Canning Tips and Tricks These days, you can buy pretty much any food you want in the grocery store. Processing your own to store for the winter has become something people do for kicks and chuckles, not survival. It wasn't always that way. Used to be that the only way to have summer fruits in winter was to can your own, and the only way to preserve meats and vegetables was to do it yourself. The tricks of the trade used to be handed down from mother to daughter (yeah yeah, sons too sometimes,) but nowadays it seems to be a dying art. Many of my friends make jellies or can fruits and vegetables, but I don't think we're in the majority. However, it's really not hard and doesn't require huge amounts of special equipment unless you want to invest. It's very satisfying, too. Canning for Absolute Newbies If you've never canned before, let me suggest you begin by going to the store and getting: 1 package powdered pectin (MCP, Ball Fruit Jell, Sure Jell, Ball No Sugar Needed) 1 flat of pint jars and lids (Ball or Kerr) a 5 pound bag of sugar Then either pop open the pectin at the store (it's in an inner bag, don't worry...you're looking for the insert that goes with it) or take it home and evaluate the recipes before buying ingredients. Do you want to make Jam, or Jelly? Look at how much fruit you need, and whether you need other ingredients. If you're beginning with another recipe such as Pumpkin Butter, simply gather your ingredients before beginning. Resources for Canning Information I highly recommend the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. It can be purchased online, or in most grocery store canning sections, and often at farmers' markets. It's only about five bucks, and it's got many many tips, tricks, and instructions as well as yummy tested recipes. Ball and Kerr jars (made, stupidly enough, by the same manufacturer) also have their own website at , with canning instructions and occasional recipes. Home Canning Supply and Canning Pantry dot Com both have all kinds of stuff for home canning, from the basics to the really esoteric. What Equipment Do I Need? In addition to your ingredients, you absolutely need: Kerr or Ball jars in the appropriate size for your recipe NEW lids with sealing rings (never reuse these) Screw bands (can be reused) A large pot to cook your ingredients A very large pot to seal your jars (unless using the inversion method for jams and jellies) A shallow pan to scald your lids Measuring cups and spoons Tongs, or jar lifter, or some way of handling scalding hot jars A ladle or large spoon for filling the jars A clean dishtowel or tea towel Access to lots of water You may also want: A water and/or pressure canner and rack Canning funnel Jar lifter Labels All Pectins Are Not The Same! Pectins vary. You cannot substitute "Freezer Jam Pectin" for "Sure Jell" recipes, or even MCP Pectin for Sure Jell, despite their very similar appearance. All of the pectins make good quality jams and jellies, but you MUST follow the recipes that come with the particular pectin! There are recipes available for making jams and jellies without any pectin added. Apples, for example, usually are high in pectin. I wouldn't advise trying it until you're reasonably comfortable with canning in general, but if you want to give it a shot, hey, go for it. Use Good Quality Fruits and Vegetables Once you have your pectin in hand, you'll know how much of which fruits to buy. You can pick your own, grow your own, buy fresh at the store, or buy frozen (allow to thaw thoroughly before using in the recipe.) Some jellies or jams require additional ingredients like lemon juice or butter. Most require ungodly amounts of sugar, unless you specifically buy the No Sugar Added variety of pectin. Use the freshest fruits and vegetables with no mold or discolorations. Generally it's best to use handpicked fruits the same day you pick them, or keep them refrigerated and dry until you can use them, which should be as soon as possible. Sterilize the Jars and Lids I used to do it the old fashioned way, until I got a new dishwasher. It gets SO HOT I can't handle the jars when they come out, so they're clean and sterile all in one go. Just rinse any dust or yucky stuff off the jars, load them, the canning rings, and a pair of tongs ONLY, all by themselves, in the dishwasher, and let it run. Don't run the flat lid parts through the dishwasher...follow the directions below for scalding them. Try to time it so that they will be just finished when you are done cooking your ingredients. At the very least, be sure to leave the dishwasher SHUT until you're ready to fill the jars, to keep them hot and sterile. If you don't have a dishwasher that scorches things, or at all, don't despair. I used to do it the regular way, which is to say... Wash your jars in soapy water, and rinse thoroughly. Take your clean jars, and put them in a large pot or water canner with enough water to cover them by 1 or 2 inches. Bring to a boil, and boil the empty jars 10 minutes. Take the lids (and bands, if you didn't put these in the dishwasher) put them in a shallow saucepan, and pour boiling water over them. Leave them all in the water until you're ready to use them. Filling Jars is Messy When your concoction is ready, pull the hot jars out of the boiling water or out of the dishwasher with a pair of tongs (preferably ones that have been boiling with the jars or went through the dishwasher.) Drain, then fill. Leave the "head space" as required in the recipe. This means leaving somewhere between 1/8" and 1" of air at the top of the jar. It's important to be as close to accurate as possible per the recipe, for food safety. Wipe the rims with a clean cloth, do not touch the insides of the jars or the jar lids. Wiping the rims is important to ensure a good, solid seal. That rubbery stuff around the edge of the lid is sealing compound, and it gets soft when you scald the lids. It is what allows the seal to become air tight. If you get something on the rim, you might not get a tight seal and the food won't process completely. If you get food on the threads, you'll end up rusting the screwbands or making corrosion. Ew. Filling can be made easier with a canning funnel and a ladle. The funnel has a very wide spout to allow you to fill jars easily. What Does "Water Bath" Mean? There are two main methods of canning - Water Bath and Pressure. (I'm ignoring the "inversion" method for jams and jellies. It's described on the pectin insert if you want to try it. It's how I first did my canning.) The Water Bath method is appropriate for high-acid and/or very sugary foods that have little chance of spoiling in a "poisonous" way due to their composition (for example, botulism doesn't grow well in high-acid environments.) You will need either a water canning set up, or a large pot, such as one used to cook pasta. You need enough space to set your jars in the bottom (preferably on a rack) and have 1-2 inches of water over the tops of the jars. Fill your pot with water to the appropriate level, and bring to a boil. Once you have filled your jars and sealed them finger-tight, set them in the pot in boiling water for the time indicated in the recipe (usually between 5 and 20 minutes.) Remove from the water bath, set on counter to cool. Really, in a nutshell it just means to "submerge jars in a lot of boiling water for X amount of time". It's that easy. Okay, So What's Pressure Canning? Pressure canning is a way to increase the safety of the food processing. By increasing the pressure in the jars, you can increase the heat in your processor. You need 240 degrees to kill botulism spores, and that can only be done in a pressure cooker. Most pressure canners have either a gauge or weights to help regulate the pressure. The gauges generally read up to 20 or 30 pounds, and weights may have three pressure options (5, 10, 15 pounds.) You probably won't need a pressure canner unless you want to can vegetables or meats, which are low-acid. Salsas, while primarily vegetables, usually have vinegar added for acid, and tomatoes are higher acid anyway. Jellies and jams are usually made with acidic fruits and lemon juice. Pickles are basically swimming in acetic acid. If you decide you need a pressure canner for one of your recipes, you can get them second hand or brand new. New ones run around $50-100 depending on what you want, and you have the added bonuses of knowing the parts are all new and getting the full instructions. If you get a used one, you might need to get some replacement parts, and you should probably look up a full set of directions online. How Do I Store This Stuff? A lot of what I make gets distributed right away, so there's no storage issue. But if you do store for long term, you should remove the screw bands and store the jars with lids only in a cool, dark, dry place. The garage isn't recommended, as the temperature tends to fluctuate a lot. I keep mine at the bottom of the pantry closet. How Do I Know It's Safely Sealed? Test with your finger later to see if a seal has formed. If the lid "gives" or pops when you push down on it, no seal was formed and you MUST refrigerate your jar and use it ASAP. If the lid is sucked down tight, a seal was formed. If it ever comes UNsealed spontaneously, throw it away. (some toxic bacteria give off gasses, and that could make the seal pop back up.) If in doubt, keep refrigerated.