It's kind of like that ..........

Yea.

Last night, we were eating with friends.  One of the women prefaced her comment with ... I know you are a home economist and you aren't going to like this.

And then, she proceeded to tell about a canning method that is so dangerous, I won't repeat it here for fear of introducing it to some people.

Darwin described this behavior as survival of the fittest.  We would say ....  get those idiots out of the gene pool!


But back to the conversation ...........................

I sat for a moment ... hearing my mother's voice say ..... If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

If you can't say something nice.......

If you can't say something nice .........

Oh, what the hell!!!!!

Don't you dare do that method!! It is a recipe to food-borne illness and at worst, botulism.  You can not get the internal temperature where it needs to be for safety.

And I tried to explain why it is dangerous .......... what research was done ....... what really could happen.

My words fell on deaf ears.

Because someone had been doing it for years and they are just fine.




The trouble with food-borne illnesses .......... you can develop a bit of an immunity to improperly processed home canned food.  Oh ... you may have a little stomach problem every time you eat your salsa but you think you had a few too many greasy chips when in reality ............  the salsa had too many low acid veggies or you under-processed it.

HOWEVER .......... food-borne illnesses strike young children and the elderly quicker and faster than it strikes healthy middle-age people. 

It hits the people you care about.  People with compromised or under-developed immune systems.

Universities and the USDA do constant research on safe methods of canning.  If there were easier and quicker and safe ways ..... they would tell you about it.

Because their lives .... their children ... their families are just as busy as you are.



Read the Ball Blue Book.

Follow the directions.

To a T.

Cuz not one of these men ... fell off the ladders. 

They all lived.

Wanna put your safety and your families safety in their hands??

Yea .....

It is kind of like that.


(PS.  This rant has nothing to do with the fact that I am teaching Canning 101 for Scott Community College. But this conversation occurred right when I am prepping for a class on Monday September 14 at 6pm.  So I will do a plug for it right now.  For more information, you can call 563-441-4100.)

Comments

Barb said…
BRAVO!!!! I don't think I can count the number of "gift" jars of food that we got from parishioners that I thanked them for, then proceeded to go into the kitchen and dispose of the contents. I knew those people well and my words fell on deaf ears as well. Concerning the dangers of canning beans in a water bath canner????? "I just double the amount of time it calls for in the book" When I explained to her that that still wouldn't bring it up the the temps for safe canning, I got the standard answer, "That's the way my mother did it, that's the way I do it and no one has ever gotten sick." I learned to be very, very selective at church potlucks!!! I am going to share this blog post on my FB page....it is very important, very good and very timely.

Bless you!
colleen said…
I have always ONLY used a hot water canner. I guess that's what I grew up with.....well "the light came on" and we have a pressure canner this fall. I'm loving it!! It made me a little nervous using it the first time (even though I use a pressure cooker a lot) I now feel at ease using it.
Dan Mays said…
There is one thing about this broad range of safety topics that befuddles me. How is it possible that these bunglers usually seem to escape the consequences of their own stupidity, but innocent bystanders are most often the victims?

Dan

Popular Posts