Why can foods?

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02
  
       Title: Why Can Foods?
  Categories: Canning, Information
       Yield: 1 guide
  
  
   Canning can be a safe and economical way to preserve quality food at
   home. Disregarding the value of your labor, canning homegrown food may
   save you half the cost of buying commercially canned food. Canning
   favorite and special products to be enjoyed by family and friends is a
   fulfilling experience and a source of pride for many people.
   
   Many vegetables begin losing some of their vitamins when harvested.
   Nearly half the vitamins may be lost within a few days unless the fresh
   produce is cooled or preserved. Within 1 to 2 weeks, even refrigerated
   produce loses half or more of some of its vitamins. The heating process
   during canning destroys from one-third to one-half of vitamins A and C,
   thiamin, and riboflavin. Once canned, additional losses of these
   sensitive vitamins are from 5 to 20 percent each year. The amounts of
   other vitamins, however, are only slightly lower in canned compared with
   fresh food. If vegetables are handled properly and canned promptly after
   harvest, they can be more nutritious than fresh produce sold in local
   stores.
   
   The advantages of home canning are lost when you start with poor quality
   fresh foods; when jars fail to seal properly; when food spoils; and when
   flavors, texture, color and nutrients deteriorate using prolonged
   storage.
   
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   * USDA Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539 (rev. 1994)
   * Meal-Master format courtesy of Karen Mintzias
  
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