Everyone who knows me, knows my husband plants veggies for me every year. This is important to me because he is not a veggie lover! We grow far more than we (I) can eat, so we share out most of it. What I keep at home is either frozen for storage or *gasp!* canned and put in my pantry. Canning food at home is not really difficult, and I offer every season to have friends and family come over to learn about it. I wish I had let my mother teach more than I did, but I have her equipment and her books, so I've been learning just the same. I think she and my dad would both be proud of me. In the next few blogs, I'm going to share what I 've learned so you can learn, too.
In this blog, I'm going to cover equipment and supplies. If you don't have what you need in the beginning, you can't go far.
Canning jars - These come in a variety of sizes. The size you need is determined by the size of your family, what you're putting up, and fast you'll go through each jar. The brand is unimportant. I have found that it doesn't matter if you choose Kerr, Ball, Mason, Anchor Hocking, or Walmart's jars, they all work the same. The only thing I don't recommend is using mayo jars or the like. Those are not made for repeated use and heating, and you could find yourself with cracked or shattered glass during processing.
If you buy new, a case will have 12 jars with the rings and flat seals. If you buy used, check the rims of each jar to be sure there is no chip or crack. Also be prepared to pay more per jar because you will need new rims and seals. Rings can be reused, but the flat seals are single use and need to be replaced after the jar's contents have been eaten.
I have 4 ounce jars that I use for individual veggie servings. Since my hubby doesn't eat green bean, black eyed peas, or other such goodies, there's no need to put up a larger amount for just me.
I have 8 ounce (half pint) jars that I use primarily for jelly and jam. These are also great for relish, which we don't use a lot of, individual servings of soups, salsa for snacks (so you don't have to keep a large jar in the fridge for weeks), etc.
Then we go to 16 ounce (pint) jars, which are used for practically everything. If you go through jams and jellies quickly, or have a larger family, this is probably where you would want to start. Pickle slices, salsa for more than 1, veggies for 2, etc., is what I use them for.
How about tall stuff like asparagus? There's a 24 ounce tall jar for that!!
Bigger family? 32 ounce (quart) is the next size up. Pickle spears fit nicely in these. So do new potatoes, mixed veggies, diced fruits, or whatever you like.
Still not big enough? How about 1/2 gallon jars? Typically these and gallon jars don't fit in canners, so you are limited to things that can be processed in a water bath, like pickles. I don't use this size often, but it's always for whole pickles that go straight into the fridge. I don't seal those because they are just plain HEAVY when full.
There's one more thing you should know about canning jars. They come in two sizes of mouth - regular or wide. Wide mouth jars typically are more straight from bottom to top, where regular mouth jars have a reduction at the rim. Pickle spears and potatoes, as well as other larger bite items, are easier to insert and remove from wide mouth jars. The drawback is the seals can be hard to find sometimes.
Need new rings and seals? WalMart usually has these in the canning supply section, but Amazon also sells them. Just ask Google, and you will be rewarded with links to a lot of sites that sell canning supplies.
The other major equipment items you need are water bath pot with a rack in the bottom, and a pressure canner. Water bath pots are used for high acid foods like pickles, tomatoes, jelly and jams. Low acid food like green beans, peas, potatoes and corn needs higher pressure and temps to kill off potential bacteria, so a pressure canner is necessary for these. If you can't find a water bath pot, you can use a large stock pot with a towel on the bottom. This is to protect the jars from the direct heat of the stove, and help prevent breakage from vibration during processing. Pressure canners can be costly, but there's no real or safe alternative for these.
Miscellaneous items needed include spatulas, cooking spoons, ladles, canning funnel (has a wide opening on it), paper towels (I prefer the blue shop towels, myself), jar tongs, measuring cups and spoons, and a digital cooking thermometer that clips onto the cooking pot, which is essential for jelly and jam temp monitoring. And of course, work bowls. I have also found that a stick blender and juicer are very useful for preparing fruits and removing seeds from tomatoes and grapes.
One last note here - before you start any food prep, make sure your kitchen and work areas are CLEAN. Any unintended crumbs or dirt will become a contamination to your food. Sterilize jars in the dishwasher before use. I even go through the process of washing my sinks and drain plugs with hot, soapy water before I do any prep work.
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