# Canning Cake



## mandiex4 (Mar 14, 2009)

Has anyone tried canning cake (I know a lot say it is unsafe), and if you have, how long is it good for?


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## Canadian (Dec 14, 2008)

Why? That sounds kinda gross. Why not just bake one?

I guess if you had to evacuate on your birthday...


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## MaryV (Jan 31, 2009)

the cake in a jar recipes are good. I do them sometimes. they are good for at least a year.


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## Lucy (Mar 27, 2009)

They cannot be canned at home. Honestly, you are putting you and your family at risk for botulism. You cannot see, taste or smell botulism. Those are all low acid foods, plus, none of the ingredients are safe for canning. No flour, eggs, butter, oil, etc. are safe to can. ( not other than a few tested recipes for marinated mushrooms, marinated 3 bean salad, and marinated peppers, but all have LOTS of added acid.) 
Besides, the glass is not meant for oven baking. It can shatter all over. 
There are many risk factors in the cakes.
Here is one link to the safety of them :
http://foodsafety.cas.psu.edu/jar_bread.htm


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## Canadian (Dec 14, 2008)

I kinda like my baked good fresh. If you're not on the run I'm sure there's time for simple baked goods.


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## mandiex4 (Mar 14, 2009)

Canadian said:


> I kinda like my baked good fresh. If you're not on the run I'm sure there's time for simple baked goods.


I agree with you all the way, but I thought it would be interesting to try...but, I think I will stay away from it...but, I do have one question...if it did get botulism, would the lid pop up in the middle??? I know, I know, I can all the time, but the normal stuff...but I don't know the answer to this one?
mandie


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## Lucy (Mar 27, 2009)

Botulism shows no signs. No smell, no taste, you can't see it, yet it can cause death or paralysis. There is a current case of botulism from home canned green beans in WA. state. A nurse and her two children. Last I heard the mom was still on a ventilator. Not sure if she will recover or not. 
This is why it is so important to only process safe, tested recipes and methods. 
The food scientists have tried to come up with a safe method, but so far there is no safe way to do the cakes. 
That, and also pumpkin butter. That is another real risky thing. 
Glad you asked the question so we can all keep safe.


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## mandiex4 (Mar 14, 2009)

One more question for you, lol, I could google it, but figured I would ask it here. And, again, this is something I should know, but don't. Say we have a jar of stew that we canned and we did it according to all the rules and so on...say we open it and it has botulism and we don't know...when we bring our stew to a BOIL, will it kill the botulism?


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## Canadian (Dec 14, 2008)

Boil to 176 Degrees F for twenty minutes before ingesting. Frozen foods or cold foods may take a long time to reach 176 Degrees. Once that temperature is reached maintain for 20 minutes. The spores are heat stable but the actual toxin is not. It can be destroyed with enough heat. 

I highly recommend disposing of any suspect food items if possible. Botulism is very serious stuff.


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## mandiex4 (Mar 14, 2009)

Canadian said:


> Boil to 176 Degrees F for twenty minutes before ingesting. Frozen foods or cold foods may take a long time to reach 176 Degrees. Once that temperature is reached maintain for 20 minutes. The spores are heat stable but the actual toxin is not. It can be destroyed with enough heat.
> 
> I highly recommend disposing of any suspect food items if possible. Botulism is very serious stuff.


Thank you, now i am done, lol, no more questions on this subject! LOL, I do go through and check my jars and get rid of the ones that I think look a little off. I have been canning for since I was 10, so 21 years. I come from a long line of canners, lol. Thank God we have never had any problems!!!
mandie


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## Herbalpagan (Dec 8, 2008)

In regards to canning:
When I started canning, years ago; I had family and friends who used any jar, old lids and rings and in general, followed the old rules of canning...boiling water baths for canned green beans etc.
I had read my ball canning book and was appalled at how they canned. "nothing ever happened to us and my Mom did it this way for years" was the response. I ended up taking a course from an Extension lady and I asked her. This is what she told me: This is not the same world. The environment has changed. Our parents didn't use the pesticides, the chemicals and polutants that float around now adays. There isn't the bad water, the chemical added water, the genetically engineered seed. Peoples houses were kept cooler, and in general, things were cleaner and more natural.
If you are taking the time to make grow, pick and process food for your family, you are doing it for two reasons. One to give them healthier and more natural foods that you KNOW what is in it. OR Because you are doing it to feed your family and money is an issue. If I told you that doing it the old fashioned way might work, that the risk was small but definite, that only about 10% really has any issues, that only 10% of mayo jars break in the canner, would that meet either of the reasons that you are canning and growing your own food? You don't want to waste time or money nor risk your family's health. Do it right. Home economists have studied this stuff and they make these reccomendations for a reason. It's not that hard to do so it makes good common sense to follow them.
My friend, by the way, who canned the way her mom canned, always had jars that went off or broke without fail every single year. Over 20 years of following the rules, I never have. I'm thrifty and will buy jars from yard sales, but I check each one carefully to make sure there are no nicks or cracks. I never reuse lids because I'm not willing to loose an item that I worked that hard for.


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## Lucy (Mar 27, 2009)

Good post, Herbal ! That is true. Things are not the same as they used to be, for sure. 
Mandie,
You are welcome to ask questions. 
If you have followed a recipe from a reliable source, like the Ball Blue book, or any of the extension sites or the Univ. of Georgia book, So Easy To Preserve, then the food is safe. It is when you use recipes from Aunt Sally, or make up your own that you need to have concern. NEVER make up your own recipes. Canning recipes and cooking recipes are 2 different things. 
Well meaning folks will post recipes or even print canning books when they have no idea about food preservation safety. 
So, if you have food that has been canned improperly then I would suggest tossing it and chalk it up to a learning experience.
There is a point in which boiling may or may not destroy all the toxin. 
If your food has been properly canned then you do not need to boil it. 
I know, technically, if you boil the food before you taste it the toxin should be destroyed. However, what if the spoon you use is contaminated, or the dish cloth, or a drip gets on the counter. You can't see the toxin. So, this is just another spin on it. Something for thought. 
Here is the link for the safest home canning site :
National Center for Home Food Preservation
There is even a free online course you can take.


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## Herbalpagan (Dec 8, 2008)

Lucy- I was told that you CAN vary the recipe a small amount. You can certainly add or omit seasonings, since they don't affect the PH of an product. If you have items that are similar, such as hot peppers and bell peppers, you can interchange them. What is important is that you keep the amounts of similar items at a constant (4 cups of hot peppers = 2 cup bell peppers and 2 cups of hot peppers). You can check in the ball book or most good books what are acceptable. I believe it is the bulky mixed veg pickle recipes that are the trickiest. The brine in some pickles can also be doubled as long as it's consistant with the end product: I can a lot of dill beans and the recipe calls for (if my memory is right) 2c vinegar 2c water 1/4 c of salt and 2 pounds of beans plus spices....Since the brine is equal parts water and vinegar, I can keep the left over brine and add another 2c v 2c water and 1/4 salt. You just can't go nuts and make the balance off.
Correct me if I'm wrong. I pretty much stick to the recipes, but once in a while it will call for something I don't like or don't have.


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## Lucy (Mar 27, 2009)

Herbal, 
Yes, you can substitute one type of pepper for another in a recipe. You can also omit low acid things, not just any acidic things like vinegar or bottled lemon juice. You can substitute bottled lemon juice in place of vinegar, but not vinegar in place of bottled lemon juice. The bottled lemon juice is about twice as acidic as vinegar. So, of course, you would not add additional water to dilute any acidic level. 
You can use additional DRY herbs or spices, but not fresh in a canning recipe. The fresh herbs would alter the acid level. 
You have been told correctly. Thanks for sharing that. 
I think it is good to start going over things before canning season hits us hard. But, then again, does it ever end ? I keep doing things all year long. 
Happy Canning.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Can't one just can the batter and bake it later?


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Magus said:


> Can't one just can the batter and bake it later?


Why would you want to take the extra time to do that? It only takes a few minutes to whip-up a cake-batter -- I can usually do it in the time it takes for the oven to warm up to baking temperature.

Something I haven't tried yet is baking a cake in a BBQ - I might just try that next weekend and see how it turns out


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## Canadian (Dec 14, 2008)

Make sure your BBQ is clean. You might end up with a cake that smells like a smokey southern BBQ.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Canadian said:


> Make sure your BBQ is clean. You might end up with a cake that smells like a smokey southern BBQ.


Then maybe I should start out by making a smoky-mountain-carrot-cake ..


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## pmabma (Dec 4, 2008)

*cake baking*

We go camping once a month year round, We love it, I baked a really good cake in the fire in a dutch oven,It came out nice and brown on top, I am learning, lol , only burnt 2 up.  You have to figure out how many ambers you need for different things, a roast does great and chili does too.


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## Canadian (Dec 14, 2008)

Mmm... Dutch oven. The aromas!


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