Canning Thoughts

With harvest and canning season upon or soon upon us, I thought it was timely to move this post over here.  Originally posted on Simple Katie on August 12, 2006.  Be sure to check out my kitchen adventures category for other and more recent canning posts.

Norene (blog has since been deleted) commented about being intimidated by canning, the thought of botulism, etc. I’ve been thinking about replying to her comment a couple of times but instead thought I’d post some of my thoughts on canning as it’s own entry.

I admit when canning is done poorly with disregard for proven techinques, etc. it can be a very scary thing that can make people dangerously ill. Though with a few good books, the right equipment, and if at all possilbe a good teacher it’s a very rewarding method of self-sufficiency and in my case gift-giving.

I was blessed with grandmothers that canned so I’ve never been afraid of just diving in and trying it. My mother didn’t can but I was exposed enough to my grandmothers’ efforts that when I had moved into my own place as an adult, I felt canning was something I wanted and could tackle.

I’ve read many books and searched many websites on the topic of canning as well. Living in Montana, my library is chock full of home preserving books and I find that interlibrary loans get me access to even more books on this and every other topic imaginable for that matter. I recently checked out The Food Lover’s Guide to Canning: Contemporary Recipes & Techniques by Chris Rich & Lucy Clark Crawford – this is an awesome book with lots of great tips for the novice canner and great looking recipes (I’m trying the peach butter recipe later today). The Ball Blue Book is of course a resource every home canner should own and it’s cheap enough. One of my favorite canning books is Art of Preserving by Jan Berry & Rodney Weidland, but be forewarned there’s not much talk of processing times, etc. so it’s not the first book I would reccommend to a new canner but a great jumping off place for experienced canners with more exotic recipes and some awesome art photography. The Putting Food By books are awesome as well.

I think the most important thing about home canning is to process food according to the right technique (water canner or pressure canner) for the right amount of time and to make sure jars are sealed before putting them away. The next most important thing is to make sure that when you open a jar that it’s still sealed properly and to check for any obvious signs of spoilage. In the years that I’ve been canning, I’ve had jars that haven’t sealed after processing and I’ve either reprocessed or stuck them in the fridge to eat up within a few days. I’ve never had a problem with a seal breaking in storage or any other kind of spoilage.

So my words of advice are this – try it! Start with a boiling water canner (which can be just a big soup pot with a towel placed along the bottom as long as it’s deep enough to cover your jars by at least 2 inches) and do something simple like brandied fruits, or whole fruits in juice and work your way up to jams, jellies, pickles, and pressure canning if you like. You may be surprised at how rewarding it is and if you find out that you don’t like it that’s ok to, at least you tried it.