Canning standards have been changed in recent years. Pumpkin is quite dense and isn't something recommended to home canning. Check the date of your book.

Hi,

I checked the date on the book and it was published in 2001. I purchased it last year from amazon.com and it looks like it is the most current printing/edition for this book. The recipe for pumpkin butter adds quite a bit of sugar and a package of liquid pectin plus spices. Almost in proportion of what a jam would be. Do you think it would be safe with the addition of the sugar and pectin?

Carly

There have been some important changes in year 2005 or 2006. Jams and jellies have a lot of natural acid, but pumpkin is very low. I don't think it would help even with lots of sugar, and adding an acid of any type to pumpkin, just to get the acid level higher isn't very tasty. Give it a few hours here, and I bet there will be many more posts about the safety too.

Do you think it would be safe with the addition of the sugar and pectin?

Not according to the current guidelines. Canning pumpkin in any manner simply isn't approved as safe. You can still do it - your choice of course, your risk - but there isn't any way for anyone else to say -"yes, it is safe".

While the book as a whole is probably ok, each recipe needs to be reviewed in the light of current guidelines. The revision on pumpkin better was made in 1989 so she should have picked up on that in a book published in 2001. Not a good sign IMO>

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA Pumpkin Butter Guidelines

We have discussed Blue Ribbon Preserves before and, in fact, I emailed the author about her instructions for canning curds.

I really like her book, but I don't assume all her recipes are safe. I consider the book a valuable resource but I think you have to have a pretty good knowledge-base in food preservation to assess which recipes are OK as is and which should NOT be canned, but could be refrigerated or frozen.

I'd recommend you ask about particular recipes from that book before you can them. Several of us have copies and should be able to give a "thumbs-up" or "thumbs-down" on specific recipes.

And as mentioned, do forget about the pumpkin butter. It doesn't matter how much sugar it has. You could freeze it, however.

Carol

Thanks so much all of you for the help and responses! I will go ahead and make the pumpkin butter but I will freeze it instead of canning. I will definitely ask about the individual recipes before using them. I am glad I read that other post and asked about this book.

Carol, I have a question for you about the curds. It is my understanding that it is not recommended to can them right? Have you ever frozen yours and if so do they freeze well? I love lemon curd and I would like to make a bigger batch to have some on hand but I didn't know if I could freeze it.

Thanks!

Carly

Carly,
Lemon curd freezes beautifully. There is one USDA recipe that is safe to process, but you must use bottled lemon juice. Then, it only has a shelf life of 3 or 4 months. That really sends up a red flag to me. It turns brown or seperates after that time. I stick with freezing. I think I posted the recipe I use for microwave lemon curd. So easy and is really great. Freezes perfectly.

Linda Amendt has instructions for pressure-canning curds in her book but when I emailed her asking whether the recipes were tested she simply answered that she doesn't can them any more. I have visited her website. I wish she had a list of corrections, but she doesn't.

However, I've made a big-batch lemon curd which combines aspects of her recipe with that of Rose Levy Beranbaum. As Linda Lou said, they do freeze very well. Conservatively curds will keep 3 months. I've kept them quite a bit longer with no problems. Just be sure they're well-sealed to prevent absorption of odors.

LOL, I wouldn't touch that cannable lemon curd recipe with bottled lemon juice. I think it's an abomination.

Carol

Oh I am so glad I can freeze it! Now I will go and make a big batch! I love it with my cream scones! I wouldn't make the recipe with bottled lemon juice either, it would be like the difference between night and day! No contest in my book! I would love to see ya'lls recipes to compare to mine, I like to try different recipes of the same thing to find the one I like best.

Carly

Linda Amendt offers some wonderful jelly, jam and syrup recipes and those don't present safety issues.

I like her method of infusing sugar with lemon peel for her curds. So even though I am careful with her preserving methods, I have gotten some excellent tips from her book.

Carol