Home Canning 101
It used to be that the home canning was the only way to preserve meats, fruits and vegetables, and jams, but canning remains a great way to reap the bounty from your garden even though modern conveniences have made preserving food a choice rather than a necessity. Home canning isn’t difficult to learn, but you do need to adhere to some strict safety guidelines to ensure that what you preserve can be safely eaten.
Hidden Dangers
One of the dangers of not canning food properly is bacteria. These tiny, hidden microbes can wreak havoc in improperly prepared food, leading to sickness and botulism. That is why low-acid foods such as meat and vegetables must be canned at high heat in a pressure canner. Bacteria thrive in low-acid environments. But even fruit and jellies can be spoiled if you do not take proper caution and cleanliness steps.
What You Need to Start
The dangers of canning improperly are real. Make sure that you have the proper tools and equipment necessary for the canning recipe that you are following.
- Pressure Canners. This is a must if you are going to be canning meats or low-acid vegetables. These types of foods are not safe in a water-bath canner. There are several good models available. Some have a toggle gauge and others have a dial gauge. I personally recommend a dial gauge. I find it easier to know when my pressure is just right.
- Water-Bath Canner. This is used for fruits, high-acid vegetables like tomatoes and pickles and jams and jelly. These types of foods do not require the long, high temperatures that meats and other vegetables do. You can often find these canners at thrift shops or yard sales.
- Steam Canner. Some people recommend these for fruits and jellies. They take very little water to operate and heat the food by steam rather than submersing in water. Make sure you research your product thoroughly before purchasing so you will know exactly what it can and cannot do.
- Small Necessities. You will also need to have canning jars, new lids and rings, a jar lifter and a good funnel (stainless steel is the best).
- Other Nice Items to Have. If you are going to do a lot of canning there are several other items that are nice to have on hand. These include a tomato mill, a food processor or chopper, a really large pressure canner that will double the amount you can do at one time and a corn cobber–slide your ears of corn over this and they come off the corn in seconds.
Start with Fresh Food
Choose only fruits and vegetables that are fresh and unblemished. Do not use food that has sat for several days to avoid spoilage. Make sure fruits and vegetables are canned using the proper method. All meats and vegetables should be processed using a pressure cooker. Fruits, tomatoes, jellies and jams are canned using a water-bath canner.
Canning Articles, Videos & HowTos
Keep the results of your garden tasty during the cold winter months. Canning green beans is a relatively simple process — once you know the proper procedure.
After you have learned how to grow horseradish, the next challenge looms: canning horseradish. Read on to learn how to can it like a pro.
Canning pickled eggs is as easy as boiling water. All you need is a hard-boiled egg and some pickling solution.
It used to be that the home canning process was the only way to preserve meats, fruits and vegetables, and jams and jellies. But even though modern conveniences have made preserving food a choice rather than a necessity, home canning remains a satisfying way to reap the bounty from your garden. Home canning isn't difficult to learn, but you do need to adhere to some strict safety guidelines to ensure that what you preserve can be safely eaten.
If you plan on canning pears, it’s important to understand how to determine the best time and types of pears to pick. Though pears ripen across the United States from August through October, few commercially grown pears are ever allowed to ripen on the trees. Instead, pears are picked early to prevent disease and insect infestation.
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