Home Canning Basics | What you need to get started

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CANNING FOOD IS A GREAT WAY TO PRESERVE IT FOR LATER USE. TODAY I AM GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU WHAT THINGS YOU WILL NEED TO GET STARTED CANNING FOOD AT HOME YOURSELF. 

 

HOME FOOD CANNERS

pressure canner/ water bath canner

So the first thing that you will definitely need in order to can food is a home canner. There are 2 major types of canners, one type is a pressure canner (on the left) and the other type is a water bath canner (on the right). They are totally different and used for different purposes.

PRESSURE CANNERS

Pressure canners are used to can low acid foods like green beans. Low acid foods need the high heat that can only be achieved with a pressure canner. To kill any harmful bacteria that could be present in the food, low acid foods need to be processed at 240 degrees. This temperature can only be reached in a pressure canner.

pressure canner

This is the pressure canner that I have been using for many years. You can find a newer version of my  pressure canner here.

I know that pressure canners are intimidating to a lot of people but they are safe to use as long as you follow the directions and use them properly.

That being said I don’t stand right next to my canner while it is under pressure and I try to keep everyone else out of the kitchen too.

WATER BATH CANNERS

Water Bath canners are just what the name says, you place your jars of food into the canner, cover them with water, then you process them in boiling water for a certain amount of time. Water bath canners can be used with foods that are have a higher acidity like lemons.

You can find the type of water bath canner that I have here.

So according to what type of food you plan to can, you may need one or both types.

JARS AND LIDS

Canning Jars, rings, lids

 

Along with a canner the jars to can your food in are equally important. You want to use jars that are specifically made for home canning. There are many brands on the market and they come in several different sizes. I use all different sizes of the jars in my home canning. The jars also come in regular or wide mouth.  I started canning years ago with regular mouth jars but I have since added some wide mouth jars in.  You also need to use the 2 piece lids and rings made specifically for canning. I talk more about canning  jars  in my video.

 

CANNING TOOLS TO MAKE THE JOB EASIER

There are some tools that make the job of canning easier, but they are not necessary like the canner, jars, and lids.

home food canning tools

 

Some of the things I use are a canning funnel, a jar lifter, (because those jars are hot) and a lid lifting magnetic wand ( because you are taking the lids out of hot water). These items are not very expensive and they do make the job of canning easier.

I found a kit that has all of these things and a few more here.

 

canners, lids, jars, for canning food

 

I have been canning since I first got married many years ago and I really can’t imagine not having our canned food to eat. It just tastes so different than anything you buy in the grocery store and it is so convenient to have on hand in the pantry.

I hope that this post and video might give you some encouragement to jump into canning yourself.  If you have other questions about getting started canning feel free to leave them in the comments.

Check back often because I will be posting all sorts of canning videos.

Some of my other canning and food preservation post you might like:

Preparing Green Beans to Can or Freeze

Pressure Canning Green Beans

How to Freeze Blueberries | Quick and Easy

Easy Homemade Venison Jerky

Thank you for joining me today.

Missy

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