers.

Why did liquid from canning meat escape from the jar into the water in the canner? The caller had filled the jar with hot water above the meat to the top of the jar.

Headspace matters. For canning meat, allow 1 inch of space between the meat, added liquid and the top of the jar (the space should be between the lid and the contents). As the contents in the jar are heated, the contents and the air in the jar expand. If there is too little headspace, the contents will overflow to escape the jar and may cause seal failure. If there is too much headspace, the processing time may be inadequate to drive the air out of the jar to create a strong vacuum seal. Generally the recommended headspace is 1/4 inch for jellies and jams, 1/2 inch for most fruits, tomatoes and pickles, and 1 inch for vegetables and meats (1-1/4 inch for poultry).

Why is there colored water in the canner (and sometimes the water even smells of the product)?

Several practices contribute to this. As stated above, too little headspace may force contents out of the jar. Another reason is heating the filled jars at too high a temperature or too fast, which causes liquid loss as the contents expand. This is a special problem when the water in a boiling water bath boils extremely fast; instead, use a gentle boil. Also, avoid allowing the pressure inside a pressure canner from going extremely high; try to keep the pressure within the designed pressure and 1 pound above that. A greater problem is rapid temperature changes in any type of canner. Adjust stove settings gradually.

The caller didn’t have canning salt and wanted to make bread and butter pickle. She wanted to know if she could use kosher salt.

Because the salt was only used for soaking the cucumbers in ice and salt water, there would not be a problem using the kosher salt. However, she would not want to use kosher salt when exact amounts are important, as in making fermented pickles or sauerkraut. Although kosher salt is a pure salt, the shape of the salt granules differs from canning salt and measures differently. Avoid using iodized salt or sea salt when preserving food because the minerals in them may discolor the product.

A caller’s recipe listed the total amount of citric acid needed for 12 quarts of tomatoes in the ingredient list, but in the directions instructed her to put 1/2 teaspoon in each quart jar. The caller had used the total amount of citric acid in each jar and found the juice extremely sour, beyond what a reasonable amount of sugar would camouflage.

Read a recipe through completely before you start. Read each recipe step carefully and organize your work and materials like a professional chef — mise en place — with everything in its place.

A caller said several jars of tomatoes that originally sealed, lost their seal after a few weeks, their color turned dark and air bubbles were coming up through the jars.

These are indicators of spoilage and that the food should be properly discarded. Among other problems, the caller had used only a small amount of a commercial color protector to acidify the tomatoes. Commercial color protectors contain ascorbic acid along with some other ingredients and work well to prevent darkening of light-colored fruits during preparation and freezing, but ascorbic acid will not adequately acidify tomatoes for canning. Citric acid and ascorbic acid are different products with different uses in home food preservation. Use citric acid or bottled lemon juice to acidify tomatoes and tomato products for canning. Add 1/4 teaspoon powdered citric acid or 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to a pint jar and 1/2 teaspoon powdered citric acid or 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to a quart jar to acidify tomatoes, figs and Asian pears.

If you have food questions, a home economist is available to answer questions on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., by calling 717-394-6851 or writing Penn State Extension, Lancaster County, 1383 Arcadia Rd., Room 140, Lancaster, PA 17601.

The Well Preserved news column is prepared by Penn State Extension.

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