University of Kentucky UKnowledge Family and Consumer Sciences Publications Cooperative Extension Service 6-2000 Preparing & Canning Fermented Foods & Pickled Vegetables: Featuring New, Research-Based Recommendations for Safer and Better Quality Food at Home Sue Burrier University of Kentucky Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits oy u. Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/fcs_reports Part of the Life Sciences Commons, and the Medicine and Health Sciences Commons Repository Citation Burrier, Sue, "Preparing & Canning Fermented Foods & Pickled Vegetables: Featuring New, Research-Based Recommendations for Safer and Better Quality Food at Home" (2000). Family and Consumer Sciences Publications. 82. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/fcs_reports/82 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Cooperative Extension Service at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Family and Consumer Sciences Publications by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FCS3-330 This guide, containing up-to-date instructions for preparing safe Know Your Altitude home-canned foods, is based on research conducted at the Pennsylvania State It is important to know your University. It is adapted from the USDA approximate elevation or altitude Complete Guide to Home Canning. above sea level in order to deter- mine a safe processing time for Other publications in the home- canned foods. Since the boiling canning series include: temperature of liquid is lower at • FCS3-121, Canning Tomatoes and higher elevations, it is critical that Tomato Juice additional time be given for the safe processing of foods at altitudes • FCS3-325, Principles of Home Canning above sea level. • FCS3-326, Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Fruit and Fruit Products All towns and communities in Kentucky are below 2,000 feet. The • FCS3-327, Selecting, Preparing, and processing times given in this can- Canning Tomatoes and Tomato Products ning guide are for altitudes up to • FCS3-328, Selecting, Preparing, and 3,000 feet and are safe for all parts Canning Vegetables and Vegetable Prod- of our state. ucts • FCS3-329, Preparing and Canning Poultry, Red Meat, and Fish DANGER! • FCS3-331, Preparing and Canning Jams Guard Against Food and Jellies These publications are also available on Poisoning our web site at: Pressure canning is the only http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/pubs.htm recommended method for canning No product endorsement is implied, nor meat, poultry, seafood, and most discrimination against similar products vegetables. The bacterium intended, by the mention of brand names Clostridium botulinum in low-acid in this publication. foods is destroyed when they are processed at the correct time and pressure in pressure canners. Using boiling-water canners for these foods poses a real risk of botulism poisoning. If these bacteria survive and grow inside a sealed jar of food, they can produce a poisonous toxin. Even a taste of food containing this toxin can be fatal. Low-acid foods should be boiled after their jars are opened, even if you detect no signs of spoil- Revised and adapted for use in Kentucky age and are certain the food has by Sue Burrier, former Extension Food been properly processed. In Ken- and Nutrition Specialist tucky, boiling for 13 minutes de- stroys the toxin that causes Contact: Sandra Bastin, Ph.D., R.D., poisoning. Extension Specialist in Food and Nutrition Contents Introduction to the Introduction ............................................ 4 Complete Guide to Ingredients .............................................. 4 Selection of Fresh Cucumbers ................. 4 Home Canning Salts Used in Pickling.............................. 5 Home canning has changed greatly in Pickles with Reduced Salt Content .......... 5 the 170 years since it was introduced as Firming Agents ........................................ 5 a way to preserve food. Scientists have Equipment .............................................. 5 found ways to produce safer, higher Suitable Containers, Covers, and quality products. The first part of this Weights for Fermenting Food ............... 6 series explains the scientific principles Sterilizing Empty Jars ............................. 6 on which canning techniques are based, Preventing Spoilage ................................. 6 discusses canning equipment, and de- scribes the proper use of jars and lids. It Low-Temperature Pasteurization describes basic canning ingredients and Treatment ........................................... 7 procedures and how to use them to Fermented Foods..................................... 7 achieve safe, high-quality canned products. Dill Pickles .......................................... 7 Refrigerator Pickles, with vinegar ........ 7 The remaining publications in this Sauerkraut .......................................... 8 series consist of canning guides for Pickled or Non-Fermented Foods ............. 8 specific foods. These guides offer detailed directions for canning fruits and fruit Pickled Dilled Beans ............................ 8 products, tomatoes and tomato products, Pickled Three-Bean Salad .................... 9 vegetables, red meats, poultry and fish, Pickled Beets ....................................... 9 pickles and relishes, and jams and Pickled Cauliflower or jellies. Handy guidelines for choosing the Brussels Sprouts ............................... 10 correct quantity and quality of raw foods Pickled Corn Relish ........................... 10 accompany each set of directions for Pickled Horseradish Sauce ................ 10 fruits, tomatoes, and vegetables. Most Marinated Whole Mushrooms ............ 11 recipes are designed to yield a full can- Pickled Dilled Okra............................ 11 ner load of pints or quarts. Marinated Peppers, bell, Hungarian, banana, jalapeno ...............................11 Pickled Bell Peppers .......................... 12 Pickled Hot Peppers, Hungarian, This publication contains many banana, chile, jalapeno ......................12 new research-based recommenda- Pickled Pepper-Onion Relish.............. 13 tions for canning safer and better Piccalilli ............................................ 13 quality food at home. It is an Bread-and-Butter Pickles .................. 13 invaluable resource for persons Quick Fresh-Pack Dill Pickles ........... 14 who are canning for the first time. Reduced-Sodium Sliced Dill Pickles ... 14 Sweet Gherkin Pickles ....................... 15 Experienced canners will find Pickle Relish ...................................... 15 updated information to help them 14-Day Sweet Pickles ........................ 16 improve their canning practices. Quick Sweet Pickles .......................... 16 Reduced-Sodium Sliced Sweet Pickles 17 Pickled Sweet Green Tomatoes .......... 18 Pickled Green Tomato Relish ............. 18 Pickled Mixed Vegetables ................... 19 Pickled Bread-and-Butter Zucchini ... 19 Introduction Ingredients Pickled and fermented foods are classi- Select fresh, firm fruits or vegetables fied by their ingredients and method of that are free of spoilage. Measure or preparation. weigh amounts carefully since the Fermented products such as regular proportion of fresh food to other ingredi- dill pickles and sauerkraut are cured in ents affects flavor and, in many in- brine for about three weeks. Refrigerator stances, safety. pickled products such as refrigerator Use canning or pickling salt. dills are brined about one week. During Non-caking material added to other salts curing, colors and flavors change and may make the brine cloudy. Since flake the acidity increases. salt varies in density, it is not recom- Quick-process, or fresh-pack pickles mended for making pickled and fer- are not fermented. Some are brined mented foods. several hours or overnight, then drained White granulated and brown sugars and covered with vinegar and seasonings. are most often used. Corn syrup and Fruit pickles usually are prepared by honey, unless called for in reliable heating fruit in a seasoned syrup acidi- recipes, may produce undesirable flavors. fied with vinegar. White distilled and cider vinegars of 5 Relishes are made from chopped fruits percent acidity (50 grain) are recom- and vegetables that are cooked with mended. White vinegar usually is pre- seasonings and vinegar. ferred when a light color is desirable, as To avoid soft pickles, remove and is the case with fruits and cauliflower. 1 discard a /16 -inch slice from the blossom end of the fresh cucumbers. Blossoms may contain an enzyme which causes excessive softening of pickles. Selection of Fresh CAUTION: The level of acidity in a pickled product is as important to its Cucumbers safety as it is to its taste and texture. QUANTITY: - Do not alter vinegar, food, or water An average of 14 pounds of cucumbers is proportions in a recipe. Do not use a needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an vinegar with an unknown acidity. average of 9 pounds is needed per canner - Use only recipes with tested propor- load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 48 pounds tions of ingredients. and yields 16 to 24 quarts—an average of - There must be a minimum, uniform 2 pounds per quart. level of acid throughout the mixed product to prevent the growth of QUALITY: botulinum bacteria. Select firm cucumbers of the appropriate size—about 1½ inches for gherkins and 4 inches for dills. Use odd-shaped and more mature cucumbers for relishes