How to Preserve Food by Canning

Before the invention of tin cans and food processing or vacuum packers and freezers, most homemakers preserved food by canning. Canned food requires no special storage temperatures other than cool, and the final products look best when kept in the dark. These simple requirements make the art of canning a good way to preserve food for long-term storage.

Things You'll Need

• Good canning jars
• New canning lids
• Good condition jar bands
• Dish detergent
• Oven
• Hot water
• Good quality fruits, vegetables or meats
• Water bath or pressure canner
• Salt

Instructions

1. Buy canning materials at any of the large retail discount stores or at a small local hardware store. Buy canning jars by the case with lids and bands in pint and quart sizes, regular mouth or large mouth.

2. Follow canning instructions carefully for the specific types of produce. Common products to can are jams and jellies, pickles, fruit in sugar syrups, vegetables and tomato sauces.

3. Clean jars thoroughly with soap and water or run through a hot dishwasher cycle. Sterilize by placing in a hot oven for 30 minutes at more than 250 degrees.

4. Wash the lids also and put in a pan of hot water simmering low on the stove. Do not boil the lids. Remain as hot as possible for at least 20 minutes. Wash the bands and keep nearby.

5. Make jam or jelly by following the instructions in the pectin box. When ready to process, spoon the hot sweet liquid into hot jars from the oven. Wipe the mouth of the jar with a clean cloth and use a fork to place the lid on the jar without touching and screw the band on tight. Process the jars using the boiling water bath method.

6. Hot pack wide mouth jars with good quality peeled fruit like pears or peaches and add heavy syrup to a half inch below the rim of the jar for headspace. Cover the jars and process in a boiling water bath.

7. Process fresh green beans from the garden using a hot or a raw pack canning process. Perform a hot water blanch of the beans for 5 minutes prior to packing in jars, regardless of the packing method. Fill the jars with salted boiling liquid and process in a pressure canner at 10 lbs. for 20 minutes in pint jars.

8. Can game meat or large meat cuts using a precooked hot pack method. Cut meat into stew size pieces and cook in the oven until medium done. Pack the hot meat into straight-sided jars; add salt and boiling meat juices. Pressure can at 10 lbs. for 90 minutes in quarts and 75 minutes in pints.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose the right size of lids. Canning jar lids come in regular size and wide mouth size.

• Use impeccably clean utensils and canning jars. Inspect the jars for cracks or unsmooth edges and discard; do not consider using.

• Buy new canning lids every season for assurance that the rubber seals around the lids are intact and will not cause spoilage concerns.

• Let the pressure canner cool sufficiently before opening to avoid the hot liquid blowing up and burning someone.

• Consult the canner instructions, canning cookbooks or the local agricultural extension office for exact ingredient amounts and processing instructions to follow.

Resources

• Buy canning materials at homecanning..
• Find out more from the Cornell Cooperative Extension.