"Of course, the thing is, it depends on how you define "safe." That gave me a grin, Zabby. Never even thought of various levels of safe! I understand that canned pumpkin butter turning 'bad' is rare, and sickness or death caused by spoiled product is also a rarity. However... If I follow directions correctly, I do want to know that whatever I'm preparing is not going to make me or my family sick. Guaranteed. I think everyone expects the same. That is at least one reason some of us frequent this site, and probably the same for their site. There is no warning connected to instructions that says anything about a minute possibility of a small percentage of people falling ill after preparing and eating a canned Pumpkin Butter recipe, even when done correctly. Kraft is evidentially quite confident that it is safe. I hit 'reply' to the message I received above... This is the second message I sent: ................................................ Please note that I am NOT displeased with your recipe. It looks to have wonderful flavor and I'd love to be able to make it with confidence. However as I stated, I do have some serious concerns. Not one of the national canning institutes I have found recommend home canning pureed/mashed pumpkin or squash except you, and I can not figure out why. Can you guarantee me and the general public, that it is absolutely safe to make precisely as written on your site? Thank you so much for your time Crystal .............................. The reply back: Thank you for taking the time to visit us at http://www.kraftfoods.com/ and for letting me know about your experience. I know how disappointing it can be when a recipe doesn't turn out properly, and I'm sorry to hear that happened. I can assure you the recipe you received is correct as written. Our Kraft Kitchens Team thoroughly tests all of our recipes before they're published to ensure their accuracy. They may even take the extra step of having other members of the company review the recipes before they issue the final seal of approval. I hope this doesn't discourage you from trying one of the other recipes on our website, as I'm sure you'll find some great new ones that'll soon become family favorites! It was great hearing from you, and I encourage you to browse our website to take advantage of the great online food content that's available 24 hours a day! Kim McMiller Associate Director, Consumer Relations .............................. There ya go. It is safe, yes? But I still can't bring myself to make it. I'm still not understanding the whole picture. I'm not sure she was addressing MY question ...looking me in the eye, so to speak. It is safe in a 10 minute BWB but, NCHFP doesn't have a safe recipe to recommend to use with a pressure canner? Maybe it's not odd that one side won't gamble with my health but the other doesn't even blink. On the other hand, maybe they know more about the preservative powers of sugar and the correct amount to use than other canners do? I don't know.. they won't tell me. I've got to stop rambling on about this. It is so NOT like me ..so I give up. Frozen or canned cubed pumpkin it will be. Crystal

Annie, I love your description of how grandma said corn needed to be handled to ensure freshness! My parents, lifetime farmers, always bought the corn for me that I froze, so I just took for granted that all corn was good. Now that my parents are no longer able to help me with corn, I have been on the hunt for the perfect, sweet tasting, white corn. I'm essentially looking for Silver Queen, but nobody around here grows that any more. Here's what I've learned: Even when the corn is fresh (i.e. just picked that morning), it can still be tasteless. Even when the corn is a good variety, like Silver King, or Whiteout, it can still lack flavor if the corn is picked too young. Some roadside stands in my area will refrigerate unsold corn from the day before, and put it out the next morning, and tell me that it was freshly picked. I just recently found a farmer who sells Misquamicut (I had never heard of it before). He keeps it in coolers and puts out fresh each morning. It's more expensive, but I'm willing to pay for it, because it's the closest thing to Silver Queen that I've come across so far. I don't think most people have a discriminating taste for corn on the cob, which is why so many farmers just yank off the ear without waiting until it has fully matured. Even my daughter says as long as it has butter and salt, it tastes good. But I like it to have that sweet flavor.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation is essentially the standard for government tested results for food preservation --- whether it's for up-to-date methods for canning, pickling, jam/jelly, low-sugar, freezing, drying, curing/smoking, fermenting, etc. Take any and all information shared from the site for what it's worth to you, we're all adults here and can do what we want. But when I teach classes at the County Extension Office, 4-H groups, the Senior Center and Food Bank and other places as a certified Master Food Volunteer through Kansas State University Cooperative Extension, or pass on information on this, or other message boards, these are the guidelines I use and the factsheets I share. I can only suggest using tested recipes and methods, and that's what the National Center for Home Food Preservation provides. Blanching is also used for those of us who dehydrate vegetables to stop the enzymes in the food, and up-to-date instructions can be found through the National Center for Home Food Preservation that include acidified water bath treatment that most people omit, or are completely unaware of. There were new home drying recommendations (in 2006) due to the potential for microorganisms like Salmonella and E. Coli 0157:H7 and home-dried food in two studies conducted at Colorado State University (and other studies since), so there are new procedures needed to ensure the safety of home dried/dehydrated foods. I tend to follow these recommendation, and it's also what I teach in the classes on the subject, but others may find it an unnecessary step - the old "we've always done it this way and it's never killed us yet" thinking. We blanch food for other reasons - to soften it (which is what happens when you blanch corn), preserve it's color (even though heat is chlorophyll's archenemy - the science how it works is pretty interesting), sometimes blanching is used to facilitate the removal of skin (like peaches and tomatoes), and blanching can also help to eliminate bitter flavors (broccoli rabe, for example). Blanching stops the action of enzymes that cause poor texture and loss of color and flavor. Blanched vegetables also reconstitute more easily than ones that haven't been blanched. Do your own research if you don't agree with the National Center for Home Food Preservation - although most web sites use it as a "standard", and blanching times were tested at the University of Georgia.

I make a habit of copying any spiced/flavored nut recipes I come across, so I need to get busy for a few minutes here, but I will also share this recipe. I created it for my husband and it might appeal to those who like something less sweet. You could try it with less sugar and just rely on the cranberries to counter the pepper. The paprika provides a touch of savory sweet, but it's main purpose, honestly, is to add color to the egg white. You can leave it out and the pecans will be a frosted white. Orange Cranberry Peppered Pecans 1 egg white, beaten until foamy, then whisk in 1/4 cup sugar 1 T coarsely ground black pepper 1/2 tsp sweet paprika finely grated zest of one small orange (I used a clemantine for the small batch and a large orange when I doubled it later -- both good) Blend well and then stir in 2-1/2 to 3 cups nuts (I used pecans) and a generous 1/2 cup or so of dried cranberries. Spread on parchment covered cookie sheet and bake at 300 about 15 minutes, then reduce to 250 and bake another 5-10 minutes or until the nuts are toasted and fragrant. As soon as you take them out of the oven, spread on a clean sheet of parchment to cool -- they will stick to the coating on the baked parchment when they cool if left on the same sheet. Using a silicone mat wasn't an improvement.