August 5, 2007: Added new question (D.1.2): Why can't we substitute ascorbic acid (vitamin C) for citric acid (sour salt) or lemon juice for acidifying canned goods? Version is now 4.2.11.
December 21, 2006: Changed reference in 0.A.5 from Free Agent news reader (no longer has a free version) to Xnews reader. Also added A.1.12 with answer to question: How do I can oil with herbs? Can I can pesto? Version is now 4.2.10.
March 29, 2006: Added new question (A.1.11): How do I know my juice/jam has enough natural pectin? Version is now 4.2.9.
March 20, 2006: Added new Section A.4.12 which covers atmospheric ateam canning (Not steam pressure canning). Old A.4.12 is now A.4.13. Version is now 4.2.8.
March 6, 2006: Fixed a few references to the old location of the FAQ. No change to version number.
October 1, 2005: Added new Section B.1.6 and adjusted numbering of old Section B.1.6 through B.1.9. The new section refers to a paper on "Should I vacuum package food at home?" along with an URL to a Yahoo Group on the FoodSaver. Version is now 4.2.7.
June 11, 2005: Updated Section A.1.1 with more discussion of pH as well as added reference to Ohio State's Fact Sheet on basic canning information. Edrena's comments and Ohio State's url was the reason for this update (thanks Edrena). Version is now 4.2.6.
May 5, 2005: Updated phone number for Minnesota extension services (thanks Barb) and updated URLs for University of Florida information. Both in Part 9, Section 7. Version is now 4.2.5.
April 1, 2005: Added information on obtaining a good jel or 'set' to Section 2, sub-section A.1.10. Version is now 4.2.4
July 6, 2004: Added urls and tip to finding one's elevation to Section A.1.9. We now cover the U.S. and Canada. Version is now 4.2.3
April 5, 2004: Added online source for ordering Ball Blue Book in Part 2, section A.1.7. Version is now 4.2.2.
February 5, 2004: Added Bob Pastorio comments and references in Part 7 as Section II.D.4 on cutting board cleaning. Version is 4.2.1
February 2, 2004: Added discussion on cutting board safety and cleaning as Part 7, Secion II.D Included several url references which included discussion of sanitization. Version is 4.2
August 13, 2003: Added a few more url references in Part 9 Section VII under Internet Sites, removed references to Gopher sites (no longer valid) and cleaned up some grammer in Part 9. Also modified the text in Part 1 concerning options for getting the rec.food.preserving newsgroup. Version changed from 4.0 to 4.1 because of all the changes from July 17 to date.
July 18, 2003: Added several url references in Part 9 Section VII under Internet Sites. Specifically, I added University of Florida Cooperative Extension Services sites on Drying foods, Freezing FAQ, Freezing foods, Freezing fruit and Freezing Meat. I also added a site on "Jellies, Jams, Spreads" with proceedures & recipes and a site on unusual jelly recipes. No change to version number.
July 17, 2003: Miscellaneous cleanup (spelling & grammar fixes and a couple of clarification fixes in Part 2). In addition, I made the tables in Part 9 that represent recipes for analysis color coordinated to whether the original recipe was good (green), bad but fixable (yellow) or just bad (red). No change to version number.
July 16, 2003: To the Zucchini Relish recipe in Part 4, Section I, D.4.8 I added a warning paragraph that it did not meet USDA guidelines. I gave details and showed how it could be made safe. No change in version number.
July 15, 2003: Parts 1 through 9 have been converted to HTML and are available as Version 4.0. The previous version dated 2/25/1997 (Version 3.5) was last kept by Leslie E. Basel. Since then, the FAQ was maintained by another. As of now, it will be maintained in HTML format by Jack Eddington (jacke6835NOSPAM@yahoo.com). No substantial improvements to the original FAQ have yet been made but some reorganization, formatting and some info changed (including some deletions that no longer were valid as well as additions), mostly due to someone new taking over posting responsibilities of this FAQ. The goal is to bring all the sections up to date with more current information.
The availability of this FAQ was announced to the rec.food.preserving newsgroup as well as misc.consumers.frugal-living and misc.survivalism. The major changes have been: