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Canning season is upon us in our neck of the woods! It’s that glorious time of summer when we really start reaping the bounties from our garden. It’s also that frantic time of year where I drop all of my normal tasks in the name of preserving anything and everything I can from the garden so that these wonderful treasures can be enjoyed all winter long (not to mention saving us tons on our grocery budget!).
When you hear the term canning or “putting up” as my grandma called it, you may have fond memories, as I do, of helping a family member in the kitchen, breaking green beans until the wee hours of night…or the term may strike fear in you as to the safety of food not being processed by a “professional.” Either reaction is totally fine! Or you may fall somewhere in the middle, as most do. There certainly can be risks to home processing, but as long as you are clean, careful, and follow the canning recipe for the specific item you are working with there is no reason to fear! That being said, let’s dive into the basics!
What is water bath canning?
Water bath canning involves a process of packing hot jars with your chosen produce, sealing them loosely with lids and rings and then submerging them under at least an inch of boiling water for a predesignated time, depending upon the item. It is the most basic form of canning, in my opinion, and really the simplest. I process the majority of my canned goods this way and absolutely love the whole process, not to mention getting to enjoy the full flavor of garden tomatoes and peaches in the middle of winter (yum!).
Know Your Produce!
So in canning pH level is everything! This is essentially what determines if an item can simply be water bath processed or needs to be pressure cooker processed. This lovely illustration (courtesy of The Farmer’s Almanac) clearly depicts on an easy to read scale what acidity levels need to be at for water bath canning.
Most fruits, jams, and even some tomatoes can safely be processed using the water bath method.
What do you need?
You might be so interested in canning all of your garden goodies at this point that you are chomping at the bits to get started! Okay, I might be speaking for myself : ) So what do you need? Here’s the short list of necessary items:
- A large, deep pan (I really like the graniteware made for water bath canning like this one here, I inherited a couple and they are still going strong!)
- Canning jars, size and shape really depends on what you are putting in them. These wide mouth pint size ball jars are what I use the most of for both tomatoes and peaches.
- A funnel and jar grabber are not essential but they do make the job a lot easier. You can get them all in a handy kit here.
If you don’t want to buy everything separate this is a great package deal for someone just starting out. One more item I would suggest you pickup either from your local library or right here is the Ball Basics Blue Book of Canning. It has all of the basic recipes as well as suggested processing for common garden items along with important information regarding altitude (which can alter processing times).
That’s the basics! It really is this simple to have home grown, home canned, yummy goodness right at your fingertips! So don’t be intimidated, get out there and start canning! As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments! I’d love to hear your feedback!
