Everything I know about water-bath canning, I will teach you!
Water-bath canning is a great way to preserve fruits and veggies, making jams, jellies, and more!
Canning is one of many ways to preserve foods from your garden, the farmers market or even the grocery store (especially if there is a great sale)! Imagine having a delicious summer peach jam that you canned up, or even some sweet or salty home-made pickles, in the middle of the winter! I'm going to try my best to explain all that I have learned about water-bath canning. Please bear with me because I have only been canning for a little over a year, and I am still actively learning myself, so let's do this together :).
I hope by the end of this guide you will have a better understanding of how to get started and what all is needed to do the basics of canning! I am going to explain what you need to get started, what needs to be water-bath canned -vs- what needs to be pressure canned, how to properly sterilize your jars and how to create a good seal for long term storage.
What needs to be water-bath canned?
Water-bath canning is for produce that is HIGH in acid. Some things that are high acid include fruit, berries, pickled veggies, applesauce, pie fillings, relish, jams and jellies. (this is to name a few)
Depending on who you ask, some people will say tomatoes. However, I would rather be safe than sorry and pressure can tomatoes, UNLESS you are adding lemon or citric acid to make them more acidic. This is something I do not have much experience with, so for now I will pressure can my tomatoes unless it is a recipe that also has high acid vegetables (like making SALSA!)
DO NOT water-bath meats, poultry, seafood, chili, beans, corn, or other low-acid vegetables. Low-acid food requires pressure canning.
What supplies do I need to start?
If this is your first time doing something like this, you need to gather a few things before getting started! There are ways to cut costs and save $$ in the long run, so use your best judgement and keep in mind food-safety when making your decisions on what to purchase.
A deep pot or what I think the professionals call a boiling water canner is a large deep pot made of aluminum. I personally use a stock pot for water-bath canning, unless my pressure canner is free! Just make sure whatever "deep pot" you choose, or thrift is deep enough to cover pint jars with at least 2 inches headspace of water.
One of the most important things you need to go along with your pot is a rack for the bottom of your deep pot. Amazon has different size racks for the bottom of stockpots. The importance of a rack is to make sure to keep your jars off the bottom of the pot to keep them from cracking. If you don't have a rack that fits your pot, some people will use extra jar rims (pictured) and fill the bottom of the pot or use a dish towel in the bottom of the pot (I have never personally used a dish towel, I am afraid it will burn.)
Of course, canning jars. You can use whichever brand you prefer (do your research), but I have used Kerr, Mason, Ball, and Purr. You can find different sizes in all of those brands, I think. The sizes are four ounce, half-pints, pints, one & a half pints, quarts, these come in narrow and wide-mouth versions. When canning something, think about which size "mouth" you would prefer.
Bands - I swear, you will acquire so many bands it is ridiculous. I have run out of ways to store them, so if you get ideas let me know! Make sure they are clean, rust-free, undented and metal.
Single-use metal canning lids, I call them flats but that is just me. Also, the canning guides or whoever recommend not to use flats more than once, and most people do not. But I have and do but remember to do your own research and do what makes you comfortable. Your flats MUST be flat, clean, undented, not warped, good-as-new.
Amazon and other places that sell canning supplies will also sell a kit of things that are most commonly used, this includes;
A funnel, sort of self explanatory, keeps the food off the rims. A jar-lifter, special tongs that fit around the jar at the base of the rims to place jars in or out of the canner. De-bubbler stick that also measures 1 inch, 3/4 inch, 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch from the rim down into the jar ... also used for getting air bubbles out of the jars! Magnet used to lift flats out of hot water and keeping finger oils off the rubber seals.
Here is a picture of what I got and below that is the link for it on amazon.
A safety recommendation
- Make sure you look up your Stove weight limits and guidelines, certain glass stove tops can not hold the weight of a full pot of liquid and jars + food. A full canner can be up to 50 pounds in weight, so please make sure you do your own research and ensure you are able to can on your personal stove top. Gas or electric stovetops can be used.
Water-Bath Canning: A Step-by-Step for beginners
Now that we have all of our supplies ready, and we have checked out stove manufacture information, let's get started!!
First things first: Make sure you have all of your tools ready to go. Have all your jars, lids, and bands clean and sterilized from your dishwasher or by hand with hot and soapy water. My favorite way is to load and start my dishwasher with my jars about an hour before I start my project this way everything is HOT. sometimes when I am in a pinch I will fill my clean jars with the hottest sink water.
Make sure there are no cracks, dents, chips on the rims of your jars.
Pull hot jars out of the dishwasher or sink 3 at a time (or whatever you can work with quickly).
Heat your water-bath canning pot. Fill it halfway with water and let it simmer to just before boiling temps, keep it this way until we get all our jars in! Make sure your rack is in the bottom of your ready-to-go pot.
Fill your jars with your recipe using your funnel, be sure to leave the correct headspace amount from the top measuring with your de-bubbler, according to your recipe. While you are measuring, make sure to de-bubble!!
Wipe your rims of your jars with a clean, damp cloth. I will use white-vinegar for most recipes, sometimes I will just use a very hot wet rag.
Use your jar-lifter to place your hot jars into the hot pot, make sure your jars are not touching, if they clank against each other they could crack. Once all of your jars are in be sure to add hot water if needed so that there is 1-2 inches of water covering your jars.
Turn the heat full-blast and get it to a rolling boil. Start your timers according to your recipe and let it go!
After the timer goes off you can turn the heat off and take your jars out immediately (water-bath canning only) or let them sit for 5 - 10 minutes.
After you remove your jars, place them on a folded towel in a space they can rest for 24 hours or over-night. As the jars cool you should hear them ping, this means they are sealing! do not touch the jars for 24 hours, or over-night otherwise it could cause a false seal and that is no good!
The next day, check the jars to see if they have sealed, remove the bands and clean your jars. You can store them in a cool dark place for up to 2 years!
If your jar did not seal (it happens sometimes) you can put it in your refrigerator and eat it within the time frame of whatever you are comfortable with, usually two weeks.
If at any time you open a home-canned jar, be sure to smell it and observe the contents to make sure the food is good and you didn't have any road bumps on your way to eating your fresh canned food!!
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