A few summers ago, I decided to can. What started as a few jars somehow turned into a root cellar's worth. Call it the Summer of Obsessive Canning ... I stopped counting after the 145th jar and the 25th batch. All lined up on the counter, the glistening jars were immensely satisfying. I loved the POP as the seals set. And it helped me grieve the loss of my Mom.The summer started with plum chutney and ended with pickled beans. In between came a red relish, dixie relish, piccallili, blueberry lime jam, banana butter, pickled mushrooms, pickled peaches, pickled peppers I call pied pipers, watermelon pickles, my grandmother's dills. There're still a few jars in the basement.
For the first time since, this year I canned again. Before launching in, I reviewed the tips written back then for our just-publishing family cookbook, a "I sure wish I'd known this before starting" list. They're practical tips, mostly what to do before and after you start canning, "what I learned between jar #1 and jar #145".
Do you have your own home canning tips? Don't hesitate to comment below, I hope this becomes a resource page for new and returning home canners.
[print or bookmark practical home canning tips]
THE INGREDIENTS for HOME CANNING
- Curiosity about the process of preserving specialty foods
- Appreciation for interesting relishes, jams and preserves
- A cheap streak that makes the exorbitant prices at specialty food shops totally unacceptable!
- Try homecanning.com for good basic instructions.
- Check the library or bookstore for basic instructions and recipes.
- I got a great one for $10 at Target, the Ball Blue Book, Guide to Home Canning, Freezing and Dehydration, this one is similar.
- Take good notes. Most of us don't can that often so good notes really help from year to year, especially the personal ones. My 2006 notes include:
- I don't like jams and jellies so sugar-packed that the only taste is sweet vs taste of peaches, etc. so I'm on the look-out for a source of no- or minimal-sugar added recipes.
- A large "hot water bath" pot, I found one (again at Target) for $20 that included:
- a metal insert that keeps the jars upright during processing
- a jar lifter
- a magnetized lid/band lifter
- a poker to release air bubbles
- Glass measuring cups (1cup, 2cup, 4cup) are useful
- Multiple stacking colanders.
- A food processor for chopping in large quantities.
- A wide-mouthed funnel for filling jars without getting gunk on the lips.
- A "jar lifter" to remove jars from the hot water bath
- A "lid wand" with a magnet on one end to lift sterilized lids and bands from boiling water.
- Canning jars are made from specially-tempered glass.
- Canning jars are readily available by the case though not cheap.
- Supermarkets, even hardware stores often carry canning jars, especially during July, August and September, prime canning months in the northern hemisphere.
- Wal*Mart has the best prices in St Louis but tends to run out of favorite sizes.
- In the U.S. anyway, cases include twelve glass jars, twelve metal lids with rubber seals along the edge and twelve metal bands for sealing the rubberized lids onto the jars.
- Rubberized metal lids may be an American-style product.
- European lids seem to be made from glass. They include a metal aparatus that, with a separate rubber ring, preserves the food inside.
- Save the cardboard cases. They're great for storing and transporting filled jars.
- Check with friends -- mine had bunches of canning jars stockpiled that they were happy to get rid of.
- Don't use leftover spaghetti jars, etc. for canning that requires hot-water processing.
- Leftover jars do work fine, however, for refrigerator pickles like these which aren't really "canned" but can be stored in the frig for a week or more.
- In the U.S., canning jars come in quart, pint and half-pint sizes.
- Quarts are typically used for "big quantity" things like tomatoes, beans, peaches, tomato sauce, etc.
- Smaller jars are better for foods used in smaller bits, jams and jellies, for example.
- For gift-giving, the pint and half-pint jars are perfect. If you're canning "food for the table" or for a large family, you may prefer pints and quarts.
- In the U.S., canning jars come with wide mouths and standard mouths. Wide mouths are slightly more expensive but I have to to prefer them.
- Wide mouths are easier to fill and easier to clean, especially important if reusing jars. Plus, to my eyes, they just look cooler.
- That said, I have lots of standard-mouth jars and use them quite happily.
- Have supper already made or be prepared to go out, especially if you're planning an all-day canning marathon.
- Do consider a marathon: getting set up is half the work.
- Get comfortable: shorts and t-shirts and comfortable shoes.
- Turn down the air conditioning, it's going to get hot.
- Clear the kitchen counters of anything extraneous.
- Empty the dishwasher.
- Fill the bottom with already clean jars and nothing else.
- Run the dishwasher with soap to clean the jars again.
- If you time it right, the jars will still be hot when it's time to fill them.
- If not, you can run the rinse cycle again to reheat them.
- Remember, the point is to place hot food (usually although some are cold packed) in hot jars which will then be immersed in hot water: temperature equilibrium prevents breakage.
- Sharpen your knives.
- Put a quart pan filled with water on the back burner. Use this to sterilize lids and bands.
- NEW 2006: Liquid pectin and powdered pectin are not interchangeable. One cannot be substituted for the other.
- NEW 2006: Pectin is apparently not shelf stable. Use what you have the year it's purchased.
- When spice bags are specified, put the spices in a coffee filter, fold it over and staple.
- Use the food processor to chop food that will cook down anyway but use a knife where distinct pieces are desirable.
- To easily peel ripe tomatoes, cut an X in the skin of the blossom end (opposite the stem end)
- Drop as many as will fit into a large kettle of boiling water.
- Leave 1 minute, remove with a slotted spoon
- Transfer to a sink filled with ice and water.
- Return the water to a boil before doing the next batch.
- Repeat as necessary.
- Peeling can be done as convenient.
- To easily peel ripe peaches, follow the tomato instructions except don't cut the X.
- To peel, cut through the flesh to the pit horizontally but don't yet seperate the halves ~ the two sections of skin will peel off easily with just your fingers
- You can recycle canning jars (NOT leftover spaghetti/etc jars) so long as they're in perfect condition, check for nicks, etc.
- Less than perfect canning jars can be used for refrigerator pickles but will may break during processing or allow spoiling during storage.
- Store empty jars upside down in boxes, this prevents icky sticky spider deposits.
- I use bankers boxes, which will hold two or three layers of jars.
- As empty canning jars collect, sort them by jar size and mouth size in different boxes. It helps know what you've got on hand when you start a new project.
- Old (that is, meaning antique jars with very old glass vs recycled canning jars) jars can break in hot water baths. I love how they look with grains and beans in the pantry so never use for canning.
- You can reuse the metal bands once or twice so long as they're unblemished.
- Be sure they are absolutely completely dry before storing
- Sort by size and store in ziplock bags.
- They're relatively cheap so I only keep a few on hand, especially because they seem to not improve with time, even if unused.
- You cannot reuse metal lids because the rubber seals are no longer good.
- I keep a few extra lids on hand, just to use for refrigerator pickles that don't require canning.
- Keep the lid on the hot water bath while bringing it to a boil -- it'll keep the kitchen a little cooler and the water won't evaporate away.
- When ready to fill jars, transfer as many hot jars as will fit in the hot water bath (mine holds 7) from the dishwasher to the counter.
- Fill one or two jars at a time using a wide funnel (the funnel keeps the rim clean).
- Remove the air bubbles by inserting a knife into the center a few times.
- Wipe the lips with a clean damp cloth (I use paper towels).
- Remove a sterilized lid and band from boiling water.
- Position the lid, then the band.
- Use a towel to hold the (usually) hot-jar-now-filled-with-hot-food with one hand, the other to tighten the band.
- Finish all the jars that will fit into the hot water bath at one time, transfer all at once to the hot water bath.
- Cover and process for the specified time.
- After letting processed jars cool overnight, make sure the "dimple" on the lid is concave.
- Remove the band, gently testing to make sure the seal is tight (I've had bad seals even with good dimples).
- If the jar is sticky, wipe it down.
- If the band is sticky, wash and dry it. It must be completely dry before putting back on the jar.
- If it's clean, retighten the band.
- Lots of books say to remove the bands so they can be reused but I've learned to keep them attached so it's easier, later, to consume parts of a jar at a time and be able to store tightly in the refrigerator.
- It's also better for gifts since most people don't have bands easily at hand.
- If you have jars that didn't seal, the contents are still safe to eat. Just transfer to the frig and eat up within a week or so.
- DO label the lids, including the year. You'll forget what something is, I promise.
- NEW 2006: Don't store filled jars upside down, this can weaken the seals.
- When you open a jar before eating, do re-check the seal.
- If the seal is broken or you can remove the lid without a can opener or if the contents looks cloudy or smells off, THROW THE FOOD AWAY.
- The hot water bath is bulky but it can be used to store leftover lids and bands, jars of pickling salt, the special tools, even things like vinegar which keeps. Since canning likely happens sporadically, it helps to keep it together.