09/19/08 Canning Fruit Part 2

Canning Fruit Part 2. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. There is nothing quite like sitting down in the middle of winter to some fresh fruit. I know that is hard to do but the age old art of canning makes it possible to enjoy the fruits of the harvest well into the coming year. Lizann Powers-Hammond is an area extension educator with WSU. She says to properly can fruit, it will take some time. POWERS-HAMMOND: It does and in fact we give people advice about how to process properly and some products are more time consuming than others, just the nature of the type of fruit. Canning really is a labor of love. In addition to the time it takes, there is a right and a wrong way to can. POWERS-HAMMOND: For canning there are quite a list of no-no's. And we don't always like to be saying don't, don't, don't but one of the things that people don't think about is there's a whole food science and people have the idea that once a jar is sealed, it's safe. There are micro-organisms that thrive in an oxygen free environment so you need to make sure your processing is correct before you seal the jar. She also recommends getting good advice. POWERS-HAMMOND: We hear stories about people using the dishwasher to can, using an iron on the top of the canning lid to get it to seal, canning it in the oven and all are unsafe and really potentially deadly for them. Contact your local county extension agent for great tips on safe canning and enjoy! That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.