I’m a dork and a coward...

[Star_Chick]

Last week I canned potatoes and carrots. I followed the pressure canned instructions to a T, and the Ball book recipe also to a T. I didn’t sway at all from either. I watched the canner very closely to make sure the pressure stayed where it was at. Well, I’m terrified to eat any of it! My husband had some potatoes for dinner, and loved them. Is it normal to be scared the first time you can? I think part of my fear comes from knowing any type of infection near, or on, my neck can render me a quadriplegic. Any words of wisdom? I read on the home preservation site that heating food that has been pressure to 165* will kill any bacteria.

 

[SheepDog]

A pressure canner at 10 PSI for 20 minutes or more will sterilize anything. Most food born pathogens are killed with 140F for a few minutes. Some require higher temps but the pressure canner/cooker will even kill staph and strep.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Last week I canned potatoes and carrots. I followed the pressure canned instructions to a T, and the Ball book recipe also to a T. I didn’t sway at all from either. I watched the canner very closely to make sure the pressure stayed where it was at. Well, I’m terrified to eat any of it! My husband had some potatoes for dinner, and loved them. Is it normal to be scared the first time you can? I think part of my fear comes from knowing any type of infection near, or on, my neck can render me a quadriplegic. Any words of wisdom? I read on the home preservation site that heating food that has been pressure to 165* will kill any bacteria.

If you followed the directions from the pressure canner, then you should have nothing to worry about. No, you're not a dork or a coward, but what you are is human.
Yes, some people have panic attacks when they try something new like using the pressure canner for the first time.
Take a deep breath, breathe in a few times, exhale.
First time I used a pressure canner 25 years ago, I just knew it was going to explode. Guess what, it didn't.

 

[Dani]

I was terrified trying what I canned at first, . . . when I opened the jar with my fingers, the jar shifted so my mind was was that a squirt out of the jar, should I be worried? I stressed for nothing. If you follow the Blue Ball book you have nothing to worry about as long as your lids sealed. I have since stepped away from the only approved tested recipes after so many years of canning. You will become a pro before you know it. But yes it is very normal to worry till you are comfortable with the process.

 

[Amish Heart]

I was so paranoid the first time I canned meat, I ended up feeding it to the dogs. They didn't die. My cousins helped me can it. Then I realized that I had been eating the meat that they can whenever I come for supper, and I'm not dead.

 

[Peanut]

If you are scared use silver dimes… 1964 and older (90% silver)… More than a decade ago I was metal detecting around an old house place out the woods. I found a row of broken mason jars under the leaves and debris.

Each jar contained a single silver dime… not a single jar with a bunch coins… This seemed really strange to me. It took me over a year to figure out why.

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/120-a386/

http://news.rice.edu/2012/07/11/ions-not-particles-make-silver-toxic-to-bacteria-3/

Burns…

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2686041/

They’ve taken it down but there used to be an article at nih.gov that listed over 800 bacteria that silver kills. Silver is used in space for water purification, so do high-end home water purification units at Lowes. Before the price of silver jumped in 04/05 you could buy silver imbedded Band-Aids at Rite-aid or Walgreens.

My point… Back in the day before everyone had pressure canners, especially in the south, people used the water canning method which I’m sure you’ve read about. I remember stoking the fires under big black cast iron kettles in the yard while my grandmother water canned. Don't remember the dimes...

There was a high risk of Botulism with this method. Clostridium botulinum bacteria is one of the 800 or so bacteria that silver kills. People in the 1800’s rural south didn’t know about bacteria but silver has a long history in medicine. They put silver dimes in the jars they canned.

Ever hear of the term “Born with a silver spoon in your mouth”? In the middle ages, wealthy people gave toddlers large silver spoons to gnaw on. Survival rates for their children were at about 80%. Survival rates for the poor who had no silver… about 20%.

Ever hear of “Blue Bloods”? Silver poisoning, it takes decades, the skin takes on a bluish/grey pallor. Rich folks always ate with silver utensils, plates etc. They knew silver kept them from getting sick. Over a life time silver content in their bodies would reach a level known as “Argyria”.

My point to you…

Put a silver dime in each jar you can and you have no worries about poisoning anyone!

Where to get silver dimes? Ebay, they will cost you about $1 each… never pay more than $1. You’re not looking for collectability… just the silver.

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/silver-dime-roll

Silver has many other household uses… Every time I open a gallon of milk I drop in a few dimes… it stays fresh a week to 10 days longer… If I make soup, in go dimes… good for an extra 3 days in the fridge.

My water jug in the fridge is always fresh, never tastes stale, always has dimes in it.

I use the coin below instead of Neosporin… file off a little powder and rub it in a cut or scrape… always heals faster than Neosporin… This coin is a “Silver Eagle” minted by the US gov. It’s called 4-nines silver… 99.9999% pure silver. They are minted for investors. These days I keep a little silver powder in a vile in my pocket...

I hope you find this useful…

 

[The Lazy L]

Husbands love being taste testers! Feed your husband a little from each patch. If he lives and doesn't get sick then your canning is good!

 

[katlupe]

If you are scared use silver dimes… 1964 and older (90% silver)… More than a decade ago I was metal detecting around an old house place out the woods. I found a row of broken mason jars under the leaves and debris.

Each jar contained a single silver dime… not a single jar with a bunch coins… This seemed really strange to me. It took me over a year to figure out why.

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/120-a386/

http://news.rice.edu/2012/07/11/ions-not-particles-make-silver-toxic-to-bacteria-3/

Burns…

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2686041/

They’ve taken it down but there used to be an article at nih.gov that listed over 800 bacteria that silver kills. Silver is used in space for water purification, so do high-end home water purification units at Lowes. Before the price of silver jumped in 04/05 you could buy silver imbedded Band-Aids at Rite-aid or Walgreens.

My point… Back in the day before everyone had pressure canners, especially in the south, people used the water canning method which I’m sure you’ve read about. I remember stoking the fires under big black cast iron kettles in the yard while my grandmother water canned. Don't remember the dimes...

There was a high risk of Botulism with this method. Clostridium botulinum bacteria is one of the 800 or so bacteria that silver kills. People in the 1800’s rural south didn’t know about bacteria but silver has a long history in medicine. They put silver dimes in the jars they canned.

Ever hear of the term “Born with a silver spoon in your mouth”? In the middle ages, wealthy people gave toddlers large silver spoons to gnaw on. Survival rates for their children were at about 80%. Survival rates for the poor who had no silver… about 20%.

Ever hear of “Blue Bloods”? Silver poisoning, it takes decades, the skin takes on a bluish/grey pallor. Rich folks always ate with silver utensils, plates etc. They knew silver kept them from getting sick. Over a life time silver content in their bodies would reach a level known as “Argyria”.

My point to you…

Put a silver dime in each jar you can and you have no worries about poisoning anyone!

Where to get silver dimes? Ebay, they will cost you about $1 each… never pay more than $1. You’re not looking for collectability… just the silver.

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/silver-dime-roll

Silver has many other household uses… Every time I open a gallon of milk I drop in a few dimes… it stays fresh a week to 10 days longer… If I make soup, in go dimes… good for an extra 3 days in the fridge.

My water jug in the fridge is always fresh, never tastes stale, always has dimes in it.

I use the coin below instead of Neosporin… file off a little powder and rub it in a cut or scrape… always heals faster than Neosporin… This coin is a “Silver Eagle” minted by the US gov. It’s called 4-nines silver… 99.9999% pure silver. They are minted for investors. These days I keep a little silver powder in a vile in my pocket...

I hope you find this useful…




View attachment 8803

I find that VERY interesting! I have been making colloidal silver for a number of years myself so I know the benefits of it. But I never heard about the dimes being put in canning jars or anything else......in milk! Thank you for sharing this information!

 

[katlupe]

Last week I canned potatoes and carrots. I followed the pressure canned instructions to a T, and the Ball book recipe also to a T. I didn’t sway at all from either. I watched the canner very closely to make sure the pressure stayed where it was at. Well, I’m terrified to eat any of it! My husband had some potatoes for dinner, and loved them. Is it normal to be scared the first time you can? I think part of my fear comes from knowing any type of infection near, or on, my neck can render me a quadriplegic. Any words of wisdom? I read on the home preservation site that heating food that has been pressure to 165* will kill any bacteria.

I think everyone is afraid either the canner is going to explode (new ones are supposed to be safe from that happening) or the food is going to poison their whole family. I was the same way. Canning has been my favorite thing to do since my first batch of water bath homegrown grape juice. Canned meat is great and that is the one thing I will probably be canning here in my apartment. I canned a lot of meat in my house, since we did not have a freezer. It was the only way I could buy meat in bulk. I follow Jackie Clay and she is the author in Backwoods Home Magazine who writes about canning. She recommends boiling what you can for 15 minutes, if you are concerned about the safety of your food. After awhile though, you will not worry about it so much. Then the biggest worry is that a jar will break in the canner. Then you lose a good jar and some food you did not want to waste. But that happens every now and then. Good luck with it!

 

[snappy1]

If you are scared use silver dimes… 1964 and older (90% silver)… More than a decade ago I was metal detecting around an old house place out the woods. I found a row of broken mason jars under the leaves and debris.

Each jar contained a single silver dime… not a single jar with a bunch coins… This seemed really strange to me. It took me over a year to figure out why.

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/120-a386/

http://news.rice.edu/2012/07/11/ions-not-particles-make-silver-toxic-to-bacteria-3/

Burns…

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2686041/

They’ve taken it down but there used to be an article at nih.gov that listed over 800 bacteria that silver kills. Silver is used in space for water purification, so do high-end home water purification units at Lowes. Before the price of silver jumped in 04/05 you could buy silver imbedded Band-Aids at Rite-aid or Walgreens.

My point… Back in the day before everyone had pressure canners, especially in the south, people used the water canning method which I’m sure you’ve read about. I remember stoking the fires under big black cast iron kettles in the yard while my grandmother water canned. Don't remember the dimes...

There was a high risk of Botulism with this method. Clostridium botulinum bacteria is one of the 800 or so bacteria that silver kills. People in the 1800’s rural south didn’t know about bacteria but silver has a long history in medicine. They put silver dimes in the jars they canned.

Ever hear of the term “Born with a silver spoon in your mouth”? In the middle ages, wealthy people gave toddlers large silver spoons to gnaw on. Survival rates for their children were at about 80%. Survival rates for the poor who had no silver… about 20%.

Ever hear of “Blue Bloods”? Silver poisoning, it takes decades, the skin takes on a bluish/grey pallor. Rich folks always ate with silver utensils, plates etc. They knew silver kept them from getting sick. Over a life time silver content in their bodies would reach a level known as “Argyria”.

My point to you…

Put a silver dime in each jar you can and you have no worries about poisoning anyone!

Where to get silver dimes? Ebay, they will cost you about $1 each… never pay more than $1. You’re not looking for collectability… just the silver.

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/silver-dime-roll

Silver has many other household uses… Every time I open a gallon of milk I drop in a few dimes… it stays fresh a week to 10 days longer… If I make soup, in go dimes… good for an extra 3 days in the fridge.

My water jug in the fridge is always fresh, never tastes stale, always has dimes in it.

I use the coin below instead of Neosporin… file off a little powder and rub it in a cut or scrape… always heals faster than Neosporin… This coin is a “Silver Eagle” minted by the US gov. It’s called 4-nines silver… 99.9999% pure silver. They are minted for investors. These days I keep a little silver powder in a vile in my pocket...

I hope you find this useful…

View attachment 8803

Thank you for that info, Peanut! I had never heard about the dimes in canning or in keeping items longer in the fridge!

@Star_Chick , I was scared when I first stated pressure canning also. I had a friend who was a master canner and she said if I had followed the directions in the Ball Blue Book, I had nothing to fear. Since then I have stepped away from the BBB. Untested does not neccessarily mean unsafe!

 

[Weedygarden]

Last week I canned potatoes and carrots. I followed the pressure canned instructions to a T, and the Ball book recipe also to a T. I didn’t sway at all from either. I watched the canner very closely to make sure the pressure stayed where it was at. Well, I’m terrified to eat any of it! My husband had some potatoes for dinner, and loved them. Is it normal to be scared the first time you can? I think part of my fear comes from knowing any type of infection near, or on, my neck can render me a quadriplegic. Any words of wisdom? I read on the home preservation site that heating food that has been pressure to 165* will kill any bacteria.

I think what you are experiencing is not uncommon. I know a couple of people who cannot eat any food cooked by others, and a potluck is beyond them. This is different, but has similarities. I have times when I can't eat some things.

 

[joel]

Silver dimes will keep werewolves & Vampire from stilling your can goods too.

 

[PopPopT]

Since I'm close to 2,000 feet elevation where I am now, I decided to go ahead and up the pressure to 15 pounds instead of 10. I think I'm kinda in a gray zone where I could probably use 10 pounds but there seemed to be just a little question as to whether 10 was enough. So 15 it is. Seems to work great. No worries.

It's normal to be a little nervous in the beginning. I think most of us have been. But that kinda passes, maybe a bit like driving a car for the first time and worrying about having an accident.

 

[Star_Chick]

Since I'm close to 2,000 feet elevation where I am now, I decided to go ahead and up the pressure to 15 pounds instead of 10. I think I'm kinda in a gray zone where I could probably use 10 pounds but there seemed to be just a little question as to whether 10 was enough. So 15 it is. Seems to work great. No worries.

It's normal to be a little nervous in the beginning. I think most of us have been. But that kinda passes, maybe a bit like driving a car for the first time and worrying about having an accident.

Truth! I was so scared to drive that I didn’t get my license until I was 27. My husband was on R&R from Iraq when I got it.