Question about Acidity and Ph

[The Aspertarian]

OK, I have never canned the first thing in my entire life, but I am seriously thinking about starting.

I understand that in certain types of canning the acid needs to keep bacteria from taking over and making the consumer of the product ill.

While it is nice to follow others' recipes, I have my own that I want to can and I want to do it the right way. Is there a way to gauge the acidity in foods you are canning to determine whether or not they are safe to can? I am thinking Ph strips or something like that?

In short, how do I can my own recipes?

 

[Lostvalleyguy]

You can get pH strips but they are not all that accurate especially if the food you are testing has any color. The other thing to keep in mind is that the pH paper is soaked in chemicals to change color. It you use it make sure to dump the sample you test it on. Certain foods such as tomatoes are acidic and will have a naturally low pH. Other foods - like jams - can have lemon juice added to them to lower the pH. (Vinegar is used as well). Salt also makes for a hostile environment for bacteria.