Food Preservation & Food Safety RSS Feed

Food preservation (canning, dehydrating, freezing, etc), food recalls, handwashing, food handling and other safety topics.

Food Preservation Recipes

Are you looking for recipes for preserving food?  Check out https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/safefood/recipes/ for recipes for preserving your harvest (downloading & printing is available)!

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The Jar Sealed, is the Food Still Safe? (and Other Questions)

Cells and spores of C. botulinum. Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control. Tested recipes recommend glass Mason-style jars and 2-piece self-sealing lids for home canning.  In the past few weeks, several calls have come in about jars and lids and ensuring a good seal when canning foods at home.  Handling jars and lids correctly will go […]

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Are You Ready for Canning Season?

Will you be harvesting any foods to preserve this year?  Make sure your canner lid is functioning properly with a yearly test.  The Extension Winnebago County office offers free testing of pressure canner lids!  Testing is available by appointment only at this time.  Please contact Mandi Dornfeld, Human Development & Relationships Educator, at amanda.dornfeld@wisc.edu to […]

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Bake Before You Bite

Even more evidence this week from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of the importance of cooking flour-containing products before eating.  National foodborne illness outbreaks in 2016 and again in 2019 tied to pathogenic E. coli have been linked to consumers eating raw dough or batter.  An outbreak report released this week indicated that several people interviewed admitted […]

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Preparing for a Home Food Preservation Season: Pressure Canners

A pressure canner may have a dial gauge for indicating the pressure or a weighted gauge, for indicating and regulating the pressure.  Regardless of the type of canner chosen, the USDA recommends that a canner be large enough to hold at least 4-quart jars standing upright on the rack, with the lid in place.  A pressure canner must […]

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Best Practices when Choosing Home Canning Jars

The most important step in safe home canning is to follow an up-to-date research tested recipe, including using a standard glass jar.  Jars for home canning come in a wide variety of sizes: ½ pint, pint, 1½ pint, quart, and ½ gallon sizes.  Not all sizes can be safely used in a recipe, so check prior to […]

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U.S. Set to Declare Sesame as a Major Allergen

The Big 8 Food Allergens Millions of Americans have food allergies and may experience an adverse reaction to products that contain allergens.  Of those that are school age, an estimated 8% of children in the United States have a food allergy.  That’s 1 in 13 children, or about 2 students per classroom.  A food allergy occurs […]

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Put a Lid on It! Lids for Home Canning

By far the most important step in safe home canning is to follow an up-to-date, research tested recipe.  Research-tested recipes recommend metal 2-piece lids for home canning.  Two-piece lids are sold to fit regular and wide-mouth glass canning jars and are made up of a flat metal lid and a metal screw band.  The lid contains a sealing […]

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