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Shelf Life of Mrs. Wages Mixes

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

Mrs. Wages® makes several packaged mixes to help make home canning easy and quick. All of their mixes for canning use the water bath canning method. But do the mixes have a shelf life?

According to the Mrs. Wages® Frequently Asked Questions website:

“On the side of every Mrs. Wages® pouch is an 8 digit code that you can use to determine when the product was produced, and you will find it stamped into packet, for example B2181A23. The B identifies the facility that produced the mix. The number, which follows, represents the last digit of the year the mix was produced, e.g., a 2 would indicate 2012. The next three numbers indicate which day out of 365 days in the year, the mix was produced. So if the number is 181, it means the product was mixed on June 29th as this is the 181st day of the year. The final 3 digits are used by Kent Precision Foods to indicate the batch code. For optimal performance, we recommend using Mrs. Wages® Pickle, Tomato, Fruit mixes and Fruit Pectins within 24 months of the day and year, it was produced.”

Is it Safe to Re-use Pickling Brine?

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
pickles
Pickles Image: K-State Extension

Once you heat, or even soak, vegetables in a pickling solution, pH changes start to happen. (Heating makes the interaction happen faster.) The vegetables become more acidic, which is desirable in pickling. However, the pickling solution then becomes less acidic. So if the pickle recipe uses the hot pack method, and the vegetables have been heated in the pickling solution (“brine”), then the leftover brine should not be used for another recipe. The expected ratio of acid to low-acid ingredients and ultimate pH adjustment in the next recipe will not be the same.

In some recipes, sliced raw cucumbers are soaked for hours in the pickling liquid (vinegar, sugar and/or salt, for example). Then the liquid is drained off the cucumber slices. The soaked raw slices are filled into jars while the liquid is then heated and poured over them. Even though this is a raw pack in terms of filling jars, this vinegar solution had its original pH (acidity) altered from that initial soaking before it was heated and poured into jars. It should not be used again for a canned pickle recipe since it is now of unknown acidity.

Source: The National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia

Can Sandwiches Be Frozen?

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

Peanut Butter SandwichPacking lunches for school or work can be hectic in the morning, so planning ahead can save time and stress. One way to add convenience is by freezing sandwiches. But keep in mind, some sandwich items freeze better than others.

According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, there are some benefits to freezing sandwiches:

  • Save money by making your own “fast food” sandwiches for a sack lunch or meal at home.
  • Save time by making several sandwiches at once.
  • Utilize “leftovers” or cook extra at a meal for use in tasty and different ways at future meals.
  • Control the type of bread (such as choosing a whole grain bread), type of filling and spread (amount, salt, fat and so forth) by being in charge of the ingredients.
  • Enjoy a wholesome, homemade sandwich as part of an inexpensive, quick meal!

Common sandwich fillings that DO freeze well include:

  • Peanut butter and other nut butters
  • Canned tuna and salmon
  • Cooked roast beef, chicken and turkey (especially tasty when the meat is finely chopped and mixed with a “salad dressing,” to add flavor and moistness.)
  • Natural or processed hard and semi-hard cheeses, such as Swiss, Cheddar. NOTE: As frozen cheese may crumble more after thawing, you may be more satisfied with the result if you grate it before freezing it in sandwiches.

Common sandwich fillings that DO NOT freeze well include:

  • Hard-cooked egg whites (freezing toughens them).
  • Jelly or jam (soaks into bread and makes it soggy).
  • Tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, etc. become limp when thawed; they can be added to thawed sandwiches just before eating them.

IMPORTANT: “Salad dressings,” such as Miracle Whip, work better as a binder in sandwiches than mayonnaise. Mayonnaise tends to separate on thawing. So, experiment to see how you like the result before making a freezer full of sandwiches.

Learn more about freezing sandwiches, including recipe ideas, from Freezing Sandwiches – University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Preserving Mulberries

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
Mulberries
Mulberries
Photo: Canva.com

Mulberries are a tree fruit found in many Kansas locations. Besides freezing them, there are a few other ways to preserve them. It is important to know when they are ripe. Red mulberries are ripe when almost black. White mulberries may be white, red or deep purple. Mulberries are full of seeds, so making jelly is great option to use just the mulberry juice.

Here are some ideas to preserve mulberries:

Source: National Center for Home Food Preservation and Purdue University

Preserving Green Beans!

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

Many gardeners plant green beans every year. Harvest snap beans when the pod is crisp, smooth, and before the seeds enlarge significantly. Do not harvest in early morning when dew is on the plants as this may spread bacterial blight.

Once harvested, they are a nutritious addition to many meals. But if you have a bountiful harvest, preserving them is a great choice. Green beans can be pressure canned, pickled, frozen or dehydrated. Use these resources to find methods to preserve green beans safely.

Preserving Green Beans

 

The Importance of Peeling Tomatoes for Canning

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
Peeling Tomatoes
Peeling Tomatoes
CSU Extension Flickr

The National Center for Home Food Preservation continues to recommend peeling tomatoes for canning, unless specified otherwise, because most tested recipes were developed with the skins removed, and the processing times are based on peeled tomatoes. Skins may interfere with heat penetration during the canning process, leading to under-processing and potentially unsafe products. Additionally, removing the skins not only enhances safety by reducing the bacterial load but also improves the texture and flavor of the finished product. Tomato skins tend to leave tough, chewy bits and can impart a bitter taste to your canned goods.

For more information on preserving tomatoes, see Preserve it Fresh, Preserve it Safe: Tomatoes and Conservas Frescas, Conservas Seguras, Tomates.

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Options for Reprocessing Home Canned Food

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

Sometimes a jar in a canner load fails to seal upon cooling. This may happen because of a cracked or nicked jar, or perhaps because food is fouling the jar rim where the lid sits. Due to loss of quality, reprocessing of jars is not recommended.

If you do reprocess, follow these steps for a safe product:

  1. Re-process within 24 hours. For a safe final product, you must have followed an up-to-date research-tested recipe on your first attempt, and you must reprocess within 24 hours.
  2. Remove the lid and empty the contents of the jar into a large pot and heat to boiling.
  3. Fill a clean jar with the heated food, remove air bubbles, and top with a new lid.
  4. Reprocess using a tested recipe for a hot-pack product.  If there is no tested hot-pack recipe, the product may not be safely reprocessed.

If you did not follow a tested recipe on the first try, all jars, sealed or unsealed, may be unsafe and should be discarded. 

To preserve quality of food where jars failed to seal (and discovered within 24 hours of initial canning), refrigerate the jars and consume contents within one week. Unsealed jars may also be frozen for up to one year, be sure to adjust headspace to one inch before freezing.

Source: National Center for Home Food Preservation – Newsflash

Using Broth When Canning

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

When following a validated home canning recipe that calls for broth, it is essential to select the appropriate type for safety reasons. Reconstituted bouillon cubes, powders, pastes and bone broths are not suitable for home canning, as they often contain ingredients such as starches or gelatin, for which there is insufficient data regarding their impact on canning safety.

If the recipe specifies broth, a commercially prepared liquid broth—matched to the flavor indicated in the recipe—is an acceptable option. However, it is important to note that broth and stock are not interchangeable in home canning. Stock typically differs in composition and may pose safety concerns, making it unsuitable as a substitute in tested recipes.

Source: National Center for Home Food Preservation – Newsflash

Reference to any specific commercial products, process, service, manufacturer, or company does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation. Paid for by Kansas State University