Oh, I thought raw pack also referred to things like green beans covered with boiling water. 10 min at 15 psi is for Standard Tomato Sauce according to USDA Handbook (the new one 2011 edited by Linda Z), I just picked it as an example to try the 15 lb weight. I only used the manual to find out how much water to put in (it said 3 quarts but that didn't seem enough), I used the USDA handbook for everything else but you can see from the quote it didn't mention preheating anything, just "hot" water when you put in the jars, that could be anything from 100-120 out of the tap. When BWBing I like the jars to be close to the water temp (filling them does cool them a bit) to prevent thermal shock, but PCing is so new to me I didn't know if you could start with cooler (tap) water and jars just warm enough not to break when you filled them, b/c you're taking a while to build up steam, vent, and get up to pressure so the jars are heating slowly that whole time. I gave the link to the Ball guide in that post. I have a lot of tomatoes to do - I'll either have to blanch them in my bigger stockpot and fill my 18qt Nesco pan with ice water, or cook them into sauce in the Nesco b/c there is no way I'm going to get more than 5 qts of sauce at a time out of my Dutch oven. I'm glad I took the weekend to get used to the PC. Am I correct in thinking that tomatoes are one of the lowest-risk items for a beginner to PC? I definitely would want more practice before doing low-acid veggies or meats. After tomatoes, what would be the next thing to try while working my way up to meat (and maybe next summer, clams)? I am very grateful for all the help - I have been trying to read on NCHFP and the USDA book (didn't help in this case!), and old threads, I don't know that headspace for water (I did search) and "baby steps" with different foods (I haven;t searched - I remember 1 thread on broth for newbies) have been addressed already. I wish NCHFP had an online course on PCing - but advice from Dave is the next best thing! Edit - I did go back and look at the online course, there is a section on Low-Acid Foods. I think 3 years ago I went through the tests but of course didn't do any hands-on since I didn't have the PC (or didn't want to use the old AA on my stove). I have re-registered and plan on taking the course again now that I have the PC to practice with. This post was edited by ajsmama on Sun, Sep 29, 13 at 16:09

chas045, you are correct that measuring in oz may not have high enough resolution. It did occur to me that I should have set the scale to measure in grams. 1/100 of a gram is better than 1/100 of an oz. However, the visual inspection with the microscope convinced me that there was no corrosion on the aluminum. Optically, light wavelengths are not far from atom sizes. The change in light on a reflective surface can be effected by thickness of a few atoms. The anti-reflection coating on a camera lens makes the lens reflection bluish. A few atoms of oil (oil slick) on a puddle of water make the reflection of light in rainbow colors. The microscope inspection of the aluminum foil showed no difference at all on the tested surfaces. Like all metals, including stainless steel, can be subjected to corrosion when two dissimilar metals are in an electrolytic solution, depending on their respective locations on the Periodic Chart. That�s what happens a lot when you see discoloration or pitting on aluminum. It is a scientific mystery that, aluminum being the third most abundant substance on earth, our body has not developed much use for it. There are not too many aluminum compounds which are toxic to the body (as I remember), because of that, sometimes I think by reacting to impurities, aluminum can render some toxic substance harmless. dcarch

Maybe the generic stuff isn't cream of tartar at all? I found a test on a site called Global Post. A "duh!" moment, because that's a normal use for cream of tartar. That is, it's an acid that's either used to stabilize eggwhites or activate the bubbling of baking soda. It's well worded (and it works), so I've quoted below: Test the potency of the cream of tartar, if you're uncertain, by stirring a half-teaspoon into a half-cup of warm water. Add a generous pinch of baking soda. If it foams vigorously, the soda and tartar will still work together effectively in your baking. If you're using the water test and don't get a reaction from your soda, repeat the test with lemon juice in the water. If the soda still doesn't foam, it's your soda that's the problem. Soda is much more susceptible to moisture in the atmosphere and loses its potency over time. Date your boxes of soda and replace them after a year if necessary.

this would have been part of an hors d'oeuvre buffet, not a course at a sit down dinner. I did not know it was only one dish for a buffet. Like everyone else says, by all means serve it!! We prefer it ground too and you can grind it in your food processor. Cube up the meat and just push pulse once or twice, do not over pulse as you will get mush. I make my sausage this way and do it in small batches...just remember to just push pulse once or twice until the meat is ground, empty, refill and repeat. Michelle