Canning Cold Pack, Hot pack, botulism...

Has anyone compared the out come of these two ways of canning? I always cold pack because it seems easier to me.

It  seems to me that the vegetables get cooked more or too much when they are hot packed. But is it worth it to take the extra step to hot pack ..Beans Carrots etc.

The only reason i see for hot pack is that there is less chance of cracking a jar from the shock of cold to hot.......and maybe the canner gets up to temp faster??

any suggestions welcomed

Hot pack and pressure canning are strongly recommended for low-acid vegetables and fruits (carrots, beans, peas, pears, and so forth) as well as for fish and meats. This is to minimize the chance of the food developing the bacteria responsible for botulism and other, less deadly spoilage. Pre-blanching veggies such as carrots will soften them enough for a tight pack, and eliminate air pockets in the vegetable tissue where nasties might hide. The time saved by skipping this step is minimal compared to the potential harm of a bout of food poisoning!

to be sure of preventing botulism populations from creating that very nasty toxin they make you can add some lemon juice. this increases the saftey of

usda canning guides are very informative and can be downloaded free http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html

In NZ, we nearly always use what's called 'the overflow method' which is pretty casual. We generally bottle acid things, so botulism's not an issue.
Wandering off topic here...
I've always been curious about how Americans seem to can just about anything. Is it from the 'olden days' before freezers?
Thinking about it,  maybe Americas' 'can everything' culture developed because of the often full-on winters, whereas here there was always something around to eat.
But why can meat rather than confit or corn it? Canned meat sounds 

But why can meat rather than confit or corn it? Canned meat sounds

canned meat is delicious if you like the texture of pot roast or shredded or pulled pork.......most americans might  turn there nose up to Confit......we all assume that fat is bad for us. But meat stored in flavourful fat would be good I suppose.
I am sure most folks on the forum have SMOKED or DRIED meat . All the hunters that I know make jerky with at least part of their animal. My husband and I could live off dried Bear meat and Smoked salmon!
In the states, unless you live in florida or hawaii, it is either frozen half the year, or dry as a bone half the year, or raining half the year.....I won't even go into all the Challenges that Parts of Canada have. traditionally Americans have canned what ever they have grown or hunted so there is a canning recipe for everything.....even canned Squirrel

OK...hot packing so you can squish more food into the jar makes sense. I did a test on some carrots yesterday. I canned blanched carrots and 1 test jar of raw carrots......I will do a taste test in a week or so. The blanched carrots look good and do not seem mushy.....and the raw carrots don't look like the typical store bought.

I just want it to taste its best. we shall see......

as for botulism......

I have never met or heard of any one in my family or group of friends that has gotten sick from Botulism or canned food.....That being said i do take great care to can safely. as a kid we were told to always listen for a pop when opening any sealed jar and to inspect for a popped lid or mold or discoloration. And rarely  i would find a bad seal and throw it to the compost.

I have a fear and great respect for botulism, BUT does the botulism grow even in a sealed jar? has any one here ever had botulism poisoning?

the thing with botulism is it can survive for a while at normal boiling temps and if it is all alone in a food source it grows until it poisons the food killing itself (Botulism toxin) the bacteria itself is a 90 pound weakling not able to compete in a mixed culture or pose a risk to even immune compromised humans. the problem is that it can be the only thing left alive if canning is not done with care, and that it makes a toxin that can be at fatal levels without the food having an off taste.

now for the good news cases of Botox in canned goods are pretty rare, like in the its news worthy when it happens sense.

Google brought up a easy to read article that seems pretty comprehensive

http://www.pickyourown.org/botulism.htm

Brice Moss wrote:
the thing with botulism is it can survive for a while at normal boiling temps and if it is all alone in a food source it grows until it poisons the food killing itself (Botulism toxin)

"Can botulism grow in a sealed jar?"

Yes. Besides being able to survive boiling temperatures, the other thing that makes botulism such a concern is that it grows best in an anaerobic or very slightly oxygenated environment -- as in a canning jar. There are not a lot of botulism cases caused by food any more because people are very careful. However, a Google search for "CDC botulism cases 2011" turned up cases as recently as last July in poorly stored commercial potato soup.

It can turn up in unexpected places, also. Apparently there is a current outbreak in Seattle, related to unrefined heroin. I know that back in the late 1990's, there was an epidemic of horses dying suddenly in Iceland. People suspected some kind of deranged criminal, until it was discovered that the waterproof vacuum-enhanced shrink bales that they were using for hay promoted the growth of botulism, especially if an unfortunate mouse happened to get baled with the hay. People were advised to cut slits in the bale wrappers to let in oxygen, and the epidemic stopped.