Label packages clearly and carefully with name of product, date when frozen, number of servings or poundage, and any information that will help you. Special pens are made for marking frozen food products. Or you can use a wax pencil or crayon.
Speed is important in preparing food and getting it into the freezer, so as to maintain quality. Put only the amount of unfrozen foods into the freezer at one time that will sharp freeze within 24 hours.
Allow at least one inch between packages of unfrozen food in the freezer for circulation of cold air. Leave packages in freezing position for 24 hours before stacking them close together.
Uniform freezing temperature and keeping frozen products at 0° F or lower will maintain quality. Different foods have varying storage periods, so keep your frozen food inventory changing.
Use a freezer thermometer in your freezer. Check your freezer door and wall plug daily to avoid any catastrophe.
A freezer can pay wonderful dividends with considerable thought and planning by the homemaker.
Pressure Canners, Vital for Low-Acid Foods
by Nadine Fortna Tope[6]
Use of a pressure canner for preserving low-acid foods is not new. Pressure canners for home canning were first marketed in the early 1900’s. In 1917, the U. S. Department of Agriculture announced that use of a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (240° F) was the only safe method for canning vegetables. Today’s recommendations are essentially the same.
A temperature of 240° F or 10 pounds pressure at sea level is needed to kill spoilage organisms in a reasonable time, especially the spores of Clostridium botulinum. These spores, if not killed, can produce the most deadly toxin known to man.