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Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Everything You Need to Know to Start Canning


"When used wisely, home preserving bestows the joy in making something with your own hands and provides a ready supply of useful and delicious foods for pleasurable eating every season of the year. With a well-stocked pantry, you can save money, save time during meal preparation, and keep an emergency supply of shelf-stable foods."

Here is a collection of posts to get you safely started in the canning world. Begin reading the articles in order and you will be on your way to a well-stocked pantry!

Introduction to Canning:


Some Recipes to Try:

Vanilla Bean Syrup

To Further Your Adventures:


It is very satisfying to build up your pantry with a surplus of foods that you prepared yourself. You know exactly what is in everything. There are no hidden ingredients in your jars. It is economical and convenient. Alas, your bounty of garden goods is safe and sound until you need them!

25 comments:

  1. I don't have a dishwasher and it took so long to sterilize them in water, so I went looking for another way to do this. I have a post on my blog about doing it in the oven. It's SO easy and just like the dishwasher, you just leave them in the oven until you use them. I absolutely LOVE canning my garden vegetables. There is a feeling you get when you see your homegrown items on the dinner table, that you just can't get from dumping it from a store bought can.

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    1. Thank you for sharing, I will have to take a peak at your method!

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    2. Dry heat is unstable for the glass, oven is not a good idea. The jar companies all state that they should not be used in the oven. So sorry.

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  2. Dear Jes, I would like to say that canning is a lost art! And I thank you for encouraging women to learn how to do this! I have taken classes at our extension office to learn more. We need keep this post handy!
    Blessings, Miss Roxy

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    1. I learned from my mother in law 16 years ago and am thankful to her for teaching me! I am working on passing it down to my daughter right now :) BEFORE she gets married...

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  3. I love to can anything and everything! I do a lot of my canning with my sweet mom in law, Roxy. Each year we try to can something new. Last year we canned chicken and fresh green chilies. They both turned out great. It's so nice to go to the pantry and pull out a jar of cooked chicken. Of course, my favorite canning experience is making jellies. Plum is my all time favorite and we make sure to make several batches to get us through the year. Our plum trees are loaded... can't wait till fall. Question- do those printable labels actually come off the jars when you wash them? I have tried several different types from the store and they never really come off. They just leave a sticky spot that you have to keep scrubbing.

    Thanks so much for sharing. I just Love your Blog!

    Blessings,
    Amy

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    1. I learned to can from my mother-in-law and we did a lot together when I first got married too. And plum jam is delicious, we did 8 dozen jars one year from a relative's tree but I do wish I had my own. I print out our labels on paper and apply with a glue stick. They come off in 10 seconds under COLD water even! That is the way to go!!!

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  4. This is a wonderful canning post, JES. I popped over to your post on canning beets and immediately started drooling as they look so tasty. I learned to can on my own with a Ball Blue Book as we lived so far away from family at the time, but the inspiration for canning came from my mother-in-law, too. She was a canning wonder.

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    1. All the poor propaganda about mother-in-laws! Looks like they have been a blessing to many! :) Thanks for sharing magnoliasntea!

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    2. This is my year to start canning! I imagine I will come to your site often as a reference. My grandmother often canned chicken and beef-how I wish I would have taken the time to learn from her. She wasn't known for her cooking ;), but her canned meats were delicious. So many skills my former career minded self should have learned from her, quilting, crochet, sewing, etc. Thanks for being my on line mentor/teacher!
      -Erin

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    3. Hi Erin~ Yes, we could all have gleaned so much from dear, grandmother! But youth has a way of making other things more important... But there is always today and I am happy to help you with canning! Just send over an email or leave a comment if you ever have any questions ;) Thanks for taking the time to share here today!

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  5. This is great, as I'm looking to enter the great wide world of canning. Thanks so much, I'm pinning and sharing this!

    p.s. Found you through the HomeAcre Hop :)

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    1. Great! And feel free to email should you have any questions along the way :)

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  6. A great collection of canning resources!
    I love canning :)
    Thanks for sharing at the HomeAcre Hop!

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  7. This is a great post! Thanks for sharing, it was chosen as a favorite on our From the Farm hop!

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  8. This was chosen as a favorite on our From the Farm hop, thanks for sharing!

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  9. I know you mean really well, but your methods of food preservation are really dangerous regarding canning dried beans. They MUST be fully rehydrated, and cooked and HOT as they go into the jars . PLEASE all consider taking the FREE online course from the Univ. of Georgia. I am so afraid someone may get botulism. It is that serious. You cannot SEE, TASTE, or SMELL botulism. It is totally undetectable ! It can kill you or cause permanent paralysis. I am honestly a Master Food Preserver/Food Safety Advisor. I am speaking the truth.

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    1. Hi there! Thank you for your concern but that is EXACTLY how I preserve my beans. I soak them overnight, bring them to a boil the next day and pressure can them in hot, sterilized jars. I am not sure what gave you a different impression but I do appreciate you caring enough to share. I am very conscientious when it comes to canning so I can appreciate your advice. Thank you for taking the time to comment.

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  10. I can remember the steamy kitchen as my mom was canning the garden crop. We as kids would help all thro' the summer in the garden. My mom had a separate room (I guess today we would call it a pantry) with shelves and it was wonderful to open the door and see all the gem colored bounty lined up on the shelves. Thanks for sharing !!!

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  11. Thanks for all the links. I want to do some canning this summer with my extra produce. I don't have a pressure canner so I'll have to stick to safe items. - Margy

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  12. Thanks for all the information!

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  13. I have always wanted to try canning and last fall (2020) I finally did it. A friend supervised me canning chicken and I have since done it twice unsupervised. I've now done chicken, turkey breast, and pork shoulder. I'm normally a freezer person, but after I heard someone say, 'what happens if the power goes out' that had me rethinking everything. For at least 6 months of the year I can keep food on my porch, but this has already saved me money in food that is preserved and not wasted, and it tastes like food we eat all of the time. I'm also doing more dehydrating this year.

    PS: I love all of the cute labels you make; I'm going to have to use some of the blank ones that are in most sets for the food I just did :-)

    DavetteB in AK

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    1. Oh that is so exciting!!! Canning opens up so many avenues! Also, when you pressure can meats, you are freeing up more space in the freezer for other items!

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