I have started making pickles and chutneys again after a gap of about twenty years. I used to use Porosan synthetic skin to cover the jars but cannot get it now. Does anyone know a cheap vinegar-proof alternative for use on all sizes of jar? Cheers.
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If you haven't canned in 20 years, things have changed!! Consider updating your technique, recipes, and information. A lot of what was considered safe - isn't. Please go to http://freshpreserving.com for more information. (They have great recipes for chutneys there, also.)
Things haven't changed that much! I also bottled 20 years (and more) ago before freezers were widely available, using the Ministry of Agriculture's 'Home preservation of fruit and vegetables', a wonderful book of techniques and recipes that you can still sometimes find on Amazon. Porosan was a thick plastic skin (the book calls it a 'synthetic skin') that was 'shrink-wrapped' using a hot water bath method and which produced excellent and safe results.
Scientific testing of older methods has determined flaws in many of the older methods. They literally put the finished product under microscopes and still find bacteria that can make people very ill. Botulism is a very serious illness, and modern canning methods have been able to prevent this. This is why your older canning product is no longer available... it just isn't a safe method. In order to ensure no bacteria continues in the jar, the jars need to be reheated properly after they are sealed.
I have the same question, and wondered if in the meantime something suitable has been found? Also, if one finds old packs offered for sale, is the skin likely to be any good, or would it have gone brittle or otherwise deteriorated?
I have a few circles that I had actually cut out 20 years ago and they work fine! If I ever found any sealed packs for sale I'd grab them! They do eventually go brittle but I but only after a lot of use in my experience. If they still look clear they should be fine. I wish I could find some.
Marg from England.
Alas, although the Min of Ag's book is still on Amazon, Porosan synthetic skin is not. It was my bible too.
Marg.
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