Before the Move to the Country

Before moving to the country, I had never done boiling water canning in my life.  Not that canning is only a country thing.  I grew up in the suburbs and my mom always canned peaches and apricots in the fall, but for some reason, I never learned how to do it.  So when my neighbor showed up with a truckload full of tomatoes from her garden for me to pick through, I knew the time had come for me to finally dust off my giant pot, wash the jars, and cut the tape on the canning tools box.  I was learning how to can!

Disclaimer:

I am by no means an expert at this.  As I just said, this was my first time even putting the pot on the stove!  But I figured with a little research, perseverance, and patience, I could figure it out.  And so I know you can to!  This article is meant to tell you what I learned, give you my tips and tricks, and encourage you if you start to feel like boiling water canning sounds too complicated!  You can do it!  

Canning Help

If you want a whole book to walk you through the boiling water canning process and help with all the nitty gritty of it, I recommend this book: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.  You can find it here.  It is excellent.  It teaches you everything in a clear, concise way and has tons of recipes!  

Why do Boiling Water Canning?

Yeasts, molds and bacterias are naturally occurring parts of all foods.  With time, they begin to deteriorate and will spoil the food unless the food is preserved in some way.  Think moldy tomato hidden in the back of your vegetable drawer in the fridge.  

A great way to control the bacteria is to expose it to heat and seal the heated food.  It kills the bacteria and the food is sealed up tight so bacteria cannot get in it again.  It can stay on your shelf for 12-18 months!  Home canning success!

But be careful, only certain foods can be canned property with the boiling water method.  It depends on the acidity of the food.  High-Acid foods are safe in the water canner,  Low-Acid foods have to be canned in a pressure canner.  Generally, fruits, jams, jellies, fruit spreads, and tomatoes are safe for the boiling water canner.  Since tomatoes are on the borderline, they require vinegar or lemon juice to be added.  For my first time, I canned salsa and the recipe used vinegar!

Vegetables, meats, stews, and soups are NOT safe to be canned in this method.  You need a pressure canner. 

Let’s Get Canning!

While boiling water canning itself is not difficult, it should be noted that it is not necessarily fast.  It takes some time to prep the ingredients, wash the jars, and heat the water.  So let’s dive right in!

• Step 1:  Clean the jars, lids and bands in hot, soapy water.  Rinse and set aside for later.  You don’t have to worry about drying them.  
  • Jars may be reused, but make sure they don’t have any nicks or cracks.  Bands (the circular ring) may also be reused.  Lids (the flat metal piece) are not reusable!  You need to have new ones for every canning event.  They have a special sealant on the underside of the rim that will not work over and over again.

• Step 2: Heat the jars.  
  • To do this, place the metal rack in the bottom of the canner. 
  • Put the empty jars (without the lids and bands) onto the rack.  Use the amount that you are expecting to use for the recipe. 
  • Add water to the pot, making sure to completely fill and cover the jars (if using the 8 ounce size; if using pint jars or bigger, only fill with water about 2/3 full). 
  • Heat water.  Boiling is not necessary.  Just keep hot until ready to use, but for at least 10 minutes.

• Step 3: Prepare the recipe.  
  • If the recipe takes longer than 30 minutes to prepare, you can prep the recipe first and then wash and heat the jars while the recipe is in its cooking stage.  I made salsa.  You can find my recipe here.

• Step 4: Fill the jars.
  • Work with only one jar at a time.  Leave the others in the hot water.  I found that this part was MESSY.  I laid down several towels on the counter to help keep the mess contained.  I also put my recipe pot close to where I was filling the jars.
  • Use tongs and remove jar from hot water, carefully turning upside down to dump out the water in the pot.  Place the jar on towel next to recipe pot (you could also put the jar on another heat safe surface like a wood cutting board or tray).
  • Use a funnel with a wide end to help direct the recipe contents safely into the jar.  They will be hot.  Be careful!
  • Fill according to recipe directions.  This will be a little different depending what you are making.  
  • Use a rubber spatula or something nonmetallic to slide down between the food and the inside of the jar two or three times.  You just want to make sure there aren’t any air bubbles because it could mess up the sealing process.  Add additional food to the jar as needed.
  • Wipe the rim and threads with a damp cloth or paper towel. You want the rims to be clean so it seals properly!
  • Place lid centered on jar and then place band on the jar and screw on until fingertip-tight.  Don’t use anything to tighten it beyond that.

• Step 5: Heat-process the filled jars.
  • After all of the jars are filled, place them back into the hot water in the canner with the tongs.  Be careful! 
  • Adjust the water level as necessary.  You want to make sure the cans are covered with at least an inch of water. 
  • Put the lid on the canner and bring the water to a full rolling boil. 
    • This took a LONG time.  I was expecting it to go much quicker, but it took at least 20-30 minutes to get to the full boil.  
    • Once the water is fully boiling, THEN start the timer for your specific recipe.  The water has to remain at the hard boil for the whole time.

• Step 6: Cool the jars
  • After the processing time, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid.  Let it stand for 5 minutes. 
  • Remove the jars, lifting them carefully out of the hot water without tilting them.  There will be a bit of water on top of the jars.  That’s okay.  Just leave it.  You don’t want to be moving the jars around because you are still waiting for them to finish sealing.  The water will evaporate while it cools.  Don’t dry the jars or the lids.  Just put them out on a towel to rest. 
  • Let them rest up disturbed for 24 HOURS.  I know that seems like a long time so make sure that you put them in a place where they aren’t going to be in the way of kids, dogs, spouse…
  • If you want, you can lightly cover the jars with a tea towel.
  • Don’t be alarmed if you hear a slight popping sound as the jars are cooling.  That’s actually a good thing!  It’s the sound of the seal popping down into place.  So you’re pretty guaranteed that it worked.  When you look at the lid, it will be pushed in slightly in the middle.

After Processing

• Step 1: Check the vacuum seal
  • *After the jars have cooled for 24 hours, you need to check the lids to make sure they have sealed.  You can do this by removing the bands and feeling for that concave curve downward.  They also won’t show any movement when pressed.  If you are still unsure if they have sealed properly, you can grab the edges of the lid and lift the jar while supporting the jar with your other hand.  A cooled, sealed jar will stay firmly attached.  If it didn’t seal properly, you might have a mess on your hands!  If that happens, that’s okay!  Put the food in your fridge and use up within the next few days or you can try the heat processing over again (to do this though, you will need to heat the food over again, clean and heat the jars and bands, get new lids, etc.)

• Step 2: Clean and store
  • If the jars sealed well, then you can wipe them off and label them for storage.  You can store them with or without the bands.  Remember, bands can be reused for the next canning recipe if desired.  But not the lids.
  • Store canned foods in a cool, dark place like a pantry or cupboard.  Arrange your cans so that you can use those that have been stored for the longest first.
  • For best taste, use within a year.  After a year, the food won’t be bad, but may not have the same quality.

Using Home-Canned Food

Food that you have processes with the boiling water method can be used just as you would any other commercial food.  However, it’s a good idea to just check the jars and make sure they haven’t cracked and that the seals are still in tact.  Never use food from a jar that has become unsealed or shows signs of spoilage.

To open the sealed lids, release the vacuum by gently lifting the edge of the lid with a can opener.  

Once the food has been opened, any leftovers must be stored in the refrigerator.

And you’re done!

Congratulations!  You’ve figured out how to can! 

See?  It’s maybe a little time consuming, but all in all, not too hard.  Just follow the steps and you’re on your way to delicious home-canned food!

If you’re interested in any of the canning supplies, this is what I used:

• Ball Book of Home Preserving
• Water canner
• Jars (with bands and lids)
• Presto Canning kit

~ Rachel