If you grow your own fruits and vegetables, choose a food you have a lot of. If your peach tree has been particularly fruitful this year, can your peaches rather than the two strawberries your plant produced this season. Canning is a great way to preserve those extra tomatoes or apples at their peak. [1] X Trustworthy Source National Center for Home Food Preservation Publicly-funded center dedicated to educating consumers about research-backed safety practices for preserving food Go to source
If you’re just beginning to can, start with one batch of tomatoes or jam, not 40 pounds of apples. [2] X Research source You can always do more as you grow comfortable with the process and decide you like it. Remember that while cherries can be canned, you’ll have to take out every pit first.
Consult the latest USDA guidelines or Ball or Kerr books for process times according to jar contents and size, especially if you use an old recipe. [4] X Trustworthy Source National Center for Home Food Preservation Publicly-funded center dedicated to educating consumers about research-backed safety practices for preserving food Go to source Processing times have changed over the years because we have learned more about food safety and, in some cases, because foods are being bred differently. Tomatoes, for example, may be considerably less acidic than they used to be.
Peel and cut up fruits or vegetables. Note that you can “slip” certain fruits. Peel peaches, nectarines, and tomatoes by dipping them briefly in boiling water until the skins split open. Then, use a strainer to remove them and place them in cool water. When they are cool enough to handle, slip the skins right off them. Remove pits, stems, cores, and any other part you don’t eat. Note that freestone peaches are those that readily relinquish their pits, whereas cling peaches tend to cling. Choose your fruit accordingly. Cook jam. Cook and/or soak pickles. Prepare relish, applesauce, apple butter, and other foods according to their recipes.
Basic canning syrup: For light syrup boil 6 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar. This will yield 7 cups of syrup. For medium syrup boil 6 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar. This will yield 6 ½ cups of syrup. For heavy syrup boil 6 cups of water and 4 cups of sugar. This will yield 7 cups of syrup. [6] X Trustworthy Source National Center for Home Food Preservation Publicly-funded center dedicated to educating consumers about research-backed safety practices for preserving food Go to source Sugar can be replaced by Splenda or Stevia for a low-calorie option. Do not use Nutrasweet. Basic pickling mixture: Place 5 cups (1. 2l) vinegar, 1 cups (240ml) water, 4 tsp. (20g) pickling salt, 2 tbsp. (28g) sugar and 2 cloves of garlic (optional but adds to the flavor) in a pot. Bring the pot to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce it to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves after the mixture has simmered for 10 minutes.
You can also sterilize your jars by placing them in the dishwasher. Run the dishwasher for a whole cycle.
A canning funnel will make the job easier, especially for small pieces and liquid or semi-liquid foods. For items in individual pieces, such as string beans, arrange them in the jar. Do this as neatly as you wish. If you’ll be showing the jars in a fair, you may wish to pack very neatly. On the other hand, if you’ll just dump them in soup someday, it may not be worth the bother to line them all up perfectly.
If you don’t have a lid wand, you can use a small pair of tongs. Just don’t touch the lids with your hands.
Lower the jars onto a rack in a water-bath canner or large stock pot. Add enough water to cover them by 1-2 inches (2. 5-5cm). Remember to add hot water if the jars are hot-packed and cold water if the jars are cold-packed. Avoid subjecting jars to sudden, drastic changes in temperatures. You can measure it to the first knuckle, as shown. Don’t stack jars in a water-bath canner.
Cover the canner and bring the water to a gentle boil. Boil for the specified time, adding to the processing time if you’re more than 3,000 feet (914. 4 m) above sea level.
Arrange the jars in the pressure canner. For smaller jars, you may be able to stack them, as long as you offset them. That is, instead of putting a jar bottom directly on a jar lid so it nests, straddle a jar bottom across the rims of other jars. Check your gasket before you begin pressure canning each year. They tend to dry out when they sit on a shelf. It must be able to form a seal. You may be able to revive a somewhat dry gasket by soaking it in just-boiled water. If your gasket is too old or cracked, replace it. You’ll need to replace your gasket every year or two. Place the lid on the pressure canner and twist it firmly closed. Often the handle position will indicate what is closed. Remove the rocker from the lid of the canner. Bring the pressure canner to a boil. Watch the steam coming out of the opening where the rocker will go. There is usually also an indicator pin in the center. This pin will pop up as steam builds inside the canner. Allow the steam to vent for a period of time. When it is rushing out of the vent in a strong, even stream, it is called a “full head of steam”. Let the canner vent with a full head of steam for seven minutes or as specified in your recipe or canner’s instructions. Place the rocker on the vent and start timing the specified process time. The needle on the pressure gauge will begin to rise. Adjust the temperature on the stove so that the pressure in the canner is what is specified in your recipe, adjusted for altitude. This pressure is typically 10psi (gauge pressure) at sea level. You’ll generally have to make multiple small adjustments to get the pressure right. It will take a few moments to see the effects of each adjustment, since a large pot full of water and jars needs to change before your needle shows the change. Attend pressure canners for the entire cooking duration, adjusting the temperature as necessary. Drafts and other variations will cause it to continue to shift. Lower the heat slightly if the pressure is too high and raise it if the pressure drops. Don’t assume that you have reached the balance point, since drafts and other variations can disrupt the pressure fairly quickly. A pressure that is too low could fail to cook sufficiently hot; one that is too high could run the risk of breakage. Process the jars for the full time stated in the recipe then Turn off the heat, leaving the rocker on until the indicator pin drops. When the pin drops, remove the rocker and allow the canner to vent for a few minutes. Open the lid slowly and hold it between yourself and the jars for a few moments. You can even rest the lid loosely open on the pot rim for a minute or so. It doesn’t happen very often (especially if you’re careful to relieve the pressure gradually), but pressure canned jars occasionally break when the pressure is released.
Mark your jars on the seals rather than the glass if you want to reuse the jars easily. Store sealed jars on a shelf, avoiding excessive exposure to heat or light. Refrigerate after opening.
