Inversion Canning:
Why I do not recommend it!
First of all for those of you who immediately said to yourself, "What the heck is inversion canning?"
let me explain. It is the shortcut method of just filling the jars with hot food, setting the lids and then turning the jars upside down to seal without any additional heat processing.
Yes, it is an old time method of sealing jars and many a grandma did it, but it is not the safest way to preserve foods and doesn't always provide a good vacuum seal.
If you have ever had food poisoning I don't have to say anymore. Food borne illness is no fun and while it won't kill you it will make you wish you could die, so we want to do everything in our power to keep the bacteria that causes it out of our canning process. And especially if we give it away as gifts or sell it.
This means sterilizing our jars and equipment with boiling water, canning in a clean environment and proper heat processing of our foods.
Why inversion canning is not safe
Inversion canning may cause the jars to seal but the food is in the cool down process the whole time we are filling our jars and on top of that the food is exposed to the air. The bacteria that cause food poisoning are airborne, so if the food cools down enough while we are filling jars and the bacteria gets on it from the air all we are doing is sealing it into the jar and providing the perfect home for it to grow. Without added heat processing to kill any bacteria that might be present we are taking a big chance that our beautiful jams or jellies could make somebody sick.
So always process your low acid foods (red meat, fish, poultry and most vegetables) in a pressure canner and process your high acid foods (tomatoes and most fruits) in a hot water bath canner using the recommended time for your altitude. Then you will have peace of mind, knowing that you have done all you can to insure your canned goodies are safe to eat.
Bonus tip:
Always date your jars! For safety and freshness you need to know when you canned things and how long they have been on the shelf. Most canned food has a shelf life of 2-5 years when stored in a cool place out of direct sunlight.
I have created some cost effective date stickers that look suspiciously like return address labels and by re-purposing this style of sticker for use in home canning you can buy them in bulk, save money and always have plenty on hand for your canning day needs!
They come in red or blue and you can get your supply at my store The Jelly Jar HERE
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| Buy the Blue Date Labels |
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| Buy the Red Date Labels |
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