I have canned apple cider the last two years by packing it boiling into sterile jars with a steril lid. I then water bath this for 20 min. A friend told me that cider can be canned without water bathing it if it is packed boiling into jars over 180 degrees with a sterile lid. I must admit that my jars always seal before I get a chance to bathe them. I do my tomato sauce like this without water bathing (my mother-in-law has done it this way 25 years) - but I am afraid to do the cider this way without hearing from some folks who can tell me if this is a safe practice. Does anyone can cider without water bathing it?

-- Tiffani Cappello (cappello@alltel.net), September 28, 2001

Answers

I would be more afraid ofyour tomato sause than the apple cider. I also make alot of cider per year and after a few days to give it a bite, I take the temp up to 180, pour into sterial jars and then into a water bath for like you for 20 minutes. I also water bath my staight tomatoe juice or sauce as long as I have added some lemon juice but if I add vegs. I pressure can it. I relize that it loses something in this process and people been doing it for years. I never want to be sorry I didn't!

-- Debbie (bwolcott@cwis.net), September 29, 2001.

One more thing on the cider, I have a girlfriend that didn't water batch her cider and had teenage boys. Guess what the cider became a lovey apple wine and she thought her boys were enjoying cider to the limit when she had half school drinking wine!

-- Debbie (bwolcott@cwis.net), September 29, 2001.

My book said to take it to 165 degrees to pasturize and that would stop it from "working". I have just been taking mine after filtering to just below boiling in the hot water bath and then removing. They have all sealed and I don't get hard cider.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), September 29, 2001.

I put my cider (and tomato sauce) in clean beer bottles- tap them and boil them in an old oil drum outside - I put wood on the fire until it boils and that's it - I leave it there overnight and then take out the bottles in the morning. Lay the bottles flat with newspaper or old rags in between the layers to keep the bottles from breaking. I have had 100 % success with this way

-- kelly (kellytree@hotmail.com), October 01, 2001.

I want to add my concern to Debbie's. You should not be processing your tomatoes without a waterbath. You can cheat with your juice because the potential for dangerous spoilage is not there. The worst that will happen is you will have moldy juice, vinegar (after awhile), or a house full of drunken teenagers. Your tomatoes, however, are borderline on the acidity scale. Different varieties of tomatoes vary widely as to their acidity content. Some of the newer tomato varieties have acid contents that are dangereously low. If you don't have a good and recent canning book, get one!

Without getting too technical the point of the matter is that fruit is acidic and vegetables are not. The dreaded and deadly bacterium "Clostridium botulinum" which causes botulism, a deadly form of food poisoning, doesn't grow in acidic conditions thus fruits and fruit juices are pretty safe. Non-acidic vegetables, however, must be processed in a pressure canner which takes the food to a temperature of 240 to 250 degrees F. - hot enough to kill the botulism bacteria and its spores. Tomatoes are low enough on the acid scale that they have to be processed carefully. They can be canned safely in a water bath if directions from a good canning resource are followed. Most canning books now recommend the addition of a small amount of vinegar to each jar to ensure an adequate acid content. Any vegetable additions to the sauce (i.e. onions, celery, garlic, peppers, etc.) can bring the acid level down to dangereous levels.

People have canned for years using less cautious methods than this and most have done so without incident. But when you're talking about botulism - it only takes once!

Incidently, I do not process my juice either. Just make sure that everything including the jars are boiling hot!

Here's to the healthy and happy art of canning!

Sara

-- Sara Perry (JPerry1218@aol.com), October 04, 2001.