Hello and happy Monday (or happy whatever day it is you happen to be reading this)!
I probably should have started with this blog before the others, but better late than never, right?
Today we’re going to explore some canning basics – including different canning methods, jar sizes and their uses, tools you’ll need to get started canning, and more.
Check out the video I made on canning basics
We’ll start with some common tools you’ll need.
- A pressure canner or large pot – to actually process the jars to create the vacuum seal.
- A jar lifter – for putting jars into and taking them from hot water.
- A jar wrench – for tightening the rim on your jars when needed.
- Canning funnel – this is a funnel specifically designed with a wider mouth for pouring food into canning jars.
- A sieve or cheesecloth – for straining food.
- And lots of jars
Other tools you might need are:
- A lid lifter – this is a magnet on the end of a long plastic handle to aid in taking your lids out of the boiling water used to sterilize them.
- A thin plastic spatula or non-metal chopstick – for helping to remove bubbles from your filled jars.
- A mill – this is a tool used for processing your food into a smooth consistency.
I suggest having both a pressure canner and a large pot, since pressure canners are multi-functional and can be used for both pressure canning and processing your food in a water bath. By having both a pressure canner and regular pot, you can have several batches of canning processing at once.
The purpose of canning
Canning is a method of food preservation by sealing food in a glass jar with a vacuum seal.
This can be achieved two ways; by pressure canning the jars, or by processing the jars in a water bath.
A water bath creates the vacuum seal by forcing the food in the jar to expand while the water is boiling, and the seal is completed while the jars are cooling.
Pressure canning works very similarly, by forcing the food to expand while the water is boiling and completing the seal while the jars are cooling, but also uses the additional pressure created by trapping steam inside the pot to create the strong vacuum seal that will protect the food from bacteria.
You can use the pressure canning method for just about any canning recipe you want, just be sure to follow the instructions closely. There are a few things that require pressure canning processing vs processing in a water bath. Anything that has a low acidity level will need to be pressure canned to ensure that they are properly sealed and safe to store in a pantry. This includes many vegetables (unless they are pickled), and any recipes with meats, poultry, or fish in them.
Water bath processing is a perfectly safe method of canning:
- Most tomatoes
- Pickled vegetables
- Jams and jellies
- Most fruits and fruit juices
- Salsas
- As well as a few more things
Whatever recipe you are using should indicate which processing method you will need to safely be able to store your canned food.
The parts of the jar and their purpose
Firstly, is the jar itself. This will hold the food you plan to can. You’ll want to inspect your jars for any cracks, internally or externally, and nicks in the rim before use. Cracks are weak points that will be put under stress in the heating and cooling process and will be the first parts to fail and break, making the food unusable.
Nicks in the rims of the jar will not allow a proper vacuum seal and could cause your food to spoil or bacteria to get into the jar and cause illness.
There are two mouth types available for jars; wide mouth and regular mouth.
Wide mouth jars are great if you want to store your canned food in the freezer, as they are made with thicker glass, and have a straight neck.
Regular mouth jars should not be used for storing food in the freezer, as there will be additional pressure on the neck (the narrower bit at the top of the jar) as the food inside freezes. This pressure can put stress on the jar and cause it to crack and break, making it unsafe to consume the food stored inside.
Both wide mouth and regular mouth jars can be used to canning food to store in the pantry, whichever you use is up to your personal preference.
Jars also come in a variety of sizes, with some of the most easily found being 4 ounce jars, 8 ounce jars, 12 ounce jars, pint sized, and quart sized. You can also purchase jars in half gallons and full gallons.
Next is the lid. This seals the food inside the jar and protects it from bacteria. Most jars you purchase at the store will come with lids and rims on them already. Lids and rims can also be purchased separately. Generally, these lids will be single-use only. This means that after you have used them to can once, they are no longer safe to use to can something else in the future and should be discarded.
There are multi-use lids that you can purchase, one brand that I have found is Tattler. According to the link, they’re dishwasher safe, and can be used indefinitely in both canning methods.
The final piece of the jar is the rim. The rim’s only purpose is to hold the lid in place while the jar is processing in the pot. Once the seal is complete, the rim can be removed and used on another jar. Unlike the lids, your rims are usable forever, unless they are damaged.
Testing your seal is safe
The whole point of canning is to preserve your food to store and eat at a later date, so you want to make sure the vacuum seals on your jars are good and your jars can be stored in the pantry or cupboard.
After you pull your jars out of either the water bath or the pressure canner, you should hear a ‘pop’ sound as they are cooling. This is a sure sign that the seal is good. But for the times you can’t verify that there was a pop, there are a couple other options to check the seal.
If the seal is good, when you press gently in the middle of the lid with a finger, there should be no movement or flex in the lid. If the lid pops up and down in the middle, the seal is bad.
You can also test the seal by lifting the jar by the lid. If it doesn’t move, then the seal is good.
So, what do you do if the jar didn’t seal?
You don’t want to try processing the jar again. Like I mentioned earlier, most lids are single use only, so if they didn’t seal the first time around, it isn’t safe to try to can with that lid again.
A couple options you have to preserve that food is to move it to another container and store it in the freezer, or to store the food in the original jar in the fridge and use the contents as soon as possible.
That’s a good place to start for canning, please let me know if you like this post.
I hope you all have a freaking awesome rest of your week, until next time!
-Alyx
