Canning Question (beginner)

[MommaKitten21]

All right Momma's! I am about to venture into the world of canning for the first time in my life. What do you momma's recommend as the best supplier? I don't have any of the supplies, so I have been looking at the kits that come with everything.

What do you momma's use that you love? Any brands to stay away from?

Cheaper is better right now for us... so I just don't want to spend an outrageous amount of money

[KristyDi]

I don't have any specific brands to warn you away from. I got one of those kits that has all the basic tools and have been glad I did. I got a jar lifter, a stick w/ a magnet on the end (for grabbing lids out of simmering water) a jar funnel and a bubble remover (long plastic stick). My friend who got a similar kit recently got a bubble remover that had one end specifically for measuring head space. That end had little "steps" for 3/4, 1/2 and 1 inch. Whatever head space the recipe tells you to use you can just rest that "step" on the rim of the jar and easily see where the top of your food should be. I think it great! (This kit has a tool like I'm trying to describe)

The K-mart near me always seems to have canning supplies at decent prices.

Welcome to canning. I love it! I'm just beginning to venture into the world of pressure canning after 4 or 5 years of doing mainly jams and fruit sauces and butters. I've also done some tomato canning. This year though I really want to grow and can a bunch on tomatoes since the older lady who used to supply me with them won't be canning this year due to to her declining health.

I highly recommend the Ball complete book of Home Preserving. It has more jam and jelly, fruit butter and preserve recipes than you can shake a stick at. I've used it for basic strawberry jam for my family and for fancier recipes to give as gifts. Autumn Pear Cranberry Jam makes a great gift. It's beautiful in the jar (golden jam with bits of red cranberry floating in it) and really tasty.

[velochic]

If you are going to just do water bath canning, you don't need a kit. Your local hardware or big box store will have the few tools you need in addition to jars, lids and bands. A jar lifter, funnel and lid lifter are really all you need. A good book, as the one recommended above, is also essential.

I think the best tool is information. Read as much as you can and follow all USDA guidelines when canning. Don't skip a processing step and do everything thoroughly. Always err on the side of caution. For example, I grow hybrid tomatoes and can't guarantee that magic 4.6 pH for them, so I pressure can them to be on the safe side. Use absolutely the most up-to-date information as guidelines do change for the safety of the home canner.

If you are wanting to pressure can... I started canning a couple of decades ago... I have used many brands of canners, but by far my most favorite has been All-American. They are the Rolls-Royce of canners and a joy to work with (not to mention very safe) but can be expensive. That's my experience and others will tell you that they have other preferences.

Good luck and happy canning!

[cristeen]

Really, the only tools you NEED to start with are jars, lids, rings, and a big pot. You can do all sorts of things, from jams to pickles with nothing more than that.

A canning funnel is really handy, as is a lid lifter, but neither is absolutely necessary. And I never use a jar lifter - I have tongs with silicone covered ends and I just use those. And then whatever ladle you have on hand.

The Ball canning book is considered to be THE canning "bible", but I was canning for years before I ever got it. I started with jams, and honestly, that's one of the easiest things to start with (that or pickles). I prefer using Pomona's Universal pectin over the other big names just because of how it works... regular pectin relies on the chemical balance of acid and sugar to gel, but Pomona's doesn't. So I can sweeten my jams to taste instead of having to use a TON of white sugar in them. Vinegar-pack pickles are also really easy because of the acid being used. I've never made cucumber pickles myself, but beet pickles are a fave, and I have a drawer full of asparagus in there for making asparagus pickles this weekend.

Definitely shop around locally for sources of canning jars - you don't want to pay shipping. And tell everybody you know that you need canning jars, you'll be surprised how many turn up. Any more, if I'm buying something in a jar and I have to decide between 2 brands, all other things equal, I buy the one that has a jar I can reuse for canning (BBQ sauce, spaghetti sauce, pickles, mayos, jams, etc.). Now that so many companies are moving into plastics, it's more difficult, but you can still accumulate a nice stash that way. I know one of our local hardware stores carries them year-round as does the local mega-CVS. Even the grocery store carries them, but that's the expensive place to get them. You can also check freecycle and/or CL for them. Once you've done it a few times and feel comfortable with it, you can explore whether you want to move into the more involved things like pressure-canning - I wouldn't start off there though.

[3Taureans]

I'm interested in beginning canning too, primarily tomatoes (given no good alternative to BPA-lined cans). Do tomatoes need to be pressure canned or what is the method used for those?

[KristyDi]

Originally Posted by 3Taureans

I'm interested in beginning canning too, primarily tomatoes (given no good alternative to BPA-lined cans). Do tomatoes need to be pressure canned or what is the method used for those?

Tomatoes can be canned in a boiling water bath, but to be safe you need to add some acid in the form of bottled lemon juice or citric acid. It needs to be bottled lemon juice not fresh because the acidity is constant from the bottles. More specifics.

Botulism grows in low acid environments. The higher heat of pressure canning kills it off so you can can lower acid foods. Things canned in boiling water canners need to be acidic enough to ensure botulism can't grow. Tomatoes are right on the line of acidic enough and different varieties or even weather conditions while they grow can cause their PH to change. So adding the extra acid makes sure you have a safe product.

[robugmum]

I second the Pomona pectin recommendation for jams etc. I also love my jar lifter as my tongs wouldn't work well for jars. The magnetic wand for lifting the lids out of hot water is a must have for me too. Ditto for the canning funnel. Beyond that, once you've stocked up on jars (often cheap and easy to find at garage sales) and lids, I'm sure you have everything you need already in your kitchen. One more thing, I seem to go through a lot of tea towels when I can!

Books, I like for canning:
Well Preserved
Joy of Cooking

Oh, and when I have money to spend on such things I would love to get some Weck jars!! Google them!