INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Acid foods - Foods which contain enough acid to result in a pH of 4.6
or lower. Includes all fruits except figs; most tomatoes; fermented
and pickled vegetables; relishes; and jams, jellies, and marmalades.
Acid foods may be processed in boiling water.  Altitude - The vertical
elevation of a location above sea level.  Ascorbic acid - The chemical
name for vitamin C. Lemon juice contains  large quantities of ascorbic
acid and is commonly used to prevent  browning of peeled, light-colored
fruits and vegetables.  Bacteria - A large group of one-celled
microorganisms widely  distributed in nature. See microorganism.
Blancher - A 6 to 8 quart lidded pot designed with a fitted perforated
basket to hold food in boiling water, or with a fitted rack to steam
foods. Useful for loosening skins on fruits to be peeled, or for
heating foods to be hot packed.  Boiling-water canner - A large
standard-sized lidded kettle with jar  rack, designed for
heat-processing 7 quarts or 8 to 9 pints in  boiling water.  Botulism -
An illness caused by eating toxin produced by growth of  Clostridium
botulinum bacteria in moist, low-acid food, containing  less than 2
percent oxygen, and stored between 40 degrees and 120  degrees F.
Proper heat processing destroys this bacterium in canned  food. Freezer
temperatures inhibit its growth in frozen food. Low  moisture controls
its growth in dried food. High oxygen controls its  growth in fresh
foods.  Canning - A method of preserving food in air-tight
vacuum-sealed  containers and heat processing sufficiently to enable
storing the  food at normal-home temperatures.  Canning salt - Also
called pickling salt. It is regular table salt  without the anticaking
or iodine additives.  Citric acid - A form of acid that can be added to
canned foods. It  increases the acidity of low-acid foods and may
improve the flavor and  color.  Cold pack - Canning procedure in which
jars are filled with raw food.  "Raw pack" is the preferred term for
describing this practice. "Cold  pack" is often used incorrectly to
refer to foods that are  open-kettle canned or jars that are
heat-processed in boiling water.  Enzymes - Proteins in food which
accelerate many flavor, color,  texture, and nutritional changes,
especially when food is cut,  sliced, crushed, bruised, and exposed to
air. Proper blanching or  hot-packing practices destroy enzymes and
improve food quality.  Exhausting - Removal of air from within and
around food and from jars  and canners. Blanching exhausts air from
live food tissues.  Exhausting or venting of pressure canners is
necessary to prevent a  risk of botulism in low-acid canned foods.
Fermentation - Changes in food caused by intentional growth of
bacteria, yeast, or mold. Native bacteria ferment natural sugars to
lactic acid, a major flavoring and preservative in sauerkraut and in
naturally fermented dills. Alcohol, vinegar, and some dairy products
are also fermented foods.  Headspace - The unfilled space above food or
liquid in jars. Allows  for food expansion as jars are heated, and for
forming vacuums as  jars cool.  Heat processing - Treatment of jars
with sufficient heat to enable  storing food at normal home
temperatures.  Hermetic seal - An absolutely airtight container seal
which prevents  reentry of air or microorganisms into packaged foods.
Hot pack - Heating of raw food in boiling water or steam and filling
it hot into jars.  Low-acid foods - Foods which contain very little
acid and have a pH  above 4.6. The acidity in these foods is
insufficient to prevent the  growth of the bacterium Clostridium
botulinum. Vegetables, some  tomatoes, figs, all meats, fish, seafoods,
and some dairy foods are  low acid. To control all risks of botulism,
jars of these foods must  be (1) heat processed in a pressure canner,
or (2) acidified to a pH  of 4.6 or lower before processing in boiling
water.  ======================================================= === *
USDA  Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539 (rev. 1994) *
Meal-Master  format courtesy of Karen Mintzias  From Gemini's MASSIVE
MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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