Canning Chat Answering Your Questions

ReCanning Quote from the NCFHFP
Is it safe to jar already canned food?
Often people think that they can save money by buying larger containers of canned food, transferring the contents (or leftovers from the first use) to smaller jars and re-processing it. Others wonder if this is a way to save leftovers from any size can for a longer time than they will keep in the refrigerator.

There are several problems with these practices:
(1) We have no safe tested processes to do this. In some cases, the way the heat is distributed throughout the jar during canning will be very different if you start with already canned/cooked food than with fresh. Excessively softened foods will pack more tightly into a jar, or arrange themselves differently and the process time recommended for fresh foods will not be enough for the already canned foods. Underprocessing can lead to foodborne illness or at the very least, spoilage and loss of product. You definitely could not just transfer the food and "seal" the jar. You would need some heat treatment known to destroy any organisms transferred with the food.

(2) The expense and time of recanning foods far exceed the cost savings of bulk or large-quantity packaged foods. To re-can food, you now add the expense of a jar and lid as well as the energy to re-can the food.

(3) Most likely the quality of the food will be greatly reduced in canning the food for a second time. The heat of canning does cause loss of some nutrients, and a second round of canning will further reduce the nutritional value. Textural changes from heating will be added to those already produced.

Without tested processes for re-canning foods, there is no way to know how to reduce the canning process and the default (although not a recommendation) is to process for the full time and temperature as if starting from scratch. When you consider you are not even saving money and resources, it does not seem worth the loss of food quality to practice this re-canning of commercially canned food. Our recommendation is to not plan to do this.

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[marylange]

Homestead Heart has a really good recipe for the canning of beans

[brendaleers]

Thank you Leisa for answering my question last night about my beans. I threw out 5 quarts and 1 pint this morning. Even tho they were sealed perfectly, it was not worth taking a chance. I am thankful that it was inexpensive beans and not meat.

[happydogdays]

Appreciate you so much. I have never canned before. This weekend I did 2 batches pork and one gr beef. Have chicken in right now:-) I love it!

[gkw]

I have been canning for at least 30 years, and I love your canning chats. I know a lot about canning obviously, but I still learn something new from you. Thank you for such great advice and reminders about safe canning. I have a lot of canning books as well as the USDA Complete Guide To Home Canning, but it’s so nice to watch someone with your knowledge do canning videos as well as how to use canned food and great canning recipes. Thank you for your hard work, great advice and for reminding me that there are things that I forget to stock up on.

[darlenenenumann]

Hi Lisa. My question is I have a #10 size can of peaches. Can I turn them into peach pie filling.

[bonniemechefske]

Brilliant! Thank you so much. This was what I was thinking too about the heat reaching through the beans. You are so thorough and generous with your information. I will soak them too. AND you said my name right! Give this lady a prize! Thank you!

[icecreamladydriver]

I have been using stevia to can my fruit for many years and your fruit will brown much quicker but it sure does taste good.

[onThisJourney]

I've done the dry and soak method for beans. I prefer the soak but I am still learning the proper amount to put in a jar. I'm enjoying experimenting and we just eat the few that don't seal🤷‍♀️

[loriea]

Is there a big difference in Pamona pectin ? Just made your blueberry jam yesterday with regular pectin . Is that ok ?

[Yoda]

I think sharpies have been re formulated recently, they don’t seem to hold up like they used to. Sharpie does make an industrial version called sharpie pro that apparently holds up better in extreme conditions, they’re available on Amazon.

[kimgapeach]

Can u give information on storing with the rings on and stacking the jars on top of each other. I've always been told not to do that cuz it can lose its seal and might Vacuum back down and you would never know it. I've seen some YouTubers in their pantry in the back ground doing this. Just want to know your take on this

[NewYorkJennifer]

I use the Sharpie marker with great success. I would not use a really fine point, though, might be too thin and wash away.

[Sonshine]

Chat day is soooo helpful! Thanks for doing it!!!

[barbharrison]

All of the tested recipes I've found for fruit seem to require cooking them for a short period of time. Is it safe to just put the fruit in the jar and pour the syrup in or the cooking of the fruit is absolutely necessary for a safe produc

[tam]

Is it safe to use onion soup mix for canning? I’ve seen several canners on YouTube use it, e.g. for carrots, but cannot find any relevant information from any authoritative canning resource. Thank you for all of the tips and advice on canning!

[fayfaust]

Leisa this is an awesome video with GREAT information. I knew most of this but that's because I am an avid researcher before practicing any process. However, it's always good to hear first hand a refresher on issues that I might have misplaced in my memory bank. LOL Thank you for your videos, I always enjoy them and learn so much from your wisdom, experience and knowledge.

[rachelletate]

Got a great deal on sugar, so I was using half gallon mason jars and noticed a imperfection that ran vertically near the ball label on the glass. Looks like a lighting bolt. I then check the other half gallon jars and found other imperfection in the glass . Have you ever ran across anything like that before? Thank you and by the way LOVE THE CANNING CHATS .

[russellwood]

I have a question perhaps you can help. My experience of canning so far is just watching YouTube videos this weekend I'm going to do it for the first time as I've went out and purchased a bunch of canning equipment and going to the Farmers market on Saturday to pick up delicious produce . As a guy of course I started with meat did my own butchering last year for the first time and salting and smoking meats bought a chambered vacuum sealer to vacuum seal and freeze all my produce. The question I have is if I can up a bunch of products and one or two of the jars don't seal correctly instead of putting them through the entire process again can I put them in my chambered vacuum sealer and seal them? This way the process would be much quicker and I wouldn't be turning the food softer and mushy. Would love to know if this would be okay to do. I do use my chambered vacuum sealer to seal jars of dry goods. But would love to know if I don't get it correct seal from my water bath canner or my pressure canner can I use my chambered vacuum sealer to save the day?

[sassyannie]

Hey Leisa! I canned broth and sweet onion jam today. For the broth, I did use a sharpie to write which ones were which. My letters were still on the lids.
Canning lots of ugly chicken tomorrow. Walmart clearanced out chicken breast at 1.50 a lb. People need to check all the bins in there refrigerator and freezer sections for the deals! Thank you Leisa!

[judylinde]

My daughter and I canned candied carrots out of the Ball canning book. The sauce contained cinnamon, brown sugar, orange juice, and water, and canned for 40 minutes. It smelled and tasted so good before canning. I was really disappointed in the canned product. Wondered why such a difference after canning. We canned 27 pints. 😭