Canning Tips

Last week I canned peaches and pears. And of course, forgot to take pictures. The picture above was from 2008 when I canned 4 boxes of pears...and I was 8 months pregnant. What can I say? I love to can!

Since this month's 3-month supply is FRUIT, I decided to post some canning tips.

First of all...SAVE YOUR JARS. For the first few years I canned, I had to buy jars. Now, I just reuse jars and so canning only costs me the price of the fruit and new LIDS.



That brings us to the next tip. You CANNOT reuse the lids when canning. There is a rubber ring on each lid that helps to seal the bottle. You can reuse RINGS and JARS but not lids.

There are 4 different things you can can with.

1. Water bath canner
2. Steam canner
3 Pressure canner
4. Vacuum sealer

CLICK HERE to read what each canner does.

This is my take on them.

Water canners take a lot of water and a long time to get up to temperature. I'm a klutz so I would scald myself, I'm sure. But, it's an easy way to can fruits.

Steam canning is my favorite. With a steam canner you only need a few cups of water, although you do have streams of steam to worry about for about 30 minutes. (That's why I can after my kids are asleep.)

Pressure canning is a little more complicated, but not impossible. You HAVE to use a pressure canning when canning potatoes, meats, and other low acid foods to prevent botulism. (I canned some pears with a pressure canner last year and it makes them too soft.)

Vacuuming canning is something I have only a little experience with. Last year a friend and I canned some dried fruits and veggies using a FoodSaver with a special attachment for jars. This is a great way to split up a large can of dried fruit or portion out a large bag of dried beans.

We could talk about canning all day, but if you get a good book on canning or find a good website (my favorite is PaulNoll.com) and follow the instructions, you'll be fine.

My last tip is this: Go with the flow. Sometimes things don't go as you expect. Here's a photo of me in Sept. 2008 (largely pregnant) lifting the top of a cracked jar from my steam canner. I had a jar crack on me this year too. Sigh.


Remember, canning can be an inexpensive way to add to your food storage and it's a great skill to have!

Canning Chicken

This is me, a few years ago with some of my canned chicken.

A few years ago my friend and I decided to can chicken when there was an awesome sale on frozen chicken. We got some instructions from her mom and spent the next several days thawing chicken and then canning.

It can be a long process, but it is wonderful to be able to grab a jar of cooked chicken to quickly add to almost any meal.

I wanted to can some myself this month so I could take some good pictures, but that's not happening, but I found a website that has great instructions: How to Start Canning Chicken on CanningBasics.com.

You have to have a pressure cooker to can meat. I bought one a few years ago for about $80. It isn't a small purchase so you need to know you are going to use it. If you're not ready for that you may want to ask around and try to borrow one from a friend or relative.

You also need a pressure cooker when canning potatoes, green beans, and other low acid vegetables which require higher temperatures in order to kill bacterias such as botulism.

For more information on canning meats, click HERE.