Re: [gardeners] Re:stupid jalapeno question
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 26 Mar 1999 21:01:01 -0600
bsk wrote:
> I have often wondered about some of this stuff! Seems like money and the legal aspect
> interfere in everything.
> I know some of our grandparents didn't pressure can everything they put up.
>
> bsk
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
> George Shirley wrote:
>
> > If you are canning high acid vegetables you don't need to pressure can. High acid
> > would be tomatoes (be careful if you're growing low acid types - add a little
> > vinegar or lemon juice to bring pH up), and pickled veggies in a vinegar solution.
> >
> > Some extension services are more worried about getting sued and/or supporting big
> > business than in conveying the proper information. <VBG>
> >
> > George
Well, some of them died from stuff they preserved for the winter too. Not only do we have
better information, gained scientifically, today but we are a weaker people. Folks back
before about 1940 were hardier than we are. No antibiotics, hence no "smart" germs, no
anti-bacterial soap, hence no "smart" bacteria. Even though I enjoy cleanliness as much
as anyone else I have seen people who we Americans would consider "dirty" and "diseased"
living in some of the far away lands I worked in who were actually much healthier than we
were. They could at least eat food from the street vendors and drink the local water
without getting dysentery and maybe dying.
If you're putting up food you need to be as clean as possible and do it in approved ways
to ensure your food doesn't spoil and maybe kill you. That's one of the reasons I don't
can meat, you gotta be persnickety with it plus I don't care for the taste of canned
meats. Miz Anne and I have been canning, preserving, and freezing food stuffs since about
1962, and our parents before us, it's sorta a way of life for folks from the boonies. We
bought our first, and only, pressure canner in about 1964/65 and it still works good. Put
new gaskets and steam pressure gauge on it last year and had pressure gauge calibrated
last week. Already put up 16 pints of carrots out of the fall garden and getting ready to
put up green beans, etc. Like what I preserve and can much better than the stuff from the
store. Probably costs more in manhours and materials than store bought but we know what's
in it.
Not knocking modern life, I live because of modern medicine, antibiotics, improved
surgery, etc. Just like to have a say in what I eat and be sure I'm not killing myself.
:-)
George