Learn How To Preserve Food: Tools, Essentials & Tips

Learning how to preserve food can feel very overwhelming at first. I promise you my friend, it is way easier than you think. But here is the secret….you actually have to try it to see! Learning the skill of food preservation is extremely important for a few reason.

1. If you are growing it, you cannot let it go to waste. Learning how to preserve it is a must.
2. It allows you to take control of your own food supply. Weird stuff is going on with the food industry whether you want to hear it or not.
3. You take ownership of your home. Most of us just grab stuff off the grocery shelves, instead let’s take ownership of the food we feed our family.

In this article we are going to go over the basics of canning. We will deep dive all the essentials, tools and provide must have tips you need to feel confident. Ready, set… let’s can some food, yo!

Table of Contents

• Basic Canning Essentials:
• Pressure Canner:
• Water Bath Canner:
• Steam Canner:
• Other Kitchen Utensils:
• Helpful Canning Tools But Not Required:
• Foods You CANNOT Can at Home
• Safety Precautions and Tips

Basic Canning Essentials:

Canning Utensils:

This group of utensils are life saving when it comes to canning. I say, you splurge and get the kit. Don’t try and skimp and not get some sort of kit because life will be so much more difficult when canning. The kit usually comes with a funnel, magnetic lid picker upper, bubble popper which also usually doubles as a headspace measurer. These utensils will be used each and every time.

Pectin

Pectin also known as heteropolysaccharide, is a starch that can be found in the walls of fruits and vegetables helping to provide them structure. When mixed with high acidic, high in sugar fruits it helps to provide a semisolid texture.

I fought buying pectin in the beginning of my canning journey. I started with jams and most recipes include pectin but I thought I can just get away without it. My personal advice… Just buy the pectin, it makes your jams cook down to the right consistency. Without it your jams and preserves will stay on the runny side, it being runny doesn’t compromise the safety, just the quality.

Store Bought Lemon Juice

 Lemon juice is another item you will need to keep on hand. Lemon juice helps to ensure the right ph balance in order to keep it safe for canning. *Important note– You CANNOT use fresh lemon juice in place of store bought. The acidity ph of fresh lemons varies greatly. When it comes to canning, you want exact and you want consistency. So, store bought is what I stand by!

Citric Acid

Citric acid does the same thing as lemon juice. Sometimes, depending on what food you are canning, lemon juice can leave a taste. Citric acid does not, so it’s canners choice. But the idea is the same when using it, it is meant to raise the acidity of the food.

Vinegar

Vinegar is used so often during canning projects. Get yourself a big bottle of it and feel good that you always have it on hand. We use vinegar for cleaning, sanitizing, hair conditioner the list literally can go on. Vinegar is used again, to increase acidity. It is typically used when canning pickles, or doing ferments. But it is also used to clean the rim of your jars before putting the metal lid on to ensure a proper seal.

Sugar

Sugar helps preserve food, that’s why you will find so much is added to jams and preserve recipes. Plus, it acts as a binder helping to semi-solidify your jams and preserves. Adding pectin can help reduce the amount of sugar added.

Salt

Get your self some REAL salt. You want to avoid salts that contain any anti caking agents. Canning salt is a great choice and it does not contain anti-caking agents or additives like iodine. These additives can compromise the quality of your foods turning the water cloudy and your food dark in color. We use Redmonds Real Salt and have never turned back!

Jars:

There are a few brands of mason jars, any will do. I have not found any one brand to be more superior than the other. The same thing with lids. You will find Ball and Kerr available. Either work perfectly fine. Try not to think too hard about it. The rings usually come with the jars and the lids. Now, you can reuse the rings but NOT the lids. Once you process a jar with a lid and it seals, that lid is now compromised once opened. You can use it to store jars in the fridge after opening but you cannot use it again in another canning session.

Labels:

It’s fun to buy pretty labels because these jars will sit in your pantry and let’s face it, pretty labels make us smile. But in reality not necessary what so ever. It’s actually kind of a waste because once you open that jar most of the time you’re done with that jar and have to wash it. Trying to peel off a pretty label is just going to piss you off in the long run. Just stick to the dissolvable kind and be done with it. Or simply write what is jarred with the date on top of the lid.

Books:

My all time favorite is the Ball: The Complete Book of Home Preserving. When it comes to canning food safely stick to any Ball book. However, the book Everything Worth Preserving by Melissa K. Norris is AMAZING! These next two books are just super fun and well let’s face it, pretty. Canning for a new generation, this book has some really fun recipes for chutney and pickled veggies. 

Jams and Preserves book is just as fun. Jams and preserves are the easiest to start with when exploring the world of canning. I recommend this book for any beginner. When it comes to jams and preserves all you need is a water bath canner. Keep it simple when you begin exploring the world of preserving food.

Pressure Canner:

Pressure canners are a must when preserving low acidic foods like vegetables, meats, and poultry. They help to preserve food by removing the air and reaches proper temperature using pure steam. It is only when proper temperature of heat, ideally 240 degrees or more, and appropriate period of time is reached that deadly microorganisms can be destroyed.

You may come across individuals that will tell you that their grandmother use to preserve meat and vegetables in her water bath canner.

But I am here to tell you that you SHOULD follow the National Center of Home Food Preservation, Ball Corporation or any University Extension Office guidelines when it comes to food preservation. If improperly preserving food, the risk of botulism is extremely high. Botulism is a neurotoxin. It is an odorless, tasteless toxin that can be deadly.

There are so many canners out there and to each their own.

I am not here to tell you I have tried them all or that one works better than the other. I’m just going to tell you about the one I have and absolutely love. I have the All American 921 pressure canner. This is a beast of a canner but well worth the investment if you are serious about preserving food and want it to last FOREVER.

Unlike most pressure canners, the All American does not use any gaskets.

I prefer this because most gaskets hold on to smells, which drives me crazy. Plus, you do not have to replace the gasket after so many uses due to cracking, saving you money in the long run.

Pressure canners typically come with a weight which, provides you with the proper PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) The amount of pounds needed to preserve depends on the altitude in which you live. Most canning recipes will provide you with the proper PSI depending on your altitude.

On the other side, you have a gauge, this tells you when the amount of pressure that is present within the canner. Anytime you use this canner you want to ensure that all pressure is released before you open it after a canning session. It also comes with two racks making it easy to stack jars on top of each other.

This canner is heavy duty, which may scare the living crap out of you when you pull it out of the box but it is so easy to use. It took me two years to even attempt to use mine. But then I did and fell in love with it. The investment in this canner is well worth every penny.

Water Bath Canner:

This one is pretty basic. You can find this water bath canner on Amazon, Walmart or Target for about $30. Sometimes the grocery store will carry it as well. It’s pretty much a big pot with a rack inside. *Important note- in all canners there must be a rack or something that lifts the jars up about a half an inch or so. Jars will break if they come in direct contact with the bottom of the pot due to the high heat.

Steam Canner:

Using a steam canner can be a great alternative if you have a small batch to can or if you are conserving water. A water bath canner requires water to be filled close to the top of the pot then heated. A steam canner uses about 2-3 inches of water and uses steam to bring the canner up to the proper temp.

Other Kitchen Utensils:

These kitchen utensils you most likely have already in your kitchen. Utensils like cutting boards, knives, large stock pots with lids, ladle, kitchen towels, measuring cups and spoons, thermometer and a strainer or colander.

Helpful Canning Tools But Not Required:

These tools are super helpful but definitely not required to get started. In the beginning it is important to just try all the things first. You may work a bit harder but you will learn what exactly it is that you need and what you can live without. For YEARS I made tomato sauce and canned it the good ol’ fashioned way by blanching, then peeling, then removing the core all by hand. And after YEARS of doing so, just last year I finally invested in a food mill. Has it saved me time…absolutely…is it needed…no.

• Food mill or sieve for making purees
• Mandolin slicer for consistent slicing
• Pickling weights for fermenting
• Cherry pitter or apple corer for specific fruits
• Food processor or blender
• Kitchen scale

Foods You CANNOT Can at Home

While almost all foods can be preserved using some sort of method, there are some foods that cannot be canned. Here is a list:

Eggs

Dairy

Pasta/Noodles

Dried beans that have not been properly soaked

Pureed/Mashed foods like mash potatoes, pumpkin puree…ect.

Anything that contains thickeners

Fats

Safety Precautions and Tips

Proper Cleaning

Wash all lids and jars with hot soapy water. It is best to keep your jars hot to avoid thermal shock. Thermal shock is when a cold jar goes into boiling hot water, the shock of the temperature change will crack your jar. You can keep your jars hot in an oven that is turned on low, leaving jars in the dishwasher after a cycle or even leaving the jars in the hot water in your water bath canner.

As long as the recipe you are following requires processing time of 10 minutes or more, you are not required to sterilize them.

Checking For Chip-Free Jars

This is your very first step to take when planning your canning session. Ensuring all jars are free from cracks and all lids are free from dents.

Understanding Altitude Adjustments

Understanding the exact altitude you live in is key to ensuring you are using the right amount of pounds per pressure to safely can your food. The following chart is based on the recommendation from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Important note- These recommendations are for pressure canning non-acidic foods.

You can also visit this link to find your altitude.

Following Tested Recipes From Reliable Sources

I cannot stress this enough, please make sure you are following tested recipes from reliable resources only. Any website out there can share their way of preserving food and that way may be the wrong way. Some ways that I can tell that they are trusted recipes is when they call out that the recipe is from the Ball Blue Book or if they refer to the National Center for Home Food Preservation. This tells me that what they are sharing with me is from a trusted source. The books mentioned above are all great resources to refer to.

Storing Canned Goods In a Cool, Dark Place

When done canning, storing your hard work and delicious food in a cool dark place is key. A working pantry is just fine but if your goal is long term storage, a cool dark place is going to prolong the shelf life of your food.

*Important note- When storing your jars, store them WITHOUT the ring. Once your jars are ready to move to storage, remove all your rings, wipe down your jars and then store them. Keeping the rings on may create a false seal.

Inspecting Jars Before Use for Signs of Spoilage

Always, always, ALWAYS use good sense when opening your jars. Smell your food before serving. Use your eyes to inspect for any mold. Sometimes jars can unseal while sitting on the shelf. I like to always ensure that the lid has a concave center and does not pop when I push on it. Then I open, I inspect and then I smell!

I hope this article has made you feel just a touch more confident starting your food preservation journey. Stay tuned for canning articles and more tips and tricks on food preservation.

Until next time…