Canning 101

This past Friday, a dear friend of mine came over and devoted a whole day to teaching me the art of canning. I would like to share what I learned with you.

Get a good canning book, with recipes. Kerr (canning jar/lids brand) has a good book, and I'm SURE you could find plenty of options on ebay. I found that I like the older books (40's and 50's era) because of their detail.

Read over the list of things you need. Here is a picture of what I used (minus the sugar, I ran out!).

Canner pot and rack
kettle

jars and lids (sterilized before you start!)

ladle

large pots

blender

strainer (for jelly)

pectin

sugar

wide mouth funnel

clean rags and towels

large mixing bowls

large measuring bowl/cups

jar lifter

apple peeler/corer

The best advice I can give is to have another experienced person with you, helping, at least for your first effort.

Next, make sure you have a dishpan full of hot soapy water, an empty sink and then a very clean sink full of HOT HOT HOT water. Keep a kettle full of water on the stove boiling at all times and empty into sink. Then refill the kettle because you'll probably need it for something. Keep on refilling and boiling.

The very first thing you need to do is fill your large canner half full of water and start it on the stove for boiling. It will take a loooooooooong time for this baby to get boiling.

Then peel, core and slice apples or pears if using. This is where an apple corer that attaches to your countertop comes in VERY handy.

Cook fruit in a large stockpot until soft. Drain off water and blend fruit in blender. Pour into pot and add spices according to recipe. Follow recipe. When ready, have a hot pad and towels ready on a counter within easy reach of jars sitting in hot water in your sink. This is where an extra pair of hands come in very handy. Using a wide mouth funnel and ladle, fill jars quickly (within 1/8" of top), wipe any fruit off of the rims of jars. Screw on lids tightly and invert. My friend has said that she rarely boils her butters in the canner. She said they usually seal on their own if the jars are hot enough. I went ahead and boiled my jars for the jelly I made the next day. The pear butter I made the first day was made by just filling, and inverting them on a folded towel. My friend was right, they sealed right up. BUT I will say that the USDA recommends the hot water bath method.

The second day, I decided to make jelly from pear and apple juice. The apple juice I used was the all-natural version that is very cloudy with bits of apple in it. You can juice your own fruit, but I just used what I had already. Jelly in my opinion is easy. You just need to have exact measurements and be available to stir constantly. (This is where you get the kids involved. Stir, stir, stir!) Follow your recipe, using pectin if necessary. Continue with above directions with filling of the jars, but then go ahead and boil in your canner for the recommended time. Have a folded dishtowel nearby to place the hot jars of jelly for cooling.

Here is my fruity satisfaction:
As my dear friend said, there's just something about seeing your shelves lined with jars of food for your family that you made. It's just one of those things, that you can look upon at the end of the day and know you were productive!