# Will this work to Can other things?



## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

I saw the recipe below (today on French Cooking at Home) and wonder if I can put just most anything in a jar and Can it in this method? Could I put fresh cranberries in a jar with some spices and then Can it like this? Has anyone Canned like this and did it work? Thank you. 
I wanted to add that all she did was cram the jar full of fresh cherry size tomatoes, some raw onion, the herbs, then screwed the lid on and weighted it down with a heavy top and boiled it for 1.5 hour! 


Anne Willan's Home Canned Tomatoes

Recipe courtesy Laura Calder

Prep Time:
10 min
Inactive Prep Time:
1 hr 0 min
Cook Time:
1 hr 30 min

Level:
Easy

Serves:
Varies

Ingredients

* Tomatoes
* Few sprigs fresh thyme
* Bay leaves
* 1 or 2 onion slices
* Water, as needed

Directions

Pack whole tomatoes into quart/litre jars with a few thyme sprigs, a couple of bay leaves, and an onion slice or two. Close the lids and set the jars on a rack in a deep pan. Add enough water to cover generously. Weight down with a brick so they don't float. Simmer for an hour and a half, until they lose their shape and collapse. Let the jars cool in the water so that they form a tight seal. When done, each jar will look only half full of tomatoes.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

Oh my! I wouldn't touch this one with a 10 foot pole. 

More importantly, why would anyone even want to do this? What appeal does it have? Proper, safe canning methods for tomatoes do not require nearly that long a processing time nor do you need a brick! :run:

My sincere apologies to you for saying this but shows and instructions such as this serve no useful purpose when it comes to canning. Cooking? Fine. Canning? No. And the real risk of sources such as this is that they can so easily lead the uninformed down the wrong road into very unsafe canning practices.

If you wish to can cherry tomatoes then there are several tested and proven recipes for doing so. Stick with reputable sources like NCHFP and the Ball Blue Book for your canning information. They will serve you well in the long run.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

For what it is worth, this is sort of a strange way to water bath can something. 

When I do my tomatoes, I raw pack with no juice. I put the lemon in the bottom and then add peeled tomatoes and squish them down until I can't fit anymore and still have the required head space. They squish out enough liquid to fill all the empty spaces, and then I don't end up with half empty jars, though I will end up with a jar filled with half juice and half tomatoes (they seperate).

on a side note - I don't know why some people think longer times in BWB will make up for lack of acid in a product. Botulism spores won't grow in high acid enviroments, so BWB is NOT intended to kill it, and won't ever reach temps to do so. Once the product inside the jar reaches the temp of the boiling water, its not going to get any hotter. (boiling water won't get hotter because you boil it longer).


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

This is basically water bath processing, which is fine for tomatoes because of the high acid level. But no, you can't do everything like that for the reasons Macybaby stated.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> This is basically water bath processing, which is fine for tomatoes because of the high acid level.


Even tomatoes, which are not acidic but are borderline low-acid, require that you add acid to them for canning and this recipe also adds onions and fresh herbs so even more acid would be required to make it safe for canning.

As Macy said, just because you add an hour or so to the processing time it still isn't safe. Boiling water is always just boiling water and will never reach the temperatures required to process low-acid ingredients.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

:run:I actually watched this segment on the Cooking Channel, just today.
I was truely HORRIFIED!
She put a cast iron lid on top of 2 jars ( to keep them from bobbing) and filled the pot somewhat. The tops of he jars were proud of the pot rim.( She did mention, you could use a BRICK, as well.) ( by this time I was sitting on front of TV.... Stricken..........)
There was no water over the top of the jars...none! Who knows what temp they actually got up to!
Wow!! How many unsuspecting people, could be made sick by this?
It was an episode on "French cooking"......I was astonished!


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Sounds like the Cooking Channel needs to keep a better eye on the shows they are putting on the tube. Shows like that can kill!! Glad we don't get it!


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## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

OK! So .....I won't be doing that method! Thank you everyone. I have not been to "town" yet but as soon as I can leave the property then I will fetch a new Canning book so I can read up some more. I am stuck out here in the woods till Friday. Thank you all for the tips and lessons for now. I know I need to get the books and learn.

Since the only thing in season next will be cranberries, I plan to just Can cranberries and maybe a relish this year and read up so I will be better prepared next season. Thank you everyone!


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

Homemade cranberry sauce - yum!!! I made a batch two years ago, and only have one jar left, so I'll be watching for them and get enough to make another batch up.


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