Food - Drink
The Easy Way To Prevent Home-Canned Food From Discoloring
By BRIANNA CORLEY
Canning is one of the best hobbies for food-lovers, allowing us to preserve our favorite produce using only the ingredients and flavors we like. However, canning is not foolproof, and sometimes home-canned foods can lose their color and turn dull and unappealing, as if you didn't just take the time and care to preserve them.
When packing food into jars, it's important that your rings or lids are screwed on tightly, but the USDA notes that going overboard can cause the color of preserved food to go south. When you screw on your lids too tight, air trapped in the canned food has no place to vent, which damages the color of your fruits and veggies.
Tightening your lids too much can even make your food unsafe, since the buildup of air can cause jars and cans to crack. Even the tiniest crack in your container will make the food inside dangerous to eat, so instead of tightening your lids with as much force as possible, simply twist them until they're thoroughly sealed and no further.