Home Canning 101: How to Can at Home

Enlarge Image Image Gallery "Saving the Seasons" offers clear instructions, step-by-step pictures, tips, charts and user-friendly recipes to help beginners and experts alike enjoy the season's bounty all year long. Photo Courtesy Herald Press

The following is an excerpt from Saving the Seasons: How to Can, Freeze, or Dry Almost Anything by Mary Clemens Meyer and Susanna Meyer (Herald Press, 2010). The excerpt is part of a chapter titled "Canning." 

Canning preserves food by sealing it airtight in glass jars. The heating process that causes the jar to seal kills bacteria, molds, and enzymes that spoil food; the airtight seal keeps them out.

Advantages: Canned foods do not need to be refrigerated. Store them on a shelf in a dark, cool place for a year or more—no energy use is required after the canning process. Canned foods are ready to use; there’s no need to thaw or cook. They make delicious, ready-made gifts.

Disadvantages: Foods lose some nutritional value because of the high temperatures used in canning. Some fruits and vegetables should not be canned because of significant changes in taste or texture. Canning food can be a long process, and a hot one on summer days!

Basics 

Plan to can when produce is in season. If you don’t have your own garden, check with local farmers about buying larger quantities of produce.

High-acid foods—such as fruits, pickles, and tomatoes—may be canned with the boiling bath water method. Low-acid foods—such as meats, poultry, and vegetables that are not pickled—must be processed by pressure canning.

Can fruits and vegetables when fully ripe but not overripe. Check them and discard pieces with unusual odors, oozing spots, or discoloration. (Small bruises or overripe spots may be cut out.)

Read the recipe and gather all supplies before beginning. Use jars specially made for canning; they have tempered glass to withstand high temperatures. Check the top rim of each jar for cracks and chips that would prevent a good seal.

Most canning jars come with two-piece lids. You can use the metal screw bands many times, until they become rusty, but each flat sealing lid should be used just once. You can buy extra boxes of flat lids or two-piece lids.

Wash food carefully and thoroughly clean utensils. Wash jars in hot, soapy water before using. The high temperatures during processing will sterilize them along with the food.

Canning at Higher Elevations