Carol - it was confusing b/c the recipe said " Seal jar. Let cool; chill. Will keep up to 1 month." (that's from website, I could have sworn the magazine said "1 month unopened"). So looked like maybe it was open kettle canning? It sure wasn't clear to me it was to be kept refrigerated. Not to mention (as I pointed out to editor) that "sealing" the jar by screwing on a lid (1 or 2 piece) with a silicone sealant would cause a weak vacuum to be pulled as the jar cooled, and botulism toxin could form even in the fridge, b/c I wasn't sure about the 50:50 acid/water ratio in this recipe (NCHFP and Ball recipes are higher acid), and certainly topping off with water if necessary wasn't going to help! I suggested that they vet any future "canning" recipes through food safety expert. Still haven't heard back. Got the farmer's market newsletter for market going on tonight, someone who "grew up canning with her mother and grandmother" is going to be doing a "mock" demo and handing out recipes "to preserve all the fresh fruits and vegetables available now". I suggested that the market manager check the recipes to see that they were from NCHFP, Ball, or university extension(s), and perhaps limit the demo (and info, if possible) to fruits to limit the town's liability. They said it's market day and it's a bit crazy, don't know if they can get to it. I emailed them a link to the elk story, said the same could happen with corn, squash, beans so this literally could be a matter of life and death, they don't want to be handing out potentially dangerous information on canning vegetables. Haven't heard from them either. I wish the state would regulate who can teach canning (at least lo-acid canning) like they regulate (require training and testing) acidified foods (and you have to have a commercial kitchen to sell pressure-canned foods).

How long are we talking about? If less than 24 hours, fine. Longer than that and they fall outside the safe-to-do guidelines. It not only becomes very risky but also leads to a notable decllne in quality. You'd do better to remove them from the jars and freeze them now. Since green beans is one of the vegetables most at risk for botulism issues, trying to re-do them poses a greater risk than with some other vegetables. What really concerns me is "after years of babying this thing along ". That would seem to indicate a long-standing problem that could easily have affected the safety of the foods done in the past as well. For example, pronounced gasket leaking usually results in under-processed foods Could you clarify exactly what the problems with the canner are? Dave

Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse things by using the term "pickled". I think of sauerkraut as a pickle (as in fermented pickle) so used the term incorrectly. Vinegar is not part of the recipe with the cabbage in question. Actually, I followed the NCHFP recipe almost exactly (except I only made 15lb and did not boil the brine that I added), used a very good digital scale, sterilized a food safe pail, and carefully measured pickling salt. Should be right on, so... Trying to clarify, but not sure if I can: If the proper amount of salt was there and the container it ferments in was open to air (though the cabbage itself is submerged fully below it's brine with a weighted plate, as directed by many recipes), then would botulism spores be able to produce the toxin in that environment? It seems to me that in everything I can find including some data at the FDA, vacuum packed foods and/or canned foods that are improperly processed are where the botulism risk is, and any container open to air is not the correct atmosphere for it to produce toxin. So to ask my second question about the acidity of kraut a different way: When you make a pickle or tomato sauce there is a known amount of acid that must be added to the recipe to make it safe. How would you know that the amount of lactic acid in your kraut is enough for it to be safe to bwb can? Is the mere fact that it did turn into kraut proof that the pH is low enough? It just seems like such an unscientific process amidst so much safety data about canning. This is a new process for me and I'm just trying to understand this more clearly.

The vinegar should be boiling - it won't burn the sugar. If he's getting it close to boiling (not just warm) it may be OK but jars should be processed in boiling water. *IF* he's using straight vinegar, then they're probably OK to open and stick in the fridge even a couple of days after they were made. Even if they never sealed (better that way - botulism needs low-oxygen environment). I don't know if I'd keep them on the shelf - certainly not long-tern. If he's mixing vinegar and water without following an approved recipe (at least half vinegar, depending on how tightly the slices are packed and how much onion - which is very watery), warming it just enough to dissolve the sugar, and not processing the jars (but they seal b/c it's hot enough to do that - called "open kettle" method), then I wouldn't touch them, not even to put in the fridge, since botulism can grow to toxic levels within 48 hours. If they never seal, then botulism shouldn't grow, but other yucky things can if not enough vinegar and/or not heat processed. Really, if he wants to keep making these, he should use approved recipes including processing times. Here is a very useful site Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP