Canning questions

Hello everyone,

We are in the process of canning the harvest here in Montreal at the restaurant that I work at and we are trying to find new or faster ways to can and jar everything.

Has anyone had success using a immersion circulator instead of the heat and flip or the giant pot methods? I'm obviously concerned with the possible bacteria growth and while I can't think of why a ciculator wouldn't work, I get the feeling I'm missing something.

Any tips or ideas? Thanks for your input!

Mike

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Samuel_68313

What restaurant do you work at? I've just moved back to England having lived in Montreal for a few years, really love the city.

Immersion circulators don't quite reach a high enough temp to cause a big enough reduction in bacteria. Some anaerobic bacteria that will grow in cans and jars can survive pretty high temperatures (mostly botulism) and even boiling point won't cause a big enough reduction in the bacteria to be considered safe.

As the name suggests, anaerobic bacteria multiply in conditions where there is no air, so canning is actually ideal for this kind of bacteria and even a tiny amount of bacteria can cause food spoilage. I think for food safety standards a log 12 reduction of bacteria is required, which means that 99.99999999% of bacteria is destroyed. I am not sure, without checking MC, if that is even possible in an Immersion Circulator but if it is the time required would be huge.

Stick with a canner/pressure cooker.

Samuel_68313

Chris is really the expert at this kind of stuff though and he may be able to give a better/more accurate answer.

dallalibera.michael

Thanks for your reply! Do you think raw food vs cooked food makes a difference? Old school Italian family methods of canning tomatoes being questioned by science!

I work at Nora Gray, just started there about 6 months ago as Chef de Cuisine. Were you cooking in Montreal?

DiggingDogFarm_65362

Get a good book on canning!!! pH, mainly, determines whether something needs to be boiling water canned or pressure canned. There's a lot to know, more than what can be adequately covered in a forum post.

Samuel_68313

Nora Gray is awesome, ate there maybe two years ago. Really enjoyed it. I had a couple of jobs but I mostly worked at Chalet Bar-b-q of all places, not exactly what I wanted to be doing but it paid the bills.

Wished I could have stayed in Montreal, was really gutted to leave but had a few immigration issues. Maybe one day I'll be able to go back to live there. For sure I am going to visit again and wouldn't surprise me if I made a trip to Nora Gray when I do.

Regarding the raw food vs cooked it depends on the process of cooking the food etc. Any specifics?