Successful jar sealing often begins, and ends, with the lids.  Home canning requires use of a 2-piece sealing system, a flat metal lid and a metal band.  Several years ago, manufacturers such as Ball changed the design of the lids to increase rust resistance and seal-ability and most lids no longer need to be preheated.  Boiling […]

Are you looking to do some food preservation for jams, jellies, and fruit preserves?  Find trusted recipes, resources, and best practices brought to you by Safe & Healthy Food for Your Family!

The safety of the food that you preserve for your family and friends is important to you.  The University of Wisconsin Division of Extension supports using up-to-date, research-tested recipes so that you know that the food that you preserve is both safe and high in quality.  Here are a few quick tips on changes and […]

Are you looking to do some food preservation for homemade pickles and relishes?  Find trusted recipes, resources, and best practices brought to you by Safe & Healthy Food for Your Family!

Are you looking for trusted recipes and resources for food safety or food preservation?  The Division of Extension’s Safe & Healthy Food for Your Family web page has recipes, resources, and best practices for you!

Many current home canning recommendations suggest a 5 to 10 minute wait at the end of the canning process prior to removing jars from the canner.  Why is this wait time now included in some canning recipes and it is necessary for safety?  Some home canning recipes, such as the Ball (Fresh Preserving) recipe for Classic Strawberry Jam, include as […]

Whether it’s ketchup and mustard on a burger or mayonnaise used in a favorite potato salad, do condiments need to be stored in the refrigerator?  Looking at the container for your favorite sauce or condiment, you will almost always find the words Refrigerate after Opening.  My own home refrigerator has over a dozen such bottles: barbecue sauces, salad dressings, mayonnaise, mustard, […]

Many American households fire up the grill as summertime arrives.  Whether cooking chicken on the grill or stove, a new study revealed that it’s important to do so safely.  A study published in April 2020 by European scientists in the journal PLOS One suggests that consumers routinely fail to accurately judge doneness of chicken.  Cooking […]

Summer weather can bring heavy rains and power outages due to lightening and high winds.  Extension has information that you can use to keep yourself and your family food-safe: Emergency Preparedness (USDA; many resources in Spanish) Keep Food Safe after a Disaster or Emergency (CDC, also in Spanish) Gardening in the Time of COVID-19 (UW Division of Extension) […]