Fred Farout
Boil home-canned low-acid foods 10 minutes before tasting or serving.
As a rule of thumb, home-canned foods will remain high in quality for one year if properly stored. After a year, loss of quality may occur.
Containers for home-preserved foods are designed to resist any chemical reactions between the product and the containers. However, some products—particularly high acid ones like tomatoes—will slowly react with the metal in the can or the jar lid. Corrosion and container failure may follow during subsequent storage. This action occurs from the inside out and can take place even under good storage conditions.
Jars should be dated when stored, and used within a year from the processing date. Always rotate stock on the shelves so as to use the oldest container first, and can no more units of any single product than you can use in a year.
The last and perhaps most important quality control steps are the final inspection and serving procedures.
After removing the product from storage, carefully inspect the container, and in the case of jars the visible contents. This should be done before opening.
If a can or jar lid shows any sign of swelling (bulging) or leakage of product, do not open the container. If a jar lid is loose or the contents of a jar are foamy or otherwise visibly abnormal, do not open. When any of these defects are noted, place the whole container in a heavy plastic bag and tie the top securely. Place this in doubled paper bags with heavy packing of newspapers. Tape or tie the top securely, place in a lidded garbage can, then wash your hands thoroughly.
Not all spoiled or leaking home-canned foods contain the deadly botulism toxin but some do, so extreme caution in disposal is necessary.
If a defective product is found, all of that product prepared at the same time should be removed from storage and similarly inspected.
Never taste the contents of a suspect product. Under certain circumstances, a spoonful of “off” unheated, suspect product has been known to kill.