We’re thrilled to have Marisa McClellan from Food in Jars write a guest post on the Hayneedle Blog. She is an accomplished canner and has some great insights to share with us. She will contribute with three posts over the next few weeks. We hope this helps anyone in need of canning advice… it is that time of year!
If you were lucky enough to have a parent or grandparent who canned, you probably have memories of long, hot days in the kitchen, counters groaning under the weight of canning jars and tomatoes. For those of you who didn’t grow up in a canning family, you might just have romantic visions of a farmhouse kitchen, complete with a sturdy enamel worktable centered in the space. Whatever your understanding of canning, it couldn’t probably isn’t something you’d do in your own, 21st century home.
Happily, canning is most definitely something that people are still doing and actually, it’s one of the hottest food trends around right now.
Most people think that in order to get started canning, they’ve got to invest a ton of money in specialty equipment. The good news is that as long as you have a nice, big stock pot, a small rack that can fit in the bottom of the pot, and some tongs, you’re well on your way to your first jar of homemade jam or pickles.
Things to know before you get started canning:
- First of all, set your fears aside. You won’t kill anyone with jam or pickles. They are both high-acid foods, which are perfectly safe for boiling water canning.
- Always keep a stack of kitchen towels around when taking on a canning product. They can mop up spilled water, prevent sticky drips of jam from spreading everywhere and double as hot pads in a pinch.
- Though you don’t need to buy much in the way of specialty equipment, getting yourself an inexpensive canning kits that includes a jar lifter and wide mouth funnel is a good way to make things far easier in the kitchen.
The basics of boiling water bath canning:
- Remove lids and rings from jars.
- Place the number of jars you’ll need on top of the rack in your stock pot.
- Fill pot (and jars) with water to cover and bring to a boil.
- Put your lids in a small saucepan and bring them to the barest simmer on the back of the stove.
- While the canning pot comes to a boil, prepare your product.
- When your recipe is complete, remove the jars from the canning pot (pouring the water back into the pot as you remove the jars) and lay them out on a clean towel on your counter top.
- Carefully fill your jars with your product. Depending on the recipe, you’ll need to leave between ¼ and ½ an inch of headspace (that’s the room between the surface of the product and the top of the jar).
- Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel or the edge of a kitchen towel.
- Apply lids and screw the bands on the jars to hold the lids down during processing.
- Carefully lower the filled jars into the canning pot. You may need to remove some water as you put the jars in the pot. A Pyrex measuring cup is the best tool for this job.
- Once the pot has returned to a boil, start your timer. The length of the processing time will vary from recipe to recipe.
- When your timer goes off, remove the jars from the water bath promptly. Place them back on the towel-lined countertop and let them cool.
- The jar lids should begin to “ping” into place soon after they’ve been removed from the pot. The pinging is the sound of the seals being formed and the center of the lids will become concave as the vacuum seal takes hold.
- After the jars have cooled for 24 hours, remove the bands and check the seals. You do this by grasping the jar by the edge of the lid and gently lifting it an inch or two off the countertop. The lid should hold fast.
- Once you’ve determined that your seals are good, you can store your jars in a cool, dark place (with the rings off, please) for up to a year.
Happy Canning!
Marisa McClellan
* To see an extensive list of Hayneedle’s canners go to PressureCookersandCanners.com
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