This year I canned goods left over from the garden. Does anyone else can their veggies? I followed all directions and recipes for doing this, but I still am so scared of giving someone botulism. I'm very new to this and have lots of canned goods I'm afraid to eat.

Anyone have an issue with botulism? Does the sealed top pop off if it has botulism? Is their a color it takes on or a mold when you open it? A smell? Anyone else can? Is their a litmus test you can use for this? Again, I followed all directions but I am still worried of getting someone sick. I'm not really a local and didnt grow up with relatives canning either. *paranoid* Any suggestions?

This year I canned goods left over from the garden. Does anyone else can their veggies? I followed all directions and recipes for doing this, but I still am so scared of giving someone botulism. I'm very new to this and have lots of canned goods I'm afraid to eat.

Anyone have an issue with botulism? Does the sealed top pop off if it has botulism? Is their a color it takes on or a mold when you open it? A smell? Anyone else can? Is their a litmus test you can use for this? Again, I followed all directions but I am still worried of getting someone sick. I'm not really a local and didnt grow up with relatives canning either. *paranoid* Any suggestions?Oooh! good thread! I have the same fears so I stick to freezing my veggies and sauces each year, but it sure takes up valuable freezer space... :ohwell:

Oooh! good thread! I have the same fears so I stick to freezing my veggies and sauces each year, but it sure takes up valuable freezer space... :ohwell:

Thanks! Yes, it does take up a LOT of freezer space for me. I wanted to try something different this year, however a botulism outbreak was not what I had in mind. :buddies:

As long as your seal on your canned goods is still tight, you should have no problems eating what you canned safely. :shrug:

If you aren't sure, take the ring (not the lid) off if you still have it on, and flip the can upside down over your sink. It's still sealed if nothing falls or leaks out. Usually there are visual cues though - such as a bubbled lid, or not having that little pop sound when you remove the seal.

As long as your seal on your canned goods is still tight, you should have no problems eating what you canned safely. :shrug:

If you aren't sure, take the ring (not the lid) off if you still have it on, and flip the can upside down over your sink. It's still sealed if nothing falls or leaks out. Usually there are visual cues though - such as a bubbled lid, or not having that little pop sound when you remove the seal.

Okay sounds good MigTig! Thanks! They all appear fine on the outside still! Any takers? j/k :lol:

What do you or others on here like to can? I'm waiting until first good snow before I open any speghetti sauce. :drool:

Acidity is the secret. I only can tomatos and even then add a teaspoon of lemon juice to a quart jar. Everything else is packed in vinegar.

Acidity is the secret. I only can tomatos and even then add a teaspoon of lemon juice to a quart jar. Everything else is packed in vinegar.

Yes, definately! I did a LOT of research on this! I'm still a little scared. :lol: Thanks! :buddies:

I don't like the idea of canning. Dutch's sweet (I am not being sarcastic) sister sent back a dozen jars this past summer. They had lids and no rings, and the lids were rusty. I thanked her for them and they went to the dump. The lids appeared to be sealed...but...

We have an extra chest freezer if we ever get a crop worth freezing.

I don't like the idea of canning. Dutch's sweet (I am not being sarcastic) sister sent back a dozen jars this past summer. They had lids and no rings, and the lids were rusty. I thanked her for them and they went to the dump. The lids appeared to be sealed...but...

We have an extra chest freezer if we ever get a crop worth freezing.

Some people remove the rings. If I'm correct, they are used to tighten down the seal after processing. I left all of my rings on. It didnt look right without it. LOL

Some people remove the rings. If I'm correct, they are used to tighten down the seal after processing. I left all of my rings on. It didnt look right without it. LOL

It doesn't look right and the rust around the lids turned me off.

This year I canned goods left over from the garden. Does anyone else can their veggies? I followed all directions and recipes for doing this, but I still am so scared of giving someone botulism. I'm very new to this and have lots of canned goods I'm afraid to eat.

Anyone have an issue with botulism? Does the sealed top pop off if it has botulism? Is their a color it takes on or a mold when you open it? A smell? Anyone else can? Is their a litmus test you can use for this? Again, I followed all directions but I am still worried of getting someone sick. I'm not really a local and didnt grow up with relatives canning either. *paranoid* Any suggestions?

Life's an adventure, eat it up! I always try the food from different batches on myself before giving any away. As long as your lids are tight with a good seal your food should be fine.

Previously I have canned squash, tomatoes, okra, cukes, peppers and anything else that only needed vinegar, sugar, or pectin. For Christmas my g/f gave me the pressure canner that I have been wanting for a couple of years, an All American 25 Quart Canner. I am ready now for the coming growing (and preserving) season so I can try the rest of the recipes that are in my Ball Canning book but could not try without a pressure canner.

It doesn't look right and the rust around the lids turned me off.The rings don't matter, but the rust could be an indicator that it's been sitting around too long. You should always use new lids because you can't trust used ones to re-seal. If the list were new, why are they rusted?


Cricket, if you followed the directions from a reliable source, if the seals are sealed and if there are no indicators of problems, like Mig mentioned, I'm sure you're good.

The rings don't matter, but the rust could be an indicator that it's been sitting around too long. You should always use new lids because you can't trust used ones to re-seal. If the list were new, why are they rusted?



I didn't want to ask why the lids looked old and rusty.

For all I know she canned these items years ago and I went on instinct not to eat them.

This year I canned goods left over from the garden. Does anyone else can their veggies? I followed all directions and recipes for doing this, but I still am so scared of giving someone botulism. I'm very new to this and have lots of canned goods I'm afraid to eat.

Anyone have an issue with botulism? Does the sealed top pop off if it has botulism? Is their a color it takes on or a mold when you open it? A smell? Anyone else can? Is their a litmus test you can use for this? Again, I followed all directions but I am still worried of getting someone sick. I'm not really a local and didnt grow up with relatives canning either. *paranoid* Any suggestions?
One quick question, what did you can them in? Tomatoes are about the only vegetable that are acidific enough to not require a pressure cooker.

One quick question, what did you can them in? Tomatoes are about the only vegetable that are acidific enough to not require a pressure cooker.

There are quite a few different recipes that only use the hot water bath canning method. Unfortunately you are very limited in what you can make without the pressure canner.

The attached link for the Ball Canning site, use the search feature at the bottom of the page to find recipes that use the hot water bath method. Ball® Canning and Preserving | Your Source for All Preserving Needs (http://www.freshpreserving.com/home.aspx)

What do you or others on here like to can?
I can everything but meat. I believe another forumite does can meat and swears it's great. I just can't go there. :lol: My beets are always a hit. My last batch of marinara sauce was okay to use as a base. I also sometimes make some jams and they are always great. My last batch of pickles sucked monkey balls. I screwed something up and that was a lot of time end effort for nothing. :frown: I just can whatever I have a surplus of, and sometimes I don't have the surplus I think I will. Last year I had serious storm damage and didn't do as well produce wise in my garden.

It doesn't look right and the rust around the lids turned me off.
No rings are fine. Actually, depending on my supply inventory, I may not even have enough rings to keep them on after sealing.

The rust can be two issues, one the canner reuses old lids (I do). You can open up and on the inside should still be in good shape. Or it can be the jars have sat too long in a humid/damp environment. Either way, again, the inside contents should be fine. You can open it up and on the inside the lid should still be in good shape.

One quick question, what did you can them in? Tomatoes are about the only vegetable that are acidific enough to not require a pressure cooker.
I have a pressure cooker, which quite frankly scares me at times. So whenever I can things up I make my husband man the PSI. :lol:

I have canned chicken, beef and pork sausage. Just follow the directions. The sealing ring is only there to keep the lid in position until the vacuum seal forms not required after that unless the jars are handled roughly.

We've canned green beans, homemade strawberry and blueberry jams, pickles (sometimes they turn out mushy and it's so disappointing), spaghetti sauce with and without meat, beets, and salsa. They've all, so far, been safe for us to eat.

We've canned green beans, homemade strawberry and blueberry jams, pickles (sometimes they turn out mushy and it's so disappointing), spaghetti sauce with and without meat, beets, and salsa. They've all, so far, been safe for us to eat.

Have you tried cold canning pickles or using Alum in the hot water recipe? I have seen both methods but did not have enough cukes to try either one last year.

I have canned chicken, beef and pork sausage. Just follow the directions. The sealing ring is only there to keep the lid in position until the vacuum seal forms not required after that unless the jars are handled roughly.
I can venison and beef stew every year, haven't been sick yet.

Used to can lots. Planned on three quarts of tomatoes every week (between chilis, stews, soups, spaghetti), so tried to can 160 quarts in a summer. Beans were 2 jars a week, 100 or so quarts. As my family has moved on and I have been working outside the home more, I do less canning. But I sure do miss the home canned goods. It was so satisfying to see all those filled jars at the end of a summer!

I have the best recipe for sweet midgets. Pick 2 inch cucs, then the recipe takes about 6 days. YUM!

My uncle used to tease me about my funny pickles, so I started pickling everything I could find a recipe for. Carrots, cauliflower, watermelon rind, green beans, okra - green cherry tomatoes tasted like olives!

My grandmother always canned pork loins and sausage when it was hog killin' time. She died when I was a pre-teen, so I never learned from her. Wish I was brave enough to try it - delicious!

Most experts recommend boiling non-acidic home pressure canned veggies for a minimum of 20 minutes. Yuck. We never have done that and no one has died yet.

Rings are always removed. If the food is going to go bad, you want the lid to be able to pop off. And never eat anything which has a rusty lid.

Thanks for all the suggestions, recommendations and advice!

When the recipie called for hot water bath, I did that, when it called for pressure cooker I used one. I too Mig was afraid of mine, especially when it got to a rockn' and rolln' stage. :jameo: I texted a friend and asked if its okay to be "hiding from it" in another room and if it was normal to be "bobbing and weaving" when you are near it. :lol:

Also, I thought the poping noise was neat when all the jars were sealing... pop!! pop!! pop!! :lol: