Oven canning

Is this recipe safe to “oven bake” to seal? Would this be good for storage?

2 cups instant mashed potatoes
1¾ cups powdered milk
2 Tbsp. instant chicken or veg bouillon granules
1½ tsp. seasoning salt
2 tsp. dried onion flakes
1 tsp. dried parsley
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. white pepper
¼ tsp. dried thyme

In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients well and pour into a 1 quart jar. Seal and attach ring. Place ½ cup of soup mix in a bowl. To prepare add 1 cup boiling water and stir to smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Judith Almand
Brandon, Florida

Boy, Judith, I’d wonder about the bouillon granules becoming rancid after a time. Otherwise, it should “oven can” pretty well. You might try a couple of pint jars to see how it does. — Jackie

Canning nuts

I was gifted 8 pounds of pecans and walnuts and decided to can them per your instructions. For some mindless reason I used quart jars instead of the pint jars recommended. I pressured them for the 10 minutes called for at 5 pounds of pressure. Will they be okay and how long can I expect them to last? And why is it that you want to only use pint or half-pint jars? Also what should the head space be? In your canning book you recommend leaving 1 inch of head space while in some of your back articles I see 1/2 inch head space. Thanks so very much for taking time to answer these questions. I am learning so very much from you and being retired … it is really helping out a lot!

Lettie Cain
Inkster, Michigan

I’m so glad to be of help, Lettie. Your nuts will be fine and can be expected to stay good for years. I’m still using the pecans I canned while living in New Mexico 15 years ago. The reason you use pint and half-pint jars is that once you open a quart, it is then prone to getting rancid, just like fresh nutmeats. With a pint or half-pint, you usually use the nuts up soon enough before they go bad.

The headspace really doesn’t matter although I use 1 inch to make absolutely sure none are touching the underside of the lids which could possibly cause a chemical reaction, darkening the lids. (The nuts would still be okay.) At the price of nuts today, getting 8 pounds gifted to you is really great! Enjoy them. — Jackie