Preserving Alaska’s bounty

Harvest season, with produce from our gardens and wild game from the fields, is here. To store this season’s abundance use your shelf space. Turn those berries into jam, jelly or preserves. Process moose or vegetables in jars to store on the shelf. Turn cabbage into sauerkraut. If you have a space that stays between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit with good humidity and ventilation, (a root cellar) put root vegetables in it. Enjoy your Alaska bounty through the winter.

To “jar” or “can” food, place it in glass jars or steel cans and heat to a temperature that destroys microorganisms and stops the food from ripening or spoiling. After the jar cools a vacuum seal is formed that keeps the food safe from re-contamination. There are two safe ways to process food for shelf storage. These are the boiling water canner method, and the pressure canner method.

The boiling water canner is safe for high acid foods (pH 3.0 to 4.6) such as fruits, tomatoes, pickles, jams and jellies. Completely cover jars of food with boiling water and process for specific times.

Pressure canning is the only safe, researched method of canning low acid foods (pH 4.6 to 7.0) such as vegetables, meats, poultry, and fish. Place jars or cans of food on a rack in a pressure canner in three quarts of water. The tight-fitting lid is placed on the pot. Under pressure the closed pot is heated to a temperature above 240 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature is high enough to kill spores of the bacteria, clostridium botulinum, that can create a deadly toxin in low acid canned foods.

Only use recent, researched recipes for jarring and canning food. Grandma’s recipes taste great, but the acid levels of the produce she grew are different than those found in today’s varieties. Canning times have changed over the years as new ways to test for toxins are developed. Call the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at 745-3360 for the most recent processing times for foods you plan to can. For more information, check the website uaf.edu/ces/preservingalaskasbounty, or call 745-3360.

A class, Process Meat and Vegetables in Jars, is from 6 to 9 p.m., Oct. 13, at Cooperative Extension Service office, 809 Chugach, Suite 2, Palmer. Pay $15 when registering. Dial Gauge Testing is a free service offered at the extension office.

Julie Cascio is a Home Economist with the Mat-Su District Extension.