Canning 101

Canning 101

Why Can?

1)   Lost art

2)   Saves money on groceries

3)   Makes great homemade gifts

4)   Emergency back-up food (from “oops, I forgot to buy spaghetti sauce!” to grid-down)

5)   Food knowledge empowerment (I know what is in the jar because I made it)

The Science

1)   Super heating to kill bacteria, leaving preserved produce inside

2)   Vacuum concept (air pressure outside jar is different than inside, forcing lid to seal)

3)   Holds in vitamins and minerals

Terminology

Blanch- pour produce into already boiling water, then remove after short, prescribed period of time (usually 2-5min), then quickly put under cold water to halt cooking process.  Most commonly used for freezing produce.

Head Space- the measurement between the top of the produce and the top of the jar where the lid will sit

Botulism Poisoning- a serious illness contracted from improperly prepared food. In the case of canning, a jar that became unsealed and rotted the produce.

Basic Water Bath Canning

Materials Needed:

-water bath canner and it’s jar rack

-recipe

-good quality, ripe produce

-accessories needed (food processor, cutting board, knives, etc)

-glass jars (make sure there are no nicks, cracks, or chips in glass)

-appropriate lids and rings (some jars are wide-mouthed)

-canner accessories (jar funnel, magnetic wand for retrieving lids, head space ruler, etc)

1)   Read entire recipe through!

2)   Plan on a full day, esp if you have children. Involve the help of your children! They will feel so important!

3)   Sterilize jars (I use the canner itself with hot water and set the jars in upside down, but running the dishwasher without soap works great, too!)

4)   Working with a friend helps!

5)   Work in shifts (like during applesauce, be saucing the next batch while the first is in the canner)

6)   The kitchen timer is your best friend, ESP if you have children!

7)   Let canned jars sit undisturbed overnight to ensure seal

8)   Check seals the next day, and put any unsealed ones in the fridge and use within a week

Basic Pressure Canning

1)   The only item different you will need from water bath canning is a PRESSURE CANNER (not pressure COOKER)

2)   Be sure to use good-quality glass jars that have a name brand on them like Ball, Knerr, or Atlas

3)   YOU CAN DO THIS!  Don’t let the horror stories scare you.

4)   Read the entirety of your pressure canner’s instructions thoroughly.

5)   Ask an experienced friend over

6)   Try to make the actual canning part during naptime

7)   USE THE KITCHEN TIMER

8)   Do NOT leave the canner unattended while there are jars inside.  The pressure must be carefully monitored during canning.

9)   Let canned jars sit undisturbed overnight to ensure seal

10)   Check seals the next day, and put any unsealed ones in the fridge and use within a week

Oven Canning and Dehydrating

You can easily create your own dried culinary herbs and even can dry goods using this oven method!

To dehydrate basic fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil, etc):

1)   Preheat oven to 250 degrees

2)   Choose ripe, good-quality produce and cut off/discard any browning or rotting pieces. Wash.

3)   Cut or chop to desired size

4)   Spread evenly on a cookie sheet

5)   Bake in oven a few hours, or until crispy and no moisture is left (check every half hour or so)

6)   GREAT way to help heat the house in the winter, and this is also best done in the winter because of summer humidity

To oven can dry goods (pasta, flour, oatmeal, cake mix, cookie mix, hot cocoa gift jars, etc):

1)   Oven-canned dry goods can last up to 30 years!

2)   Main purpose of oven canning is to rodent-proof dry goods you don’t use often, or to increase your emergency stash.

3)   Best value for your work is to can in half-gallon glass jars

4)   Put dry goods in clean, sterilized, dry jars

5)   Screw on tightly appropriate lids and rings

6)   Place jars in a roasting pan, casserole dish, or cookie sheet for easy transport and place in oven

7)   Heat oven to 200-250 degrees

8)   Set timer to 1 hour

9)   After 1 hour’s time, bring jars out of oven and let cool on a counter or table.  Enjoy the ‘ping’ of them all sealing!  Check seals before storage.

Canning Tips

1)   THE MOST COMMON CANNING MISTAKE IS PUTTING A COLD JAR INTO HOT WATER (the jar will break, shooting produce all over your other jars in the canner and ruining the water)

2)   A splash of vinegar in the canning water will help jars come out of the canner without the white film from our softened water.

3)   When opening some canned produce to use, SMELL IT FIRST.  If you suspect anything is wrong, chuck it.

4)   Old mayonnaise lids work GREAT for storing an opened, but not finished, jar of produce

5)   Put a free classified ad in the local paper asking for canning jars or canning supplies.  Let them know you will pick up, and that will help ensure you get them for free. “Work the system” by saying you’re a young mother interested in this lost art. Works every time ;P

6)   Periodically take a peek in the OC glass recycling by Alco.  It’s amazing how many high-quality canning jars are just thrown away!  Before you take them home, check the rim to make sure there are no nicks or cracks, as that’s probably why they ended up in the recycling.

7)   Old glass mayo and applesauce containers work for water bath canning!  I reserve these lesser-quality jars for my juices.

8)   To get skin off tomatoes, peaches, and plums see definition of “blanch” above.

9)   Facebook me. Email me. Comment here. Stop over!  I am serious!  I want to help make this work for you!