Home Canning, Part 3: Step-by-Step

Finally!  Part 3 of my little home canning series.  (Part 1, Part 2)  In this installment, I'm going to talk about the real nitty gritty of canning - what you actually do in the kitchen with all those jars and pots and lids and food.

When you are planning to do some canning, make sure you use a reliable modern recipe, and don't deviate from it.  If you do, you could throw off the acidity of your end product and risk not killing off all those nasty little buggers that'll make you sick.  And why modern?  Some older recipes aren't considered safe anymore, because of new information on the acidity of tomatoes or other things we've learned since whenever that ancient recipe was written.  I have the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, which I love.  There are other books out there as well.  Despite the less-than-pleasing design of the site, PickYourOwn.org has a wealth of information on local food and canning.

OK.  So now you've got your recipe, and all the ingredients to go into it.  So what equipment do you need to get started?  As long as you have mason jars with two-piece closures and a pot big enough to cover them with at least an inch of boiling water, you can get started.  But the following tools will make your life much easier and keep you from scalding yourself or wanting to pull your hair out during the process.

From left to right:

• a wide-mouthed canning funnel makes filling jars much less tedious and messy
• a magnetic lid lifter gets the hot lids out of the simmering water, which cuts down on cursing and burnt fingers
• a wooden chopstick is what I use to slide around the inside of the jar to remove air bubbles - don't use a metal knife!
• a ruler to measure headspace
• a jar lifter - my absolute favorite canning-specific tool, also saves on burnt fingers and cursing
• a nice rubber spatula for stirring
• a large plastic spoon or ladle
• not shown - a non-reactive pot (stainless steel or enamel) for cooking up your goodies

Also nice to have is an actual canner - basically a really huge pot (really!  huge!) with a metal rack inside that allows you to raise and lower all your jars at once.  (My apologies for the blurry photo.)

Well.  Now you have your recipe, your ingredients and your equipment.  The first thing I always do is sterilize my jars.  Washing them in the dishwasher is fine.  If they get done right before I need them, and they're still hot, I just use them straight from the dishwasher, but if they're finished well in advance I'll put them in the canner with some water and heat it all up.  You want the jars to be hot when you fill them with hot food.  Even if I'm not putting the jars in, I'll fill the canner with water about 2/3 full (more or less, depending on the size of the jars I'm using that day - you want them to be covered by at least an inch of water when they're all in there) and turn the heat on.  That much water can take a long time to get boiling!  Also, at this point I put my lids (not the screw bands, just the lids) in a small saucepan with a little water and put them on to simmer.  Don't boil them, just a nice little simmer.  And remember to use fresh lids!  They aren't reusable - once they've done their duty, toss them and get new ones.  The sealing compound forms to the shape of the jar and once it's done, it's done.

Now you're ready to actually make whatever it is you're going to preserve!  I can't tell you what to do here, that'll depend on your own tastes, what's in season, how much time and energy you have...  For these photos, I was making a pecan praline syrup, thanks to a friend's mom who gifted me with several gallons of shelled pecans!  (If you need a recipe, any recipe just to get started, I've got a salsa recipe here from the Ball book. Jams are particularly good and easy to start with.)  Follow your recipe carefully.  Have everything handy and measured out ahead of time if you can - it really helps and you sometimes need to pour in, say, 7 cups of sugar all at once.

Now you've got hot, sterile jars, simmering lids, all your equipment laid out waiting for you and something yummy bubbling on the stove waiting to be ladled into jars.  Phew!  Now is where organizational skills and time management come in really handy.  You need to work fairly quickly, but also carefully.  I have a designated counter area where I have a dish towel laid out to protect the jars from any sudden impact with the counter.  Around it I place all my utensils that I'm going to need, plus a damp cloth or paper towel.  Take the simmering whatever-it-is off the stove and put it there too.  (Unless you're lucky enough to have swaths of counter space right next to your stove, then just leave it there, but turn off the heat.  I'm not that lucky.)  Now grab a hot jar, place it on the towel, put the wide-mouthed funnel in it and ladle in your hot food.  (For pickles, you'll put the vegetables in the jar first and ladle in the hot canning liquid.  Same idea.)  You want to leave the proper amount of headspace in your jar, which is what the ruler is for!  It needs to have the right amount air above the food or it may not seal correctly.  The measurement is different depending on what you're canning, but your recipe will tell you.  It's usually 1/4 - 1/2 inch or so.

Once you have the right amount of food in there, poke that chopstick (or whatever you have) in the jar and run it along the sides, releasing any air bubbles that might have formed.  (Don't use metal knives as they may react with your food - I believe it can cause unpleasant tastes or colors, but I could be wrong about that.) If needed, add more hot food to make sure the headspace is correct.  Wipe the rim with that handy damp cloth you've got sitting there, poke the magnetic lid lifter into the saucepan of lids, pull one out and center it on your jar.  Then screw on the screw band, making sure that it's secure but not too tight.  "Fingertip tight" is what they call it.

Now is when it's handy to have an actual canner with a rack.  At this point I start putting the jars on the rack as it is propped up on the rim of the pot.  Repeat the filling process for all the jars, putting each one on the canner rack as it is done.  When all the jars are filled, or the canner rack is full, gently lower it into the boiling water and make sure the jars are covered by at least an inch of water.  It may stop boiling at this point, so wait until it starts again before starting your timer.  Put the lid on the pot, and process for however long your recipe indicates.  (Usually 10-30 minutes for the things I've done so far.)

Now is when I usually look around the kitchen and sigh about what a mess I've made, especially if I was making something sticky and colorful like jam.  (But so yummy!)  I generally clean up while the jars are processing, because you'll need some clean counter space to put your happy little hot jars when they come out of the canner.

When they've finished processing, your recipe will usually say to remove the lid of the canner, turn off the heat and let them sit for a few minutes.  Then, use that jar lifter (love!) to take them out of the pot, keeping them upright the whole time.  Resist the urge to tilt them this way and that to shake the water off the tops!  Don't worry about it!  You don't want to do anything right now to disrupt their sealing.  Put them on a dish towel to protect them from bumping the counter and don't knock them into each other either.  Make sure it's a draft free place and let them hang out there for about a day.  Usually very shortly after you take them out, you'll hear that telltale *pop* of the lid that means they've sealed.  But let them sit and cool off and don't fiddle with the screw bands.

The next day, you can unscrew the bands, wipe any water or food residue off the jar and lid and make sure that they've completely sealed.  The lids should be concave and you shouldn't be able to remove them if you try just a little.  (Obviously, don't try too hard, since they are meant to be opened after all...)  I generally replace the screw bands after this, though some people don't. If you find that some of them haven't sealed, refrigerate them immediately and use them first.  And, as always, if any of the food seems...wrong...don't eat it!  As the old saying goes - when in doubt, throw it out!

I've never had anything not seal properly and never had food go bad in my home-canned jars.  I've made pickles, pickled peppers, pickled garlic, jams, fruit butter, applesauce, salsa and more.  I can't stress enough the importance of following your recipe to the letter.  Get a good canning book - they're so worth it!  Good luck and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! 

Comments

[Sandra Singh]

Wow! You knit, you can, you garden, you bake, what don't you do?! I wish you were my neighbor I'd love to stop by and watch this whole process!

[Laura]

Haha, well, I try! :)

[Butch]

Hey. Just posted some fried green tomatoes stuff on flickr and was wondering around seeing who besides me like em and found your blog. You are a cook! LOL
Cool blog. You can see me at butchpettyphotography.com if you like.
Happy trails. :)