Cold-pack canning preserves raw or blanched food in sterile jars, covered with hot liquid and boiled for 20 minutes to 3 hours. The process ensures food can be stored for 6 months to a year.
Cold-pack canning is a process used to preserve food that is raw or that has been blanched for a few minutes so it will survive a long time without rotting. The procedure can be used to preserve fruits and vegetables, but can also be used to later prepare a jar for pressure canning. The key to successful cold pack canning is ensuring that all supplies used, from jars to spoons, are sterile to avoid passing any harmful bacteria into the jar that could spoil the food. The basic process is to place raw or uncooked food in a heated, sterile jar and possibly cover it with a hot liquid. This done, the jar is placed in boiling water for a period of time before being removed and allowed to cool; at this point, it will be stored for anywhere from six months to a year or more.
The cold pack canning process begins with preparing the food to be stored. For whole fruits or vegetables, this means cutting the food of inedible parts, seeds or pits and cutting large pieces into smaller cubes. Depending on the exact item being canned, blanching for a few minutes in boiling water may be necessary to remove anything undesirable on the surface and potentially develop flavors. Once the blanching is done, the food is quickly immersed in cold water to stop the process, but it should only be immersed, not allowed to float in the cold water. Items like sauces that are mostly liquid don’t require these steps.
The jars and food supplies and cold packs should be ready at the same time to continue the process. The sterile jars, which should still be hot for sterilization, are filled with cold food. Hot water, or hot syrup in the case of fruit, is poured into the jar until it reaches 1/2 inch (about 1.25 centimeters) from the top. The lids are then placed on top and partially sealed, meaning the screw tops are turned until tight and then loosened a quarter of the way back; Glass-topped jars should have only one hook attached to the top.
The last step in cold pack canning is to immerse the jars in boiling water. They need to sit for anywhere from 20 minutes to three hours, depending on the size of the jars and the food inside them. After the time has elapsed, the jars are removed and left to cool. Lids are cold tested to ensure the seal has been made. At this point, the food inside the jars is preserved and can be stored for anywhere from six months to a year or more.
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