23 Tips for becoming a home canner extraordinaire!
Enjoy the bounty of summer all year long through canning. Whether using the harvest from your own garden or your farmer’s market finds, canning ensures nothing is wasted and that you have a collection of great produce for the long winter.
When canning a variety of foods, keep a printout of the cooking times and methods in a place you can easily reference. Canning is science, not art, and you need to know the proper times for each item.
Wear athletic shoes while canning or preserving. They are a good safeguard against hot liquid spills and will help prevent tired and sore feet.
Invest in a jar mitt for canning. This specialized, curved oven mitt allows you to easily grab and fill jars without burning yourself. Jars must be hot when filling, processing and taking them out of the water, so you want to protect your hands.
Buy or make a magnetic “wand” for pulling jar lids and rims out of boiling water when canning. This is much easier than trying to use tongs.
Right before you start canning, run all jars, lids and rims through a dishwasher with the dry cycle on. Your dishwasher doubles as an excellent jar sterilizer and you’ll be equipped with a full supply of sterilized, hot jars.
If planning to do some canning, ask for “seconds” at your local farmer’s market. These are fruits and vegetables that are imperfect and often sold at a good discount. Simply remove any bad spots and proceed with canning.
Host a canning party. Invite a few friends to bring a food of their choice and share in the preparation and processing. Split up the fruits of your labor so everyone enjoys a variety of items.
Very often, honey can be substituted for sugar in canned jams and jellies for a more natural product.
Think beyond traditional canning recipes, which are typically for preserving single fruits or vegetables. Excellent recipes exist online and elsewhere for condiments, soups, charcuterie accompaniments and cocktail accoutrements for canning.
When canning, read every single direction for your pressure canner. Proper use is key to avoiding food disasters and personal injury.
Use your canning skills to make unique gifts. One great example is to put together a bloody mary kit including preserved pickles, canned bloody mary mix and infused vodka.
Write the date of your canning on each and every canned food label. You may think you’ll never forget when you made it, but it will likely come in handy.
“Pick your own” farms are perfect for pre-canning expeditions. Your family can pick as much as they want, and you will have a plan for using all of the produce you bring home.
If you are considering selling or donating goods you have canned yourself, first check with your local health department. Many areas require that the food is prepared in a properly licensed commercial kitchen.
Canning is not just for the fall “harvest” time. Canning throughout the summer and fall means you’ll have a full pantry of food from every “peak season,” from asparagus to pumpkin.
Arrange your canned goods in your pantry in rainbow order. Your designer friends will thank you.
Keep a “first in first out” philosophy in mind in your pantry. Place newly canned (or purchased) items toward the back, so that you use the oldest canned goods first.
If you want to learn to can and preserve, check with your local “extension” or “farm extension” office. Most offer excellent resources and classes for those new to canning.
Always store your canning pots and racks where they can dry completely. Any rust can cause leaks, spills and deterioration.
Before you start canning, clean your kitchen and disinfect every counter top and surface. You'll feel much better about the quality of your canned goods if you know they were prepared in a very clean kitchen.
Before you start canning, have a stack of freshly cleaned dish towels at the ready. They will come in handy at many points in the process.
When canning, settle the contents and reduce air bubbles in the jars by gently thumping them on the countertop after filling. This also often creates a bit more room for filling.
