Canning Day Checklist ~ Six Ways to Plan and Prepare

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and 

I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” 

~ Abraham Lincoln

Do you love to plan? Do you love a list?  I will admit that both bring me pleasure and so I invite you to join me in our canning preparations! Here are six things you "can" do for the upcoming food preservation season to make everything go more smoothly and efficiently:

1. Make sure you have enough canning jars, rings and fresh lids for the amount of canning you hope to do this year. If in doubt on what size jars to purchase, always stick with wide mouth because they are more versatile . You can also find canning jars for pennies at yard sales and flea markets. Check your local ads for people trying to get rid of their excess. If you plan on fermenting this year, stock up on my favorite choice for the job, Fido jars.

2. It is also helpful to arrange your jars in size order and label boxes accordingly for canning day convenience. When doing so, make sure there are no nicks and/or cracks in your jars (remove these for a different purpose such as a vase, pencil caddy, etc., and discard the very damaged ones). 

3. Make sure you have all the proper canning supplies (and in good condition). I had to replace our canning rack recently because it was so rusty (don't leave your rack inside your canner and forget about it or it will rust *sigh*). Visit this post for all the basic gadgets that are helpful to have.

4. Stock up on vinegar, canning salt (I use fine sea salt) sugar (and/or honey) and pectin (if you will be jam making). The worst thing is to have all your produce ready to preserve to find out that you need to go to the grocery store! 

5. Have some recipes ready. For example, if you planted rows of beets, have some beet related recipes handy and so forth. You can record your goals in our Food Preservation Planner Printable.

6. Take inventory of what you have in your pantry from last year and try to use that up in the next few months to clear shelf space. Visit this post  for more details.

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