Here's how to tick off a reader

Sigh. It happened again. I ticked off a reader. The subject – you guessed it – is pressure canning vs. water-bath canning.

This is the comment, which came in on an older blog post about canning bacon bits. Someone had asked, “Can you do them in a water bath if you don’t have a pressure canner?” I replied, “Absolutely NOT. Bacon (and all meat) is low acid, so it MUST be processed in a pressure canner. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Boiling meats in a water-bath for ten hours cannot replace pressure. Do not risk botulism by processing meats or other low-acid foods in a water-bath. If you’re serious about preserving food, it’s worth investing in a pressure canner and learning its proper usage.”

And that, I thought, was that … until this morning, when a comment came in as follows: “Yes don’t let anyone tell you NO! This is how it’s been done before pressure canners were invented, meats are 3 hrs boiling with water 2” over jars. Theirs [sic] many groups on FB [Facebook] that will teach you how.. Blessings.”

And, once again, I lost it – and no doubt ticked off the reader as a result. Here’s what I replied:

“WRONG. Why do you think pressure canners were invented in the first place? It was because scientists learned boiling water doesn’t kill botulism spores. Three hours – ten hours – a hundred hours in a water bath will NOT render low-acid foods safe. WHY CAN’T PEOPLE GRASP THIS CONCEPT???!!! Do you refuse to wear a seat belt while driving as well because cars were invented before seat belts?”

Arrgghh. It is SUCH a simple concept, time-tested and scientifically proven, and yet people will blithely continue to endanger their families by water-bathing low-acid foods.

Don urges me not to spike my blood pressure and just let such comments go. But I can’t. I just can’t let someone come onto this blog and spread the notion that unsafe canning practices are fine.