Canning 101
Beginning
Canning
With Mary
Malone
AbleQuilter@Gmail.com
208-705-9454
Overview:
There are two types of canning;
Boiling Water Bath canning or BWB and Pressure Canning. In this beginning class
we will be covering the first and most basic type of canning: Boiling Water
Bath canning.
Acidic foods such as fruits or
pickles can be safely processed in boiling water. Low
acid foods have a pH value higher than 4.6, they must be processed with a pressure canner unless you are
adding lemon juice or citric acid to increase the acidity level. Low acid foods
include red meats, seafood, chicken, and all fresh vegetables except for most
tomatoes. These foods MUST be processed in a pressure canner under the
correct pressure and timing.
High acid foods have a pH of 4.6 or lower. They
include fruits, pickles, jams, marmalades and fruit butters. They can be
processed in a hot water bath canner.
Here's a
brief list to give you an idea of what's appropriate for either method:
Hot Water Bath Canning
Hot Water Bath Canning
Lemon
Apple
Apricot
Orange
Strawberry
Apple
Apricot
Orange
Strawberry
Berries, black, raspberries, blue, etc.
Cherry
Pear
Plum
Peach
Tomato
Cherry
Pear
Plum
Peach
Tomato
Pickles
Pressure Canning
Okra
Pumpkin-diced, not pureed
Carrot
Asparagus
Beans
Onion
Corn
Peas
Green Beans
Mushrooms
Olives
Meat-not bacon or sausage, too high of fat content.
Okra
Pumpkin-diced, not pureed
Carrot
Asparagus
Beans
Onion
Corn
Peas
Green Beans
Mushrooms
Olives
Meat-not bacon or sausage, too high of fat content.
1. Low acid foods must be pressure canned.2. Acidic foods can be processed in Boiling Water Bath, (BWB)
Equipment:
1. Waterbath Canner & Rack: A stock pot or other very large pot can be used instead of a canning kettle, and rolls of tin foil can stand in for the canning rack. But if you think you'll process more than 1 batch of jam or preserves or pickles a year, having a waterbath canner and fitted rack makes life infinitely easier.2. Jar Lifter: A jar lifter helps move hot jars around smoothly and easily. Regular kitchen tongs are an inadequate and dangerous substitute.3. Canning Funnel: This keeps as much of your jams or pickles in the jar, not on the counter.4. Lid Wand: I have used tongs for this in the past, but you want to keep the rubber ring intact so you will get a good seal, a magnetic wand makes this an easy task.5. Jars: Canning jars come in two opening sizes, regular and wide mouth. The contents sizes range from 4 oz to half gallon with many shapes and sizes in between. My favorites for gift-giving are half-pint quilted crystal jars. They can be found at hardware stores (really), Wal-Mart, Target, grocery stores and even yard sales and estate sales. If you are getting them used, second hand, make sure that the jars are free of cracks, and nicks, especially the top sealing edge. I’m using jars from 1915 for some of my food storage. These are just for me; I don’t give these away.6. Extra Lids and rings: Jars are endlessly reusable (well, until they break!). Rings can be reused until they become dented or rusty, whereas lids need to be replaced after each use. Having extras around and ready to go is handy. I consider them part of my food storage, but only buy what you will use in a year or so, the rubber seals get old after several years.7. Basic kitchen tools: You will also need some sharp knives, bowls, cutting boards, rubber spatulas, towels, clean wash cloths, etc.
Basic Method: Every recipe is different, but for the most part this will be
the method.
1. Prepare your jars, count out more than the recipe calls for so that you will have enough.
Sterilize your jars by either placing them in your dishwasher on a heated dry
cycle or place them in your canning kettle and boil them for 10 minutes. You
can also put them on a cookie sheet in your oven set at 220 degrees for 20
minutes. Items that are to be processed longer than 10 minutes in the boiling
water bath need not be sterilized, just washed clean and rinsed.
2. Prepare your lids and rings, place the number of rings and lids you will need in a small
saucepan and cover with water. I bring
them just to a boil and then shut them off. Keep them handy near where you will
be filling the jars.
3. Prepare your produce, using whatever method your recipe calls for, peel, slice or cut the food
to fit in the jars and fill. I think about how I want to use the item once it
is opened and prepare the food in that way.
4. Fill the jars with liquid using either brine, syrup or boiling water. Fill the jars to
the proper headspace and using a long chopstick, wooden skewer or a “bubbler”
tool. Stick it down the inside edge of the jar to release the bubbles, and then
wipe the rims with a clean cloth or a damp paper towel.
5. Carefully place the lid on the jar, centering the sealing compound carefully on top. Screw the ring on just fingertip tight; screwing
it down too tight can cause the seal to fail.
6. Place the hot jars into the hot liquid and bring the canner water up to a boil. Don’t set your timer for the processing until
the water begins to boil.
7. Turn off the burner once the timing is finished and let the jars sit in the canner to
cool for 5-10 minutes. Using the jar lifter tongs remove the jars to a
draft-free, towel-covered countertop to cool. Lift them straight up and out of
the canner! Do not tip them, or wipe off the liquid on top, it will evaporate.
Let them sit undisturbed for 24
hours for the seal to cure. Do not touch the seal, or retighten or
remove the rings during this time. You
should hear the “ping” as each jar cools. (You may not hear it, so check the
seal after 24 hours, the lid should be concave, pulled down. It should make a
nice plink sound when tapped with a spoon, not a thud.)
8. Once they are completely cool, remove the rings, wash the jars, label,
and store.
Removing the rings is an
important step because of these things:
1.
It
keeps the ring from rusting with moisture underneath.
2.
You
can easily see if the lid has sealed.
3.
With
the ring on, you have a false sense of security in the seal. If the seal is
bad, the ring will keep it the lid on the jar causing you to think that the
seal is good when it’s not.
4.
It
also allows you to use your rings on your next canning project.
Troubleshooting:
1.
Sometimes
the liquid will boil out of the jars too much and you have low-level
product. I test the seal, and mark that
jar to use first. Most of the time it is
just fine, it just may not last as long as the others. This happens for several
reasons;
a.
You
may have removed the jars too soon after the processing time has finished. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes. Don’t tip the jars as you remove
them—straight up and out.
b.
Your
headspace may not have been sufficient for the recipe, check your headspace
carefully.
c.
Your
product may not have been cooked fully, apples really swell when they are
cooked, I once blew a lid completely off inside the canner.
2.
When
you open your newly canned foods, you should hear a sharp sucking sound when it
is opened. Take note when you hear that,
it means your food was sealed properly.
3.
A
bulging can or lid, or a broken seal means spoiled food, throw it out. (Home
canned or commercially canned.)
4.
A
can or lid that shows signs of corrosion—the jar wasn’t stored properly, too
hot or moist may have caused the lid to rust.
5.
Food
that has oozed or seeped under the jar’s lid, bacteria is still growing and the
food is not safe.
6.
Gassiness--indicated
by tiny bubbles moving upward in the jar (or bubbles visible when you open the
can.) Again, bacteria growth is the cause, the food is not safe to consume.
7.
Food
that looks mushy, moldy, slimy or cloudy
8.
Food
that gives off an unpleasant or disagreeable odor when you open the jar
9.
Spurting
liquid from the can or jar when you open it
Exceptions to the Bad Food Rule:
1.
Pickles
may sometimes turn mushy if you have left them sitting too long before canning,
fresh pickles, (hours from the garden) work best to maintain firm, crunchy
pickles. Trim off the blossom end when
you make pickles, it contains an enzyme that makes the pickles soft. Cooking them too long and processing them too
long can cause them to be soft. Pickles in this state are still fine to eat,
they just aren’t as crunchy.
2.
Food
that floats: when you do a raw-pack, you will sometimes get separation of food
and liquid; the food floats to the top and liquid at the bottom. This is not a
sign that the food is bad, just shake it up and recombine the foods.
3.
Jams
and jellies that do not set up: Sometimes the natural pectin level in the
fruits may cause the jelly to be in a syrup state for up to 2 weeks. Keep an eye on them, if they don’t set up,
call them syrup and use it on pancakes. You may open and reprocess using the
directions on the package of pectin.
4.
When
pressure canning meats, (advanced technique) be very sure the fats or
oils are not present on the lid. It will cause the seal to fail. You can reheat
and reprocess or just put that jar in the fridge to eat within a week or so.
5.
Pressure
canned vegetables will be much softer than fresh or frozen, this is
normal. Corn, when pressure canned will
be darker, almost caramelized looking, this is normal. Corn takes a very long time to pressure can.
If you have room in the freezer, frozen corn is much better.
Table of Resources:
http://www.foodinjars.com/ She also has several YouTube videos,
just put her name in the search box.
Book Resources:
BH& G “Can It!” ISBN 978-1-118-21718-4 Amazon.com
list price $10.18
“Food In Jars” by Marisa McClellan ISBN
978-0-7624-4143-3 Amazon.com list price $13.64
“Tart & Sweet” by Kelly Geary & Jessie Knadler
ISBN 978-1-60529-382-0 Amazon.com list price $15.61
“Well Preserved” by Mary Anne Dragon ISBN 1-55285-988-6
Amazon.com list price $16.44
“Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry” by Liana Krissoff ISBN 978-1584798644 Amazon list price $15.02
“Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving” By Judy Kingry ISBN 978-0778801313 Amazon list price $12.47
“The Complete Book of Small-Batch
Preserving” by Ellie
Topp & Margaret Howard ISBN 978-1-55407-256-9 Amazon.com list price $7.98
“The Ball Blue Book” Altrista Consumr Products ISBN 978-0972753708 Amazon.com list price $8.94
YouTube videos I like:
The Prepper’s Wife (She processes milk
products, but she seems to be very careful and her thought processes are
thorough. I’m not advocating processing milk or butter, but her other videos
are good.)
Katskradul She is a long time prepper
and home canner. Some of her videos
aren’t good quality, but her methods are good.
Jamesryanphoto
video series, “Shut Up, I’m Gonna Teach You Something!”-This guy is just funny.
The info here you can probably find somewhere else, but he reminds me of my
brothers and I like him.
Noreen’s Kitchen- I love her recipes for yogurt, making your own vanilla extract, she
does great soups and stock recipes.
Canning USA.com-David
Blackburn and Andrea Van Wallenburg. These guys are stiff on the camera, kind
of cheesy to watch, but the info is good.
It’s one of the first canning videos I watched. I think they are in Europe despite the
Canning USA name, they use European jars and equipment.
Things that CANNOT be
canned, no matter what other people tell you:
Pasta, rice, flour products; stews
thickened with flour; creamed soups using milk products, butter, cheese, bacon.
If you are canning a pie filling that
calls for thickener, you must use a product called Clear Jel, available
on-line. OR you can can the fruit and juice only and thicken it before putting
it into the pie. I have used corn starch but it has a tendency to break down
and become runny during the canning process, use at your own risk. It isn’t
unsafe, just not pretty.
Unsafe Canning Methods: Sealing jars in the oven, dishwasher or in a steam canner are no longer acceptable practices. They are unsafe because you cannot regulate
the temperature of the food inside the jars as you can in a BWB or a pressure
canner. Also, the practice of filling
jars with hot jam, jellies or syrup and flipping the jar over on its top is unsafe. Jams and jellies are quick, (5-10 minutes)
just take the time to do it right. Sealing jellies with wax
is no longer considered safe.
Beware of “Outlaw canners,” those who say things like, “This is the way my grandmother
did it, and she lived to be 90 years old.” Or “Fifty to sixty years ago people
didn’t use a pressure canner, why do I need to do it that way?” Well, we don’t
use leeches and bloodletting anymore, so maybe times and techniques have
changed.
I hope you have enjoyed our canning
session, if you have any questions feel free to give me a call or drop me an
email or a text. I’d be happy to walk
you through your first project.
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