Canning a la Bettina or, Do You Feel Lucky? continued

Part 2

Canning Methods—Then And Now

Alas by modern standards Bettina’s methods fall far short of the mark in terms of health and sanitation. One has to wonder how big an impact the ensuing waste—cracked and leaking jars, spoiled food, and no doubt sizeable doctor bills—must have on the household budget.

Our heroine relies primarily on what is known as the open kettle canning/inversion method. This system involves cooking the food, pouring it into sterilized jars, sealing and then storing them with no further processing.

Equally outdated is her liberal use of petroleum products for the sealing jars of jam and marmalade--no screw cap required here! Just slap a layer of paraffin over the cooked fruit and your treasure is as secure (or not) as the relics in King Tut’s tomb.

…[The cold pack method] never fails if you follow the directions

                                 exactly, and beans are rather uncertain by other methods.--Bettina

Er, no.

If the open kettle method gives modern Canning Police the shivers, Bettina’s system for processing low-acid foods is enough to bring on full cardiac arrest. Her method (cook, pour into sterilized jars, and process using a water bath), while adequate for most fruits, jams, and tomato preparations, is woefully inappropriate for vegetables and anything else with a pH higher than 4.5.

As fond as Bettina is of guests it’s difficult to believe she would welcome the likes of Sclerotia and Clostridium botulinum at the table. But welcome or no, their presence would almost be inevitable—lurking in serving bowls and dishes, waiting for the opportunity to unleash dangerous toxins on unsuspecting diners.

Early 20^th Century Canning Practices

Just why Bettina (and by extension the book’s editors) insist on outdated canning practices—acknowledged as unsafe even before World War I—is something of a mystery. By 1918 pressure canners had been available to homemakers for more than two decades, and just a year before the book’s publication no greater authority than US Department of Agriculture announced that pressure canning was the only safe way to process low-acid fruits and vegetables.

Dare To Spin The Cylinder?

Frankly, preparing items such as Bettina-style canned string beans makes a game of Russian roulette seem positively sporting in comparison.

As blithely confident as Bettina is in her methods, astute modern readers would be foolhardy to feel likewise. Following the canning recipes in A Thousand Ways To Please A Husband and the rest of the books in the series is an anathema to those who values peace of mind (not to mention their and their family’s health).

Why take a chance?

Shortcuts cut life short!