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Since my wife is fighting leukemia I am even more concerned about germs than before. I guess that is why I noticed the things on tv that I posted here. We have always had the habit of placing plastic spoons and a bowl next to the stove, even before she got sick. Take a taste and then toss it in the bowl. No big deal. I realize these TV cooks cannot take much time washing their hands thouroghly (who wants to watch 30 seconds of hand washing?) so they just go through the motions, maybe a quick rinse. That is understandable. But I think double dipping sends the wrong message.

To me the best cooking show on TV is Jamie Oliver.

She needs to drink some of that wine, relax a little and let the cooking do the talking. Too much chatter.

And I haven't canned a cow, but I have canned a deer!

Canning with a pressure canner is the best way to do it for long term. I would not waterbath anything for shipping. Just my opinion. Is it a pain well the first time you do it will be a pain, as you get better maybe not so much.

If I remember correctly, when Ted Allen concluded that double dipping is bad on that new show of his, all they did really was see if bacteria grew after double dipping.

No real mention of if those bacteria were harmful. Which I thought was weird since before the test, the "scientist" he had with him was talking about the normal bacterial flora in people's mouths. Bacteria are everywhere. There was probably some in the dip to begin with even. And on the chips.

In fact, there are more bacterial cells in our body that human cells. I can't imagine how we aren't all dead from the scary bacteria.

As a side note, later he tests if ginger helps reduce nausea. With a whole two test subjects and two control subjects. Seriously? That's not science...that's FN going even more to Hell.

Would you have to can? Why not freeze gravy/sauce in zip locks and buy some dry ice and ship o/n?

Here's a quick reply with some guidance, but check out the resources at the bottom.

To safely can food using the Water Bath Method, the food must have a PH level of at least 4.6. e.g. Pickles of any kind can be made & preserved using this method, as long as the brine is strong enough to acidify the food to 4.6. You also need to make sure that vinegars are at least 5% acid & that the ratios given in the recipe are followed exactly.

Personally....other than pickling & some high acid fruits, where I know the acidity is high enough, I pressure can everything....even tomatoes.

Here's why: When it comes to my tomatoes & sauces, each batch is slightly different....sometimes it comes down to what's available at the farmers market. The ratio of garlic:onion:peppers:tomoatoes are going to vary.

The #1 rule of home preservation is to err on the side of caution. If you are not following an established & tested recipe EXACTLY, you are asking for trouble. While there probably isn't much in your particular Marinara sauce recipe to throw the acidity off, I'd still err on the side of caution and pressure can it.

A comment about preservation: Salt & Sugar are NOT preservatives...like alum, aspirin & canning additives sold in supermarkets, they enhance the color & texture...e.g. alum can help keep dill pickles crisp. But none of these will prevent spoilage.

Here are some great resources:

National Center for Home Food Preservation, the link below is to their specific guidelines for "spaghetti sauce without meat"

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/spaghetti_sauce.html

They also publish this guide....which I recommend to anyone wanting to begin canning:

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/usda/utah_can_guide_01.pdf

Pickyourown.org is also a good resource for both canning & finding local pick your own farms:

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

Also, many state Ag Extension Agencies have information on food preservation, one of my favorites is our local Univ. of MN site:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ0516.html

One last comment....the pressure cooker suggested by Jerzeetomato is a great value. Last month my mom found the 23 qt model for 69.99 at a local fleet farm supply company. I was compelled to treat myself and I upgraded. I couldn't be happier with it...the capacity is enough to do 20 pint jars at a time! =)

Having said all of that....if you are not looking to get into pressure canning long term, you might also consider shipping your sauce packed in dry ice. I have sent foods that can be frozen, but not canned as a gift for my far away friends. I vacuum sealed the food, froze it solid, then wrapped it in brand new kitchen towels which were part of the gift.

For like 5.00 I was able to get enough dry ice to pack the food between layers of dry ice & encapsulate in packing peanuts.

It arrived completely frozen....but....I used the 2 day expedited service....the cost trade off of the weight of jars (not to mention getting the canning setup) might be enough that it's actually cheaper.

Good Luck!