Want to try canning...

[Okapi]

what is the absolute minimum equipment I need? I have a copy of "All About Canning and Preserving" from the library, and it says that for boiling water canning on electric burners, the pot lid has to be either tight fitting or heavy, so I don't think what I have will work (also, I think the bottom counts as "corrugated", which it says I could only use if I had a gas stove). Would it be worth it to go ahead and get one of the kits that has everything (something like this)?

Also, if anyone wants to share their own experience, or could recommend any blogs/websites that would be helpful for a canning newbie (feel free to PM if self-pimping would be a UAV), it would be appreciated!

TIA!

[dachshundqueen]

You can get the ball book. It depends on what you want to can as to the equipment you will need, in terms of water bath canning vs. pressure canning.

Liz

[SophieAnn]

For water-bath canning you'll need:

- Large pot that is 3 inches or so deeper than your jars
- Rack of some kind to keep jars off bottom of pot
- Jar lifter (for lowering into and lifting out of boiling water)
- Wide-mouth funnel (for filling jars)

There are also magnetic wands that are useful if you are sterilizing your lids in boiling water, but I sterilize in the oven so I don't have one.

[robugmum]

My canner is enamelled steel and not terribly heavy at all
My must haves:[LIST]
-canner (or large pot)
-rack (but you can use the rings from the lids in a pinch)
-magnetic wand (to me this is an absolute must)
-wide mouthed funnel
-ladle
-jar lifter (but good silicon oven mitts could work)
-lots of clean tea towels and cloths for cushioning the countertop and wiping rims of jars before filling
-Pomona Pectin (far superior to certo as you can sweeten to taste instead of having to put in pounds of sugar if you make jams or jellies etc!)
-a folding table to store the cooling jars (I just don't have enough counter space otherwise!)


Other stuff depends on what you're canning. I've done jams, tomatoes (whole, sauce and paste), peaches, pears cherries, plums, applesauce, and rhubarb with the above equipment
(for the tomato paste I used a tomato press, but it isn't strictly necessary)


Happy Canning!

[cristeen]

I get by with the bare minimum. And as can be attested by the large pile (4 boxes and counting) of canned goods on my DR table right now, it works for me.

I use a big soup pot - the biggest I have - for boiling the jars. Any old pot for making the item to be canned, and I have a straight sided stock pot that I picked up at some random Goodwill years ago with a round cake rack in the bottom of it for the water bath. Aside from that, a ladle is crucial - an oval one or one with a pouring spout is less messy than a plain round one. A wide-mouth funnel is handy, but I rarely use it anymore. I use silicone-tipped tongs for lifting the jars (these are my regular kitchen tongs, nothing special - but the silicone gives you grip on the wet jars). The only really "special" piece of equipment I use is the magnetic wand for lifting the hot lids out of the water. And you can make one of those yourself with a small magnet and a dowel/chopstick. Oh, and I use bamboo skewers for freeing air pockets - they're nice and flexible.

[Okapi]

Thanks for the info!

Another quick question. If I do pressure canning, can fruits/etc. ALSO be done that way, or should they be done the water boiling way, and only the veggies done with the pressure canner? While the book I have recommends starting with water-boiling, in thinking about it, we are more likely to have extra veggies (from our CSA), so it would make more sense for me to be able to do those. So if I get something for pressure canning, would I still be able to do fruits in that when I had them?

[KristyDi]

Originally Posted by Okapi

Thanks for the info!

Another quick question. If I do pressure canning, can fruits/etc. ALSO be done that way, or should they be done the water boiling way, and only the veggies done with the pressure canner? While the book I have recommends starting with water-boiling, in thinking about it, we are more likely to have extra veggies (from our CSA), so it would make more sense for me to be able to do those. So if I get something for pressure canning, would I still be able to do fruits in that when I had them?

You can pressure can a lot of fruits, though I've never seen times listed for pressure canning jams. But a pressure canner can also function as a water bath canner, just fill with water and don't lock the lid so no pressure builds.

Also I've used the rings from the mason jar lids to line the bottom of a pot as a substitute for a rack.

[Okapi]

So now I'm reading that I may not be able to can on my stove b/c it has a glass top. Trying to get in touch with the manufacturer to see what they say. The manual says it's find, but it's also for a different model number then what we actually have. I guess it wouldn't be a good idea to assume that it's because the info is the same for both model numbers...

I am reading that you can use propane camping type stove, and we need one of those anyway, but I was hoping I'd be able to start soon! Though I guess if I went ahead and got the stove first, I'd be able to water-bath can with the pot I have now, at least. Then I could save up again for the pressure canner, and I'd be able to use that with the propane stove, too.

I really didn't think it was going to be so complicated!

[punkrockmomma]

I started canning last year, and I have a water bath canner for jams, and high acid foods, like pickled veggies and tomatoes. My sister and I split the cost of a pressure canner so we could can veggies, and chicken stock. I wouldn't recommend canning jams in a pressure canner, from what I've read, the high temp can ruin the texture, and set of jam. Also I wouldn't want to can whole tomatoes in my pressure canner, because they would probably break down, and turn to mush. (If I'm wrong about this, or someone has experience with this please correct me. )

Also, I know my canners say that you can't use them on a glass top stove too.

[smpayne]

Originally Posted by KristyDi

Also I've used the rings from the mason jar lids to line the bottom of a pot as a substitute for a rack.

Ooooh, never thought of that. I usually just use a small pot holder or dish rag in the bottom when I do small batches in a smaller pot that my rack won't fit in. My aunt used a wood board with holes in it.

If you have a ceramic/glass electric stove top, then you need to be careful the weight of the canner doesn't crack the stove top. Electric coils work fine with the big canners. Some of the preassure canners are supper heavy even empty. I have heard that the corregated bottoms don't work well on the glass top stove, but others have said it works fine, if you can get the water to boil, it should be fine.

Propane camp stoves or singel electric burners will work, if they can accomodate the large pots safely (you wouldn't want them to tip over). The ones that have legs work best, but they can get really expensive. I think Harbor Freight has some single burner ones for cheaper. The "turkey fryer" burners work also.

Any stock pot that will fit your jars with water covering the tops (with rack, or other item to raise jars off bottom of pan) and has a lid would work.

Preasure canning fruits can make them mushy, because the temp gets too high, they just turn out better if they are processed in boiling water. Some people are scared of preasure canning, I was the first time I did it, but now it's no big deal. It takes less water and less time. Follow directions that came with the canner exactly - it makes a difference, NEVER release the preassure manually, just turn the heat off and let it come down on its own. It may take up to 24 hours for the jars to seal.

If you are canning tomatoes, don't leave out the lemon juice or they will need to be preasure canned. Tomatoes are boarderline between the high/low acid foods. If you add low acid foods to them, like onions, they need to be preassure canned. Keep it simple to start.

Needed:
JAR LIFTER (I won't can without it)
Current Canning Instructions - specific to the food you are using (Don't use an old 1960's book - processing times are different for saftey reasons)