How to Can Fruits and Vegetables
Having your own garden means having the pleasure of harvesting your own fruits and vegetables. Why not make the fruits of your labors last a little longer by canning them? Learn how to can your own fruits and vegetables here.
Tools
Boiling water canner. Basically a pot big enough to cover canning jars with water. Typically used to canning fruits, which are highly acidic.
Pressure canner. This comes with a lid that can be locked to encourage very high temperatures. Typically used to canning vegetables, which have a low acidic level and require a high temperature to kill bacteria.
Lids and bands
Glass canning jars. Make sure that you use real canning jars, and not manufactured or recycled jars, to make sure that they are up to the canning process.
Canning salt. Do not use table salt, do not use any substitutes.
Rubber spatula
Timer
Jar lifter
Home-canning reference such as the Ball Blue Book of Preserving
Hot soapy water
Procedure
Use hot soapy water to thoroughly clean the jars, lids and bands. Rinse well and dry thoroughly using a clean kitchen towel.
Put the jars in a deep pot, big enough to cover the whole length of the jars. Keep the jars hot by putting the heat on simmer (not boiling) to prevent them from breaking when the hot food is finally added later. Keep them hot until you need to use them.
Use a saucepan and near-fill it with water as well. Put the lids in and make sure they are fully submerged in the water. Like the jars, put the saucepan on very low, simmering heat. The bands should be kept at room temperature only. Keep them hot until you need to use them.
Prepare your produce by peeling, removing the pit or seeds. Some fruits also require to be pre-treated with a mixture of lemon juice and water to prevent darkening. Peaches and plums must be dipped very quickly in boiling water to help loosen the skin.
For vegetables, wash the produce, remove skin and seeds and cut up. Give the vegetables another rinse and was, boil briefly anywhere within one to five minutes and then add hot boiling water and half a teaspoon of canning salt. Make sure the headspace is correct.
Canned fruits typically require sugar, depending on what your recipe dictates. Syrup can be light or heavy. To prepare syrup, combine sugar and water and boil over medium heat, stirring all the while. Let it boil for ten minutes and keep the syrup until it is ready for use.
Remove the jars from the pot using a jar lifter, emptying the hot water as you do so. You can use a cold-pack or hot-pack method from this point on. To do the cold-pack method, put the fruit in the hot jars, add in the syrup with the right amount of headspace. For the hot-pack method, heat the fruit in the syrup first according to the recipe and then spoon into the jars, ladling more syrup in as before and leaving the right amount of headspace. You can also use a jar funnel to ladle in the fruit and syrup.
The amount of headspace left for most fruits and soft spreads should be 1/4 of the jar. Sauces, salsas and the like should be 1/2. Headspace allows for the food to expand.
Use the rubber spatula to slide around the inside of the jar to release trapped air. Wipe the top of the jar with paper towels. Put on the top, screw in the band to the poing of resistance. Do not over-tighten the jar.
Put the full jars in the canner using a rack, and make sure that the water in the canner comes up to the jars by one or two inches.
Put the lid on the canner and process as indicated for the time in the recipe, to make sure that all bacteria and molds are diminished. Once done, let the canner cool slightly, remove the jars and put on a kitchen towel. Leave the jars as they are for a whole 24 hours. Afterwards, check if the seal has been successful and if not, re-process or refrigerate and use within two days.