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Old October 16, 2012   #33
bower
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
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Mischka, that's a sensible policy considering the context. And Barb, no harm intended either. This is a fantastic forum because of the policies and the moderators - no spam, no flame wars, I appreciate it very much.

The USDA recipes are really bulletproof - they're designed to make sure that contaminated food is rendered harmless (or not fatal!) in the process. Whereas for most of us who grow our own, the clean and pristine quality of the food is first in mind, as is often stated in the recipe as well.
The boiling water bath for pickles is a failsafe against errors in judging the pH or the "available water" in a final product, or having reached the temperature required for pasteurization (in case the quality is not as pristine as you think), as well as ensuring a foolproof hermetic seal for the best keeping qualities.
It's a shame that boiling the gosh-darnoodly out of something also takes away some qualities we wanted to keep, (crisp pickled peppers, full-flavoured matsutake pickles, etc..) so I appreciate that you will allow us to share and discuss the hot fill/hold recipes that apply "AT OUR OWN RISK", even if they don't come from a USDA recipe book.

That being said, if I follow a recipe at my own risk, I'm the kind of person who wants to know exactly how to assess how much of a risk is involved in a specific recipe. That's why I spent a few days reading up, so I can be satisfied that my past and future pickle recipes are not putting us in harm's way, and gives me the ability to evaluate "unapproved" recipes that might appeal to me, and how to store them.

Jams and jellies, and "acid foods" (eg most tomato, natural pH 4.6 or less) or well designed and pasteurized "acidified foods" (pickles with Aw 0.90 or less and pH 4.6 or less, heated entirely including the glassware to the necessary pasteurization temperature) do not support the growth of food-borne bacterial pathogens. In case of a pasteurization failure, the only bacterial pathogen that can grow at Aw 0.90/low pH is Staph aureus. If pasteurization failure is a risk, the pickles can be stored at temperatures below 10 C (50 F) to prevent S. aureus toxin production and eliminate that risk, according to the reference document linked above. (Also the reason it's better to scrub fresh veggies in cold rather than hot water!). Final risk, a bad seal might lead to yeast or mold spoilage, which can be seen with the naked eye, and tasted. Given the climate for litigation in poor taste, maybe we should add "Discard when mouldy" to the cautionary labels.
One of the documents I read this weekend was a draft guidance document from USDA, which acknowledged that there is no record of a single case of food poisoning caused by "fermented foods" that is, the traditional recipes for fermented pickles, sauerkraut etc. So I'm not surprised RedBaron survived his childhood.

C'mon Worth, please share your secret pickled pepper recipe "AT MY RISK".
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