Why Your Food Preservation Isn't Working (And How to Fix It Safely) | Episode 506

If you've ever pulled a jar off of the shelf and it wasn't sealed or it didn't stay sealed talking about home canning, or maybe you tried fermenting and it molded or it had a funny odor, you just weren't sure if things were right or if they were safe. Maybe you dehydrated food, but you're like, is this actually dehydrated enough that it's going to stay shelf stable and not grow mold in the jar or the Mylar bag, however you ended up sealing it, or you preserved food and then you were too scared to actually eat it and use it in your cooking, or maybe you even tried some root cellar techniques and it didn't last. Everything started to rot and to break down and you just kind of got frustrated or you're hesitant and not sure about the safety of preserving food at home. With a plethora of online opinions and videos and Facebook posts and you see all these different comments on doing things this way and what rules actually matter and what things are necessary and it seems everybody has the contradictory, it can be really overwhelming and leave you wondering like what is actually the sound true advice for successful home food preservation that I don't have to worry about when it comes to food safety. So we're going to dive into that today and talk about some of the most common concerns around the different types of food preservation. So I think probably the largest one that people has is botulism. And so being afraid of botulism, that is a very real concern and we do want to make sure that we are using methods so that our food doesn't have botulism in it. So botulism is a very specific type of food poisoning. It's actually a neurotoxin and you cannot, this is the one that I see a lot that is very misguided where people are like, oh, you'll know if it's bad talking about home canning and in reference to botulism. Like if it smells funny or it looks funny, then don't use it, which is true, but that actually has nothing to do with telling you if it's botulism because botulism is odorless. It is tasteless and it is sightless, meaning you can't tell if a jar has botulism in it or not. Now that should not induce fear because botulism is very, very easy to avoid if you follow updated guidelines when it comes to canning. So botulism cannot grow in an acidic environment of 4. pH or lower, meaning 4.6 on the pH scale. So we've got 7 is neutral and then is the lower the number, the more acidic it is. Botulism can't grow in that acidic environment. And botulism grows in an anaerobic environment, which is a sealed canning jar. So that's why it's really important to understand what foods can safely be water bath can and what foods need to be pressure canned in order to avoid botulism. Now, botulism is not going to be an average jar of food. So this is why you will see people who said, oh, my goodness, well, we've canned like this and we never got botulism. So it's totally fine to can food like this. You don't have to follow the updated guidelines. You don't have to use a pressure canner for anything. Well, hallelujah, amen, that they did not get botulism. That just meant there wasn't botulism present in the food when it was preserved that way. But it is not a safeguard to simply say, oh, you can do this and you'll never get botulism either. So we have our testing and we will link in the show notes for today or the video description. If you're watching this via YouTube, do an episode that I did on where we actually get our standardized safety and our science for home canning in order to avoid botulism. Because a lot of people also tend to question, oh, the government just doesn't want us to preserve our own food. So therefore they only have these rules so that you won't preserve your own food. None of them matter. And that is actually not true either. I encourage you to go and listen to that episode after this one. Those are some thoughts that you've had or maybe you've heard those things before so that you can understand for yourself where and when our testing actually comes from. So we want to make sure that when we are canning our home food that we are following, again, tested recipes for the specific pH level as well as the density of the food. Because you can have some foods, pickled eggs is an example that the brine for the pickled eggs is a 4.6 or lower, meaning acidic brine. However, eggs themselves are so dense that that brine can't get all the way to the center of the egg. And so that's why we can pickle our eggs at home, but we don't can our pickled eggs at home and then leave them sitting on the pantry shelf. When you pickle your eggs at home, then they need to be moved into cold storage. And that's where they will sit and be fine. So you absolutely can do pickled eggs at home, but you're not going to can them and have the same safe results that you can get when you're buying store bought pickled eggs that you do see occasionally being shelf stable. Now why is the difference? Why can they do this in the store and you can't do it at home? Well that's because commercial canning, those commercial canners can reach much, much higher temperatures and pounds of pressure when we're talking about pressure canning than you can ever get with home models. And so the difference is they just have different equipment. So that's why you will see versions of store can things on store shelves. It doesn't mean that you can do it with a even a home pressure canner and remain safe. So rebel canning, let's talk about rebel canning. There are complete groups devoted to doing rebel canning. And thankfully a lot of folks who practice rebel canning are at least now putting in their videos on Instagram or Facebook or even YouTube that it is rebel canning. So people know the hard thing is when someone will post something and they don't actually post its rebel canning and people who don't have canning science or that or understand canning safety, they don't realize that it's rebel canning meeting. You can be a rebel, but you're taking that risk on by following these rebel methods. So again, we'll often see people say, well, I've been doing it this way for 30 years and they're fine or the Amish have done XYZ for this and they're totally fine or other countries use this method and they're totally fine. Well we even have in the US with canning jars and let me give a brief history lesson here. The canning jar wasn't even invented until the 1850s. It wasn't widespread use even until the late 1800s, early 1900s. And there were people that were actually getting sick and dying from home canned food because they didn't know, right? It was evolving with science that it was from the home canned food. And so that is why we actually, when our guidelines started to be developed and they started to do science and testing because at that point in time, they wanted people to be canning because when we had World War I and World War II, a lot of our food was going overseas to the troops and it was encouraged for people to can at home, but they needed them to be able to do it safely. And that's where we actually have the majority of our testing now that we still use to today. So my point being is there were people doing that as far as we've got canning, which is only really been widespread for about the last hundred years. It's not a really traditional or long form of food preservation that's been going on for centuries like other forms of food preservation. But we have survivorship bias. And so those people never got sick, but there are cases of people who did get sick. They're generally not making videos because they're not making those doing those types of practices anymore. And so tested respite is aren't there to control you. They're there because there was scientific studies done on that particular method, that particular food, acidity, density, time, pounds of pressure, etc. To be able to say if you do this in this manner, you are not going to get botulism or other types of food poisoning. And so that you don't have to learn it the hard way or take that risk on if that food has botulism or not. So the good news is the folks that have been doing that way, that food didn't have botulism to begin with, because if it did, they would have gotten sick following those methods. So totally up to you. But in my kitchen, I go through so much work preserving our food so that I know it is safe for our family and minus a lot of the junk that's in most store bought foods that I am not about to jeopardize that by not deciding to pressure a can something. And it's not that hard to pressure can. And I would happily teach you how to do that. Now a lot of times when it comes to canning, people get with pressure canning in particular, this is an argument that I see for people saying like they don't want to push can, they don't like home canned food, et cetera. And that's about texture. And so a lot of times with texture is one understanding that pressure can food is fully cooked. So the vegetables, the meat, anything that is pressure can, it's going to come out the other side fully cooked. So you're not going to get like crisp stir fried Christmas of vegetables when they have been pressure canned. So understanding what the actual textural difference is going to be and how you're going to use that in preparing it. However, it shouldn't be complete like baby food, baby food like mush texture either. And so if that's the experience, one is knowing different varieties to be picking. Secondly is making sure that your pounds of pressure is correct that you're not going over that pounds of pressure or having swings where it's going up really high and a lot and then back down. Now when it comes to water baths like pickles, there is a tons of tricks in order to get really crisp pickles, especially cucumber pickles, because that's usually what people think are mushy pickle dysparagus just because dysparagus itself is more dense than a cucumber tends to be crispier. So the mushiness, there are ways to minimize that, but also understand that the food coming out the other side, especially when we're talking about pressure canning is cooked. So it's going to be a cooked texture. Now this is another area where I see people about canning and that is bad seals and siphoning. And so if you have a bad seal, that is where you have a canning jar and you followed all of the things. But when it comes out of the canner, it doesn't ever seal and or it becomes unsealed after it's been sitting on the shelf. So one of the biggest culprits of that is there's actually a chip somewhere on the rim. And so that's why it's really important if you're using used jars or buying them used, etc. But every time you can, even if they're brand new jars, always take the pad of your finger and run it over the rim of that jar because you'll feel if there is a chip or a nick and you won't necessarily always see it. So we always want to check that. The other thing is if we didn't wipe the rim very well before we put our lid on, if you get food that is stuck between the rim and the lid, that can also inhibit it from sealing or cause the seal to be weak and come unsealed over time in proper processing. So this is especially true of water bath and pickles. We're back to pickles again, where people won't actually water bath can their pickles. They're just going to pour hot water in. Will it seal? Yes, because if something is hot and then cold, that creates a vacuum and it will seal it. However, it doesn't seal it the same way as if you actually water bath or steam can that item when talking to pickles, we would never pressure can our pickles. And so the seal will come undone other time and or you didn't follow a tested recipe and procedure. And so therefore other types of bacteria other than botulism have started to form and that's where you'll see active bubbles and then they'll pop the seal because too much pressure starts to build up. Another reason for this is siphoning. So siphoning is when you have filled the jar with a proper amount of contents and followed the headspace. Headspace is the top of the liquid or the food in the jar to then the very rim where the lid is of the jar. And siphoning can happen if you want, don't have correct headspace, either too much or too little. But secondly, siphoning is usually from big temperature swings. And so that can be when with the water bath canning. And then when it's cooling down and so there's there's proper steps when you're done processing, it changes from water bath versus pressure canning slightly. But there's proper steps to make sure that you're not taking that hot jar from boiling liquid if it's in water bath or pounds of pressure and a pressure canner and immediately putting it to room temperature because that causes siphoning. So there are ways to prevent all of these things and reduce them. But this is often the case when people experience this, why they're experiencing that. And so a bad seal, it's not a failed batch. If you have a bad seal, then if it's within 24 hours of when you have processed it, you can either put it in the fridge or the freezer to use relatively quickly, or if you can reprocess it. Now, if it's something that you can't and then it went on the shelf and you noticed that the seal came undone and it's been longer than 24 hours, that we absolutely do not eat. That has been compromised and we want to make sure that we are not consuming that in any way, shape or form. Now we talked about canning, but there's lots of other forms of food preservation and fermenting is another one. So let's talk about cam yeast versus actual mold. So a lot of times I see people throwing away perfectly good ferments because the rules with fermenting and food safety are almost the opposite that of canning. So when we are doing fermenting, a lot of times on the top of the ferment, people will see the development of cam yeast and think it is mold and then they'll toss it. Now cam yeast in and of itself is not harmful to you. It can cause kind of an off flavor, but a lot of times cam yeast will just start to develop at the beginning of the ferment and then once it actually starts to ferment and you get the actual acidicness and the brine, which happens over time during the fermentation process, it's fine and it's not going to continue and the cam yeast is not down actually in the food. It's just on the top surface level of the brine. So you can simply skim it off, remove it, put it into cold storage and it's not going to continue to grow and that food is actually fine. So a lot of times it's just the beginning of cam yeast. People think it is mold and they toss the whole thing. So if it is white, flat, kind of filmy looking and sits on the surface, that's not mold. It's likely cam yeast. Mold is going to be fuzzy. It's going to be covered and it can penetrate beneath the surface of the food. So when it comes to mold, if it's just the top surface level on a piece of food that is actually poked up out of the liquid brine, this is why it's so important that we make sure our solids stay beneath the liquid level. Then that's just because it's been exposed to air and it's above the brine level. And so we're going to remove that and then we're going to let it continue to ferment because it's not actually the whole batch has not went bad and has mold. It's just that piece that got exposed. So we're going to remove that and then let that ferment for a few days and make sure that nothing begins to grow back provided we are making sure all of our solid pieces of food are beneath that fermentation level. And fermentation is so interesting. I see a lot of people, honestly, more nervous or unsure about doing home fermentation and making sure they stay safe with home ferments than a lot of other forms of food preservation. And fermenting is really safe. It's a super, super old form of food preservation. But a lot of people, especially in American, you know, Western society, they have not seen fermenting at home. And probably the most familiar they are with fermented foods would be something like sauerkraut, or the dairy ferments, like cultured yogurt, cheeses, that type of thing. But like fermented vegetables and doing it themselves and sauces and condiments, that's not something that they're familiar with. And so when you don't know what the good end product is supposed to look and taste like because you haven't had it very often, that's where a lot of unsureness, I feel like, comes in with fermentation and it's not something that people have seen done in a home environment. And so knowing that fermentation is really safe and one of the easiest forms to get started with. And what are those conditions that make it safe? Well, it's actually similar to canning when we're talking about pH level. Fermentation actually becomes acidic. We're using salt to stop bad bacteria from developing while the good bacteria and it's usually lactobacillus, so it's called lacto fermentation, especially for vegetables so much, is getting established and actually creating a acidic brine. And what's awesome is our fermentations are actually live and active with probiotics and prebiotics and they're so good for our gut, but they actually do preserve the food so it stays better longer. And so what's been super fun is I fermented salsa as well as pickles and cartito and we have a fridge and I will go into further like how do you keep them long, long term storage? What are different ways that you can do that? But it is April at the time of this recording. I fermented them in September and we just finished our very last jar of fermented salsa and I've got one jar left of fermented cucumber pickles. We went through all of the cartito already. So I'm saying that because a lot of times people are like, oh, well, ferments are like they're just going to extend it a little bit. No, they will extend it for months if done properly and in the right conditions. And fermented food, if you have the right salt brine ratios, which we're going to dive into all of this a whole lot deeper in my upcoming free five day seasonal food preservation workshop, you can make sure that it doesn't get soggy and mushy. And that's actually why a lot of people prefer fermented cucumber pickles because they retain that crunch. But if you didn't experience that it is easy and very you can fix it. Now, dehydrating. So this is where a lot of times people have done dehydrating and unfortunately the food became moldy on the shelf and they're like, I don't know when to actually package it up. Like I'm not sure when to pull it from the dehydrator to make sure it doesn't grow mold. And so easy high level test is if it's a vegetable, when you break it in half, it should snap. If it doesn't snap, it needs to dehydrate for longer. Now, this is different with fruit because fruit has a higher sugar content than most vegetables do. So when it comes to fruit, think about raisins you buy from the store, right? They're they're not rock hard. You can't snap a raisin. They're chewy, but they're not sticky. And so those are some just high level ways to think about that. Now, a little bit further in is something that's called conditioning. And why does that matter with dehydrated fruits? Well, what happens is a lot of times when we're dehydrating fruit, especially we are doing in a dehydrator or maybe an oven where it's warmer. And anytime you have a warm that you seal up in a jar, you're going to develop condensation. And so oftentimes people will take their dehydrated fruit and they will immediately put it into a mason jar. Well, what happens? They seal it up and it develops condensation because it's warm. So we want to make sure that we're not putting our super hot fruit into a jar. And if you are, go back and check it in a couple of hours to make sure no condensation has developed. Now, this is another quick little tip for you. What I will like to do, what I like to do personally is when I'm dehydrating a batch, I will look at the pieces that are the largest or that feel the most pliable still, right? That they're not quite as shriveled up as some of the other pieces. I will take those while warm and I will immediately put them into a jar or a ziploc bag and seal it. And if condensation develops in the first hour, then I know they need to go back and dehydrate a little bit longer. So you can kind of use that like on the reverse and that's a super just fast way for vegetables. Excuse me, not vegetables for fruit, for fruit to know. And so as soon as I put them in and seal them up, no condensation develops. And I'm like, OK, good, we're good to go. I can undo these, pull the rest of them and go ahead and get them put into jars and seal. Now, for dehydrated goods, you don't have to use mason jars. You can use mylar bags. Do not use ziploc. Ziploc bags are not airtight for the love. They will start to reabsorb the moisture and you will lose your dehydrated or freeze dried food. But I prefer mason jars. I put most things in the in the glass jars and then go ahead and I just you use just a little handheld vacuum sealer, pull the air out and then they're good to go and shelf stable for a very long time with dehydrated food. Now, let's talk a little bit about cold storage and root cellaring. And so this again comes back to variety. I was talking a little bit in even canning, like knowing what varieties of things are going to hold up better to different modes of food preservation. And so when we're talking about cold storage, a.k.a. root cellaring, which you can do even if you don't have a root cellar, I live in a manufactured home and have used root cellaring techniques without a garage, without a basement, any of those things for over 15 plus years. But we have to know that we are starting with storage varieties to begin with. So let's use apples and as an example, there are storage apples and then there are sweet eating apples and same thing with onions. We've got storage variety of onions and then you've got your sweet onions like a walla walla. And I love, you know, sweet onions, walla wallas are great and as well as like honeycrisp apples are delicious. However, honeycrisp is a storage is a terrible, terrible storage apple as well as a walla walla. They are not going to store for any period of time. And so when it comes to apples, potatoes, winter squash, definitely onions. You can't store your way out of a bad variety, meaning if you don't have a storage variety to begin with, you can use all of the techniques and it's still not going to store long term for you. So knowing those storage varieties is super important. Wrong environment for the crop. Again, this is where what apples want versus what garlic and onions want completely different. Apples require cold temperatures and high humidity so they don't shrivel up. Whereas garlic needs it to be dry and lower humidity because garlic, if it's in high humidity, it's going to most likely it's going to mold. It's same thing with onions. And so if you try to put everything that is a quote unquote storage root cellar candidate in the exact same storage environment, some of it's going to survive and be fine. And some of it is going to really quickly break down and it's not going to store for you long term. So really important to understand of those storage crops, the variety, and then what conditions are best for that particular crop itself. Now the other thing is diligence. So when we do root cellar, I'm sure everybody has heard this old adage, one bad apple will spoil the barrel and that is very true. So when we see one starting to go bad, we want to make sure that that gets removed super fast because if left that is going to start to spread to the other pieces of crop, the apples, if it's carrots, if it's potatoes, if it's on a braid and it's your onion string or your garlic braid, etc. So we do still want to be diligent and check and make sure we're on the watch out for when something starts to turn. And that can be really essential because you can still have perfect conditions and there may be one that for some reason. You didn't realize it had like a really deep nick in it or it just starts to break down faster and if left unchecked it's going to ruin everything, but if you get that one removed right away, then the rest of them will continue to store for weeks, most likely months longer. So everything that I have shared with you here that are failures or fears, they all have a fix. And if you want more information where we're going to deep dive into this, then I would love to have you joining me during our seasonal food preservation strategy workshop. It's completely free. It starts April 20 and goes through April 24. Five days. It's going to be live. I'm going to be doing a bunch of live teaching. We're going to cover canning, fermenting, dehydrating, cold storage and a whole lot more. Plus we'll have live Q&A so that you can ask questions in real times and leave with confidence. And you can do all of that at MelissaKNorris.com forward slash five F-I-V-E spelling it out because it is five days of free workshop. Okay, now on to our verse of the week. Now, if you've been with me listening to some of our episodes for a while, you know that I do the verse of the week and I shared I've been in Deuteronomy. So this week I'm going to be sharing Deuteronomy 532 through verse 33. And this is the amplified translation of the Bible. Therefore, you people shall be watchful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you. That you may live and that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land which you shall possess. And so this I am loving the whole book of Deuteronomy thus far. Like there's so many verses that I was like, do I share this one? Do I share that one? And this is where I landed obviously for today. And so what I want to highlight is this first the first part of verse 32. Therefore, you people shall be watchful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. And especially the watchful part because if you were raised in the church or if you've been a Christian and maybe you've read the Bible through a few times or you know quite a bit of scripture. It's not new to you. It can be really easy with anything that we have been doing for a good period of time to fall into routine, to fall into ruts, to just kind of be, you know, doing the same old thing. It becomes really familiar. And with our walk with the Lord, we are to be watchful that we are keeping his commands. Watchful is very different than just keep my commands. Right. Watchful is being intent. When you're on watch, like you are on high alert, right? Like you think of a watchman, they are doing perimeter checks. They are listening for anything that sounds off. And you know, they're going and they're looking. Is there anything you're scanning? You're like all of these things, right? And you're keeping careful record of any of anything so that you can see like this is normal. This is not normal. This happened here. This happened then. Like there's logs, all of these things. Watchful is a really key important part of that, that we are being watchful to keep the Lord's commands. And so for me, it is, you know, asking God, is there any area that I don't even realize that I am not keeping your commands? Like, is there anything that you want me to know, Lord? Any areas in my life that need to be need to be brought to the light, need to be brought to my attention, then I've got a wrong pattern and I've got a wrong thinking. And I'm just playing doing the wrong thing. And it's not following your word and your your commands, but that watchful part that is active, right? It's being very intentful and being on guard that we are keeping the Lord's commandments. And then the and not turning aside to the right or to the left, right? I don't know. I tend to I laugh and say I'm like a hummingbird or I have squirrel moments, right? Where I'll be going along a path and then it'll be like, oh, this thing and then this thing. And like making, you know, and we're to make sure that we don't get distracted by things that would take us away from God's commandment and our walk with him. And then I love verse 33 because it's the promise. When you walk in all of the ways to Lord God has commanded you and being watchful to ensure that you do, you may live and it may go well with you and you may live long in the land, which you shall possess. So it's not only that you will live a long time, but that it will go well for you. And I don't know about you, but but we were just having a family conversation actually yesterday and it was talking about, you know, how how long would you want to live? Right? Like, like how? Like at what age, you know, kind of and not that any of us actually get to choose this. But, you know, if you could, you know, how long would you want to live? And so it was super interesting. So we were saying, like, you know, I don't actually want to live to be 100 because I might not, you know, be in really good health or I wouldn't be able to drive or be able to maybe do things for myself. And like, we're having this whole conversation. And the point isn't to just have long life, right? Because if you have long life that is, you know, spent in in misery and in chains that the Lord would free you from. If you were walking with him and following his statue, it's like, I don't want a long life of misery. And not saying that just because you follow the Lord means that everything will be perfect because we know that is not true. The Lord warns us if you follow me, you will have trouble in this world. But there's a difference between trouble with the world and the ways of the world and versus trouble because we've not been following God's commandments. And so I this was just a renewing for me to do some evaluation with the help of the Holy Spirit prayer and looking at things and making sure am I being watchful in all of the areas. Are there any areas that I've let some things slide that I need to to bring back in order to be in in covenant with with God's word and as a follower of him. But I want to live a long life that is going well for me in God's promises and the areas that he's promised that things will be well for us when we're following him. So that peace that that surpasses all understanding right that he is my my strong tower. All of those those areas that God has promised that we will have. I want to make sure that I am living my life in a way that I can experience those. So thank you so much for joining me today and I look forward to being back here with you next week. Blessings and Mason jars for now.