Alton Brown has a multitude of trolls following him – the asshole snarky types always do. So for all of you who are checking out my site because of the flap with AB, well, here ya go. Use the dropdown menu on the left to look at my recipes while you’re here. There are no pickling or canning recipes there, you’ll notice.
I said that you can put up tomatoes with a water bath. I did NOT say you MUST or everyone should. I said you CAN. And that statement is correct. Tomatoes are less acidic now than they used to be, but you can simply acidify them and use a water bath.
Here is the official guide to canning foods from the fucking National Center for Home Food Preservation! You’ll notice the instructions for tomatoes in a WATER BATH. It’s BETTER to use a pressure canner for them, but not impossible to use a water bath as long as the acidity is adjusted. So stop telling me about it, OK? Personally, I’d just not bother with tomatoes at all. I make jam and pickles. That’s it.
The trolls are working on two false assumptions:
1. Alton Brown is ALWAYS right ALL the time.
2. ALL tomatoes canned by water bath are full of botulism and will kill you.
BOTH of those statements are wrong. Flat out, 100% bullshit. AB is NOT the only voice of cooking. AB is not always right. Tomatoes are not inherently full of botulism you dolts. Botulism happens IF the tomatoes are not properly processed, the seal doesn’t set or they are not acidic enough. Acidity can be controlled by adding an acidifier such as lemon juice or ascorbic acid. Acidity will prevent botulism. As will a pressure canner. BOTH WILL WORK. To all the trolls who know absolutely nothing about canning, but felt the need to tell me how stupid I am: fuck off.
AB is a great chef. He’s an asshole on twitter – and probably in person as well, I’ll bet. As I said:
Alton Brown is to food what Scott Kurtz is to comics. Which is a snarky, mean spirited asshole to anyone who dares express a differing opinion.
Which is FINE! It’s their shtick! All I have to do is block them and the trolls and tra-la-la my mellow is again restored. :D
So, if you are here to check out my shit, go right ahead. Check out the awesome recipes while you’re here, too. But please don’t tweet me about this. I really don’t care what you think about the scrap with AB. The bottom line is that we are both right and the whole thing was nothing more than a troll’s delight. If you still feel the need to say something about your butthurt, please use the form in the right column. —>>>