OREGON, Ill.— With summer gardens gearing up, it’s time to take canning equipment out of storage. Illinois Extension offers free dial-gauge pressure canner testing to ensure the equipment works accurately.
A variety of foods can be canned at home through boiling water bath canning and pressure canning. Pressure canning is required when canning low-acid foods, particularly meats and vegetables. Having equipment checked every year is an important part of the canning process. Tests are free and take around 15 minutes per canner.
“The needle on a dial-gauge pressure canner can become inaccurate,” says Caitlin Mellendorf, nutrition and wellness educator. “If the dial gauge is not measuring the correct pressure, foods inside the pressure canner may be under-processed, which increases the risk of serious illness from botulism.”
Free testing clinics occur from 9 am to 3 pm at the following locations: DeKalb County Extension Office, 1350 W Prairie Dr in Sycamore on July 21 and Aug. 4; Boone County Extension Office, 205 Cadillac Ct, Ste 5 in Belvidere on July 25 and Aug. 8; and at the Ogle County Extension Office, 421 W Pines Rd, #10 in Oregon on July 28 and Aug. 11. Please contact Program Coordinator, Jan Saglier, with questions or if you need a reasonable accommodation to participate at 815-544-3710 or email jsaglier@illinois.edu.
Read more about canning, freezing, drying, and fermentation on the updated Food Preservation website at https://extension.illinois.edu/food-preservation.
SOURCE: Caitlin Mellendorf, nutrition and wellness educator, Illinois Extension
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.