Instead of storing jars of separate ingredients, canned homemade meals can be a good substitute for saving space and for MREs. You can also utilize your seasonal food better this way, saving money. However, preserving home-cooked meals requires more than just putting leftovers in a jar and tightening the lid.
To ensure that the meals in the jar will continue to be safe to eat for years to come, some food science and chemistry are needed. We’ll go over the basics today to give you some ideas on what sort of delicious meals you can put away for up to five years for an emergency.
Safe canning requires sterilization, which makes sure that tools, rings, and jars are thoroughly cleaned to avoid contamination. Jars can be dry sterilized in an oven set to 250°F for 15 minutes, or they can be boiled in water for 10 minutes. Mason jars can be used again; however, lids should not.
Fruits like tomatoes, which are acidic foods, are best preserved using the water bath canning process. However, pressure canning is necessary to destroy dangerous microorganisms like botulism from low-acid goods like meat.\