7 Reasons Canning Food Is Better Than Freezing Food

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There are plenty of reasons why people prefer one food preservation method over. But individual choices aside, here are some compelling arguments why canning is better than freezing and other methods, followed by a few notable exceptions.

1. Flexible storage space. When you freeze your harvest, you are essentially using a big box to store your food. And when the box is full, it’s full. The sides won’t stretch and you can’t—or at least shouldn’t—sit on the top and squeeze it shut like an overfull suitcase. When your food is canned, however, you can almost always find a space to store a few more jars … and then a few more. When the pantry is full, there’s probably room for a row of jelly jars behind the cereal boxes or in the cabinet over top of the refrigerator. And when there’s no more room in the kitchen, jars can be tucked into a box under the bed in the guest room or even on temporary shelves behind a living room chair.

2. Storage without power.  Canning food is an obvious first choice for people living off-grid. While freezers are do-able off-grid, the cost and hassle is often higher and space is therefore at a premium. Even homes which are hooked to the grid know that it’s not 100 percent certain all the time. Outages due to storms or accidents can happen anywhere and anytime. Although full chest freezers can maintain integrity without power for many hours, outages are still cause for concern. When a homestead harvest is preserved in jars, there’s no worry about losing food when the lights go out. And either way, buying and running a freezer costs money — and pantry shelves don’t.

3. Ease of use. We’ve all been there, realizing at the last minute that we forgot to take a crucial ingredient out of the freezer in time for it to thaw. Or remembering to retrieve the item and finding ourselves pawing through dozens of packages of what we don’t want to find the one thing we need.

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Rehydrating dried foods takes some time and effort, too. And even when food comes whole from the root cellar, it still usually needs to be peeled, trimmed and seeded. When food is canned, none of that is an issue. Grab a jar, pop the top, and done.

4. Better quality and taste. Certain canned foods are superior to their frozen counterparts. Many people prefer the taste and texture of canned green beans to any other. Others are swept off their feet by the intense smell of canned meats. And some homemade foods—such as potatoes, chutney, ketchup or jam—just do not freeze with results that satisfy everyone. Dehydrated vegetables often lack palatability compared to canned ones. For those times when canning yields the best results, it’s the only way to go.

5. Less waste. Many people use zip-top freezer bags to freeze foods. Bags are often my go-to because they use less space than freezer containers. I wash mine out and reuse them, but the zip-tops wear out quickly. Canning jars last for years and can be reused dozens of times.

6. Processed without electricity. Canning is not the only option when it comes to off-grid processing, but it is easily done on a gas burner. Depending upon the climate where you live, creating dried foods can be limited without an electric dehydrator.

7. Keeps well. Technically, home-canned goods should be consumed within a year. But that can be fudged a little, or a lot, depending upon how picky you are. One drawback for root-cellar storage is that their useable lifespan is shorter than other methods. Frozen and dehydrated foods can deteriorate quickly, too. But food in jars has a good shelf life.

It is true that certain foods yield a better result when preserved in a way other than canning. Broccoli and cauliflower are not considered can-able. Bread, cake and cheese are not safe for canning. Neither are pureed foods such as squash or pesto. Foods such as greens and corn can be canned, but they are so labor- and time-intensive that many folks opt for freezing. Firm berries can nicely but yield a different end-result than freezing or drying, so the ideal way to preserve a bountiful berry harvest would ideally use some of each method.

Overall, canning is a great option for preserving the harvest. It can be done without electricity, yields high-quality and long-lasting results, and minimizes material waste.

Do you agree or disagree? Share your thoughts in the section below:

No, Canning Is Not Always The Best Answer

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Remember the last time you heard someone ask for another serving of that delicious home-canned eggplant or Brussels sprouts? Not likely. There are some foods which are better off being preserved by a method other than canning, and a few that are not conducive to any kind of preservation and are best simply enjoyed in season and let go until next year.

The reasons for choosing an alternative to canning are almost always centered around food quality, ease of processing, or safety.

Quality

Canning can cause some foods to lose flavor, texture, color or a combination. Vegetables such as turnip, parsnips, most greens and perhaps sweet peppers are able to be canned but are less appealing that way than when frozen. Most cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage do not do well canned—with one important exception being in pickled mixtures. The reason nobody cans straight cauliflower but many people make cauliflower pickles is probably due to the canning process required: as a low-acid vegetable, adequate pressure-canning to ensure a safe product would probably result in mushy cauliflower. But added vinegar allows a quick process in regular boiling water and turns out a tasty crisp-tender product. By themselves, the best way to preserve the texture of these crunchy vegetables is to freeze them, but they are also good dehydrated.

Dehydrating and drying are good techniques for many vegetables. Broccoli, corn, carrots and cabbage dehydrate well, store easily, and taste great in soups and stews. Vegetable chips make fun snacks. Dry beans, of course, are an excellent choice. Some foods are almost always preserved by some kind of drying procedure, such as garlic and ginger.

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Many fruits take well to canning, but not all. Strawberries lose color and flavor when canned, causing many people to prefer them frozen or dried. Soft berries such as raspberries and blackberries are often too delicate to survive the canning process. Other fruits such as melons do not can well—except, as with some vegetables, if pickled.

Ease of Processing

Sure, you can spend hours preparing peeling and cubing and parboiling potatoes and pumpkin if you want to—and sometimes it is truly worth it—but it often makes more sense to simply store them in the root cellar.

Storing appropriate vegetables—carrots, beets, rutabaga, onions, leeks, winter squash and cabbage—in a cold dark cellar is one of the easiest ways to store them, and root-cellaring can be combined with other methods for a great alternative to canning. My freezer is usually packed completely full by October, at around the same time my cellar gets cold enough to store vegetables. When the food in the root cellar approaches the end of its shelf life, enough food has been eaten out of the freezer to make room for root cellar refugees.

I do enjoy the convenience and delicious flavor and aroma of canned potatoes, which makes it worth the effort of at least one batch every season before putting the remainder into cold storage. Canned meats are wonderful, too, but labor-intensive canning is a matter of personal preference. People spend their valuable homesteading time on what they consider most important, and canned potatoes or meat may not make the cut for everyone.

Freezing is a relatively easy process for many foods. I keep items like meat stock and applesauce in the freezer as well as on the pantry shelves. If I have just a couple pints, it’s hardly worth running the canner for, and I put them in the freezer instead if I have room. For larger batches, I can process a canner-full and freeze anything left over or the contents of any jars that didn’t seal.

Dehydrating is easy, too, once you get the hang of it. It’s a bit of a learning curve at first, knowing how to dry vegetables until they are dry enough to impede growth of bacteria but not so dry as to lose appeal. But a little practice can produce excellent results.

Safety

Some foods are not safe to be canned. One of the most important things to remember is that adequate heat needs to reach the center of the jar and stay hot for enough time to make the canning procedure safe. For this reason, pureed foods such as mashed squash and pesto should not be processed using home canning equipment. While it is possible that these foods might heat sufficiently to kill pathogens, it is not a sure enough bet to risk your health on.

Cheese and butter should not be canned, either. These and other low-acid foods can provide an environment in which botulism can develop unless tested guidelines are followed. Dairy foods and novelty items such as cake and bread are strongly discouraged by official testing entities, and no reliable guidelines are available.

Just Eat and Enjoy

Sometimes the best thing to do is savor the flavor of the season and let it go when it’s gone by.  Foods like zucchini and summer squash, for example, are foods for which the only tested guidelines call for adding pineapple juice and diluting that wonderful taste of summer we seek to preserve. I sometimes freeze a few bags of zucchini—in slices for sautéing, chunks for ratatouille, and grated for cakes and muffins—but it isn’t part of my vegetable staples for winter.

Cherry tomatoes can be frozen whole for winter soups and stews, but they’ll never be as good as they are straight off the vine. For these and a few other vegetables, it makes sense to preserve only a minimal amount and share any harvest surplus with neighbors, livestock or wildlife—provided, of course, that household food security is not a potential concern.

Should it Be Canned?

Using home canning to preserve the harvest is many people’s go-to, and with good reason. But it is always valuable to first evaluate whether canning is the best option. For a variety of reasons, some foods are better frozen, dried, root-cellared or not preserved at all.

What foods do you NEVER can? Are there any unique foods that you DO can? Share your advice in the section below:

4 Food Preservation Tricks You Won’t Learn In The Ball Book

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I’m all for the idea of learning from books and online articles. Canning how-to’s are great, especially when published or sanctioned by trusted sources. In fact, when in conversation with someone about a food preservation question, my first response to a conundrum is often, “What does the Ball Book say about it?”

But the publications don’t include all the secret tricks. My theory is that they don’t have to. Consider the conditions under which food experts develop and test methods and recipes: modern spacious kitchens with state-of-the-art equipment, and plenty of time to get the job done.

Out on the homestead, we don’t always have a test kitchen and staff at our disposal, and we need all the little tricks we can get to save us time and effort when putting up the harvest. Here are five of my favorites.

1. Use a salad spinner to dry vegetables after blanching. I learned this in the training I underwent to become a volunteer for the Maine Master Food Preserver Program, and always pass it along when I lead workshops. There is usually a broad spectrum of skill level among workshop participants, from those who have been preserving food for years and want to brush up on the latest techniques to those who have never touched a canner.

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But to a person, participants are surprised and pleased by how easy and efficient it is to dry vegetables in a salad spinner. This technique gets more water out of vegetables than air-drying in a colander and is much easier than patting dry with towels, resulting in a superior finished product with far less effort and fuss.

2. Use a straw to suck air out of zip-top bags. The bottom line when freezing vegetables is that the less water and air between the product and the container, the better the end result will be. There are lots of ways to reduce air from containers, ranging from high-tech vacuum sealers to pressing it out with your hands. The former can be expensive, especially when you consider the specialty containers and bags that must be purchased and usually cannot be reused. The latter leaves some air in the bag. My way is easy, cheap and efficient. I use a large-diameter pliable straw, like the kind you get at fast food places. After packing the food into the zip-top bag, I close it most of the way, insert the straw in the small remaining opening, and simultaneously suck air, slide the straw out, and ease the zipper top closed. It takes a little practice to get it exactly right, but it works great.

3. Keep jars warm in the canner. This is another gem from my Master Food Preserver instructor. A paucity of counter space in her kitchen forced her to get creative, and she developed the habit of setting her clean jars in the cannerful of water while it heated. This genius idea allowed her to keep the jars hot and out of the way at the same time. Although I have a large kitchen and don’t need this method to save counter space, I use it every time anyway. It’s the best way to keep jars hot before filling, which helps reduce jar breakage and can encourage a good seal.

4. Use a flexible plastic knife for removing air bubbles. Official directions recommend using the opposite end of the headspace measuring tool that comes with canning kits, but I prefer not to. There is nothing wrong with using the headspace tool, but I don’t like flipping it back and forth and holding one end that’s been in the product while I use the other. I also don’t like its lack of pliability. I prefer instead to use a thin disposable plastic knife such as the type they give you at fast food restaurants. My favorite thing about these knives is that they are a little flimsy, allowing them to bend slightly around the inner curvature of the canning jar and perform nicely as bubble removers. The books do often specify to avoid using a metal utensil for this task but do not always say why. The reason is because metal can scratch hot jars, which could possibly result in breakage. Although the chance of that happening is slight, why risk it?

Bonus: Use Canning Water to Kill Weeds.

This one isn’t exactly a trick to make preserving the harvest easier per se, but having your water do double duty might help you feel better about spending long hot hours on your feet over boiling kettles. After jars are removed, I lug the cannerful of hot water outdoors and pour it onto weeds instead of pouring it down the drain. Be super careful with this one, using potholders and taking great care. And remember that 200-degree water is going to kill everything, so don’t even consider pouring it on weeds that are growing in the flower bed or between your rows of broccoli or tomatoes. This technique is to be used on weeds growing on walkways and driveways, or in and around woodsheds, or out from under decorative mulch.

These five tips are good ways to save a little time and effort while canning, end up with a better quality product, and kill a few weeds in the process.

What would you add to our list? Share your tips in the section below:

12 Common Canning Mistakes That Even Experts Make

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It’s the time of year when gardeners and homesteaders are scrambling to preserve our harvest in order to enjoy the literal fruits of our labors as close to year-round as possible. For a lot of us, that means canning. Most of us know our way around the kitchen when it comes to putting up food, but there are some mistakes that beginners—and sometimes even experienced canners—make.

1. Using untested recipes. Trying new methods from unreliable sources might be fine for some things, but not for canning. If it hasn’t come from a rock-solid source that has tested the recipe for safety, it’s not worth the risk.

2. Doubling batches of pectin-added jam. It says on the package not to do it, but newbies often try it anyway. It just seems so counter-intuitive—I mean, if you double everything exactly, why wouldn’t it work? Trust me. It doesn’t. Your jam will look pretty and taste delicious, but there is a very high likelihood that it won’t set. You can still use it to pour over ice cream, but it won’t be jam.

3. Reducing or replacing sugar in jam with regular pectin. This is another one that seems like it should work, but it doesn’t. The jam recipes on regular pectin packages call for a LOT of sugar, which is understandably off-putting. But if you want to use less sugar or a sugar substitute, buy the special pectin for low sugar for successful jamming.

4. Canning low-quality product. Always remember that canning food will in no way improve its flavor and texture. If it is picked too long ago, overripe, or substandard in any other way, it’s not a good candidate for canning. Can the best and eat the rest.

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I should note that this is advice intended for a scenario of plenty. If hardship or disaster prevents you from having enough high-quality food to can, it may be necessary to can what you have available, whether it is the most desirable or not.

5. Tightening jar rings after processing and leaving them in place during storage. The function of jar rings is to keep the lids on during processing, and nothing more. After processing and cooling, the rings should be loose. Retightening them could compromise your seal, and storing the jars with the rings on will cause the rings to rust and will provide a space for food particles to grow mold and bacteria under the ring. Remove the rings and wash them for use on your next batch, and rinse off the outside of the jar before storing.

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6. Fudging the processing time. When canning, precision is key. Use a timer and don’t cut corners when it comes to processing time. And be careful to use the time for the size jar you are using—many recipes give different times for quarts and pints. A note of caution: If you’re using those new 24-ounce canning jars, you won’t find any canning times for them. Don’t try splitting the difference, because unless you’ve tested the process in a food laboratory, you can’t know exactly how long it takes to get adequate heat to the center of that 24-ounce jar. If your recipe gives different times for pints and quarts and you’re using pint-and-a-halfs, use the time for the quarts.

7. Using alternative processing methods. We’ve all seen them—cute tricks for canning in your microwave or dishwasher or oven. And we’ve heard stories about how back in the day they used wax for jam or just inverted the jars on the counter and allowed them to heat-seal. Sure, people did it and lived through it, but why take the risk? None of these methods meet current safety recommendations, and some have made people sick.

8. Not taking headspace seriously. That space between the top of the product and the top of the jar is a key component to canning success. Too little space can cause product to squirt out during processing and get stuck on the rim, which could prevent the lid from sealing. Too much space can also prevent a tight seal, because larger headspaces take longer processing times to push out all the air and create the necessary vacuum. All good recipes give a head space measurement, and they are worth heeding.

9. Getting the temperatures wrong. Use hot jars, and place them into simmering water in the canner. Placing cold jars into hot water can cause breakage. And starting with cool water in the canner can take extra time to bring it up to boil, resulting in overcooked end results.

10. Not using the correct amount of water in the canner. It’s important that your water level is right. Too little water can expose the lids during a vigorous boil, and they may not can properly, and too much will take a long time to reach boiling. For a boiling-water-bath canner, you need at least 1 inch over top of the jars, but no more than 2 inches. It can be hard to judge ahead of time, so keep a kettle full of simmering water on standby when you load the canner, and add more if you need it. Have a long-handled scoop handy for bailing out excess water, too. Pressure canners are easier in this instance—follow the manufacturer’s directions, which will tell you either to use the fill line on the canner itself or to measure a certain depth of water.

11. Removing jars immediately after processing. It’s recommended to leave the jars in the water for a bit. In a boiling-water-bath canner, turn off the heat and remove the lid and let the jars set for five minutes before removing. In a pressure canner, allow it to completely depressurize, remove the weight or open the petcock, and let the jars set for 10 minutes before lifting the lid and removing the jars. This is not crucial, but it contributes to a better sealing rate. Then, let your jars set untouched for 12-24 hours. As much as you want to pick them up to show them off, or to put them away to make room for the next batch, or even to just press down on the lid to see if it sealed, try to leave them alone. This will improve your odds of a good solid seal for the best possible end result.

12. Pouring water off the lid. Oh, I know. This one is so hard to resist! It is super tempting to tilt the jar to pour off the excess water on the top, but don’t do it. Doing so can disrupt the seal you worked so hard to achieve. Remove the jars from the canner, set them on a towel or rack, and let the water evaporate naturally.

If you don’t get every single one of these items right every time, do not worry. Most of us don’t achieve perfection. I would encourage you to focus on product safety first, and continue to work on other possible mistakes which may affect the quality and success of your canning endeavors. And when you enjoy a jar of home-canned chutney or jam next winter, you’ll be glad you went to the trouble of doing your best.

What common mistakes would you add to our list? Share your tips in the section below:  

3 Things Your Grandmother Got Wrong About Canning

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There are a lot of misconceptions out there about canning safety. As is true with many topics, information found on the Internet supports a wide variety of truths and opinions, and it can be hard to differentiate between them.

Canning safety is a big deal. Doing it right is what comes between eating home-preserved food with confidence and risking upset stomachs, spoiled and wasted food, serious illness, or in very rare cases even death.

Before I explain which techniques are considered safe according to modern-day science and which are not, let me address the inevitable questions.  I hear them at every workshop I conduct and see it in every comment thread on forum discussions and social media.

“My grandmother used wax on her jams and all us kids grew up eating them.”

“The ladies at church just flip the hot chow-chow jars upside down and call it good.”

“My mother never owned a pressure canner and we all ate her canned beans and beef just fine.”

“We eat canned cake at camp every summer… and nobody ever died.”

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And my answer is always the same. Sure. Each one of us knew of someone consuming food canned by what is considered today to be unsafe practices, and many of us did it ourselves. And we did indeed all live to tell the tale.

But why take the risk? People survived automobile travel before seat belts came along, but most of us wear them nowadays. Communities have thrived for centuries without modern-day sanitation and plumbing, but most of us today consider running water and flush toilets to be good things. Mammograms, steel-toed work boots, prenatal ultrasounds, child safety locks—all things people lived without, until the advantages of using them became clear.

You can take the chance of doing it the old-fashioned way if you want to, but know that it is a risk. No home-canning method is guaranteed 100 percent bulletproof, but using techniques tested and approved by science and research are the best ways to minimize potential problems.

There are three main points I would like to highlight – three things our grandmothers often didn’t do when canning. First, processing in a canner is necessary for every canned product. No shortcuts, no alternatives. And second, using a pressure canner is essential for all low-acid foods. Third, all recipes are not created equal. Read on for details.

1. Processing is crucial.

Old-fashioned methods and trendy hacks are not good choices. Topping preserves with hot wax allows potential harmful bacteria and molds to seep in. Even after mold is scraped off the top—like our grandmothers used to do when we were not looking—it has been determined by recent science that there could well be lingering pathogens below the visible mold. The safe bet is to just pop them into the hot water bath canner for a short process time instead.

So-called “oven canning” and “open-kettle canning,” along with creative ways to can foods in the dishwasher and microwave, have not been tested to be safe and are not recommended. Food processed in this way does not always kill potential contaminants which may spoil food and make you sick.

Neither is it safe to simply invert the jars when hot and allow the product to seal itself—it might appear to seal nicely at the time, but is apt to unseal and reseal itself as the storage temperature fluctuates between now and the time you eat it.

Process, process, process—in a canner. There is no shortcut that is worth the risk.

2. Process all low-acid foods using a pressure canner.

Here is why:

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Hot water bath canners heat water to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. That is as hot as they can get. Pressure canners, by design, heat water to 240 degrees. The reason heat is an issue is because of rare but naturally occurring spores of the microorganism C. botulinum. When given exactly the right conditions—low acid and anaerobic—they can develop into botulism, which can be deadly. When canning low-acid foods, care must be taken to kill the spores before the product goes into the anaerobic jars, and 212 degrees is not sufficient to do so. It is imperative to use the higher-heat pressure canner to destroy any possible C. botulinum spores present.

Some folks insist that by canning them longer, all foods can be safely canned using a hot water bath canner. This is not true. Boiling water will never reach the temperature needed to kill possible dangerous spores. And besides, who wants to eat green beans that have been boiled for an hour and a half?

High-acid foods—most fruits and tomatoes—do not provide conditions for botulism to develop, and so hot water bath canners are sufficient. Vegetables, meats and other low-acid products need to be pressure-canned. The exception to this rule is when the vegetable is “acidified.” When sufficient amounts of acid, usually vinegar or lemon juice, are added, the end result is a food with enough acid content to safely can in a hot water bath canner.

3. Always use an approved recipe.

In addition to giving you the exact amounts of every ingredient and explaining exactly how to cut, chop, combine and cook them, a good recipe will tell you which canner to use, what size jars are best, and how long to process the products.

I know, I know. Great Aunt Hilda’s relish recipe was the best! And that wonderful easy salsa recipe on Facebook—yum! But has it been tested? Is the ratio of high-acid and low-acid foods adequate for the method and time given for canning? Is it worth the risk?

Another way people get into trouble is by starting off with a safe recipe and making their own modifications. Tomatoes are generally high acid, but peppers and onions are not. Adding low-acid foods can alter the acidification of a recipe enough to change the safety factor.

The perfect way to have your cake and eat it, too, is this: If you absolutely must use that online salsa recipe with questionable ingredients, go right ahead. Just freeze it. Botulism will not develop in the freezer, and your salsa will be good to go.

Use a recipe source approved by your cooperative extension. These include publications by Ball, USDA, and the University of Georgia’s National Center for Home Food Preservation. Ball canning books are inexpensive and can be found in most supermarkets and department stores. The National Center for Home Food Preservation’s excellent publication, “So Easy to Preserve,” sells for a little more money, but all of its recipes are available online for free at http://nchfp.uga.edu/

In addition to these three must-dos, remember to keep everything painstakingly clean. Pots and utensils, jars, lids, canning equipment, kitchen linens and hands all need to be carefully washed and rinsed before you begin any canning project.

Stay safe, play it smart, follow the guidelines, and you and your family will enjoy the fruits of your labors for seasons to come.

Do you agree? What canning advice would you add? Share it in the section below:

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The Right Way To Safely Can Non-Acidic Foods (And Avoid Deadly Botulism)

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Knowledge on canning non-acidic foods is invaluable to the modern homesteader. Knowing that these canned items will rest safely on the shelves of your storage room or pantry – and be edible when you need them – can give you peace of mind.

What Is Non-Acidic Food?

Non-acid foods do not contain acids like tomatoes do, and they are not canned with vinegar. As stated by the Ball website, non-acidic foods need to process at a temperature of 240 degrees Fahrenheit. This ensures that no fungus grows within the jars.

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Non-acidic foods also need to be pressure canned. Unlike non-acidic foods, acidic foods only need to be put into boiling water for a set amount of time. Examples of non-acidic foods include meats, soups and vegetables such as carrots, peas or asparagus.

Materials Needed to Can Non-Acidic Foods

Pressure canning non-acidic foods requires you to have a few items:

• Pressure canner.


• (Make sure there aren’t any indents, scratches, rust, etc., on the bands.)


• (Make sure that there aren’t any scratches or tears on the seals.)


• Clean glass jars.


• Ladle.


• Funnel.


• Jar lifter (optional).


• Head space measurer (optional).


• Long thin spoon.


• Recipe from a safe canning book such as a Ball book.

How to Pressure Can Non-Acidic Foods

1. The first step to pressure canning is ensuring that the glass jars, bands and lids are cleaned with hot soapy water. Also, make sure that they don’t have any nicks or cracks.

2. Put the jars in hot water until needed. This ensures that when you put the food into the jars and put the jars into the water, they don’t crack.

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3. Get the pressure canner and add two to three inches of water into it. Bring and keep the water at a simmer until the cans are ready to be put in.

4. Prep the food that you are putting into the jars. This depends on what your recipe says.

5. Remove the jars from the hot water, and add the food. Make sure the correct headspace is achieved as in the recipe you are using. Take out air bubbles with the spoon or headspace tool.

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6. Clean the rims of the jars with a clean moist rag to wipe off all of the junk that could prevent a proper seal.

7. Add the seals and then the bands. Tighten until fingertip tight.

8. Put jars in the pressure canner.

9. Lock the pressure canner and open the vent pipe. Leave the heat on medium to high heat and let it blow steam for 10 minutes to ensure that there isn’t any air in the pressure canner.

10. Close the vent pipe by whatever means is appropriate for your own canner. Allow the pressure to build up to where you need it and then keep it at whatever your recipe calls for by adjusting the heat.

11. When it has finished after the amount of time needed for your recipe, take the jars out of the canner using the jar lifter, if you have one.

12. Put them on a towel or on the stove.

13. Leave them alone for a day to ensure proper sealing.

14. Lastly, check the seals to ensure that they have been properly sealed. You should be able to press on the top and it should not move up and down. Also, try to pry off the seal, gently. If you cannot pull it off and it does not move up or down, then you have a perfect seal. If there is a jar that did not seal, then put it in your fridge and eat it soon. As for the sealed jars, put them in a cool and dark place, label them, and leave them there for as long as they stay good (check the jars every year to ensure they are still sealed and suitable for consumption).

Why You Need to Be Careful

It is critical to ensure that the cans of food are properly pressure canned during the processing. Without proper sealing, mold can grow in it, and one could be Clostridium botulinum. This is a very dangerous mold that can paralyze and kill you. Following these directions will ensure that you have a safe and fruitful canning experience each time!

What advice would you add? Share your thoughts in the section below:

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The $100 Simple Outdoor Canning Kitchen

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Canning is a fun and rewarding summertime activity that helps preserve your garden’s bounty, saves money and increases your self-reliance.

But it also involves work at a hot stove during the hottest part of the year, when fruit and produce are at their peak. Back in the day, when cooking was done on wood cook stoves, many households had a second detached “summer kitchen,” where summer meals were prepared without adding extra heat into the house.

Outdoor summer kitchens are mostly a thing of the past, but serious home preservers and canners can set up an outdoor “canning kitchen” to make their jams, jellies and preserves.

Basic Setup

While you can use an old-fashioned wood cook stove to equip your canning kitchen, most people opt for the convenience of large portable propane burners. A simple high output propane burner (55,000 BTU or more) is available for under $40, and can connect to a standard exchangeable propane tank.  These large burners can bring a five-gallon pot of water to a rolling boil in just a few minutes, which beats waiting as much as an hour for your indoor kitchen stove to do the same job.

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A second, small scale camp stove to cook up your preserves is a necessary expense, as a high output burner would quickly burn preserves and wreak havoc on your small saucepans. These are similarly inexpensive and sell for as little as $20.

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Assuming you already have canning jars and pots, the only other thing you’ll need is a propane tank for about $40. All total, for about $100 you have the basics of an outdoor canning kitchen that can be set up temporarily outdoors on a small table or even the ground in a pinch. With even a few batches of jam or pickles in a summer, you’ll be thankful for the investment, both for the cooler house and the reduction in humidity and mold potential, as all that water bath steam is released into your kitchen.

Canning on Wood Heat

If you’d like to further reduce your ongoing costs, or simply avoid the use of fossil fuels, it’s easy enough to can outdoors on wood heat, or with a hybrid method. For the least expensive option, try creating a small wood stove by making a U-shaped fire pit out of cinder blocks and topping it with a BBQ grate. With this setup, you’ll need to be careful not to damage your canning pot with the open flame. For a less primitive option, try a wood cook stove, which you can get, second-hand, for as little as a few hundred dollars.

If you’re truly looking for the best long-term outdoor canning kitchen solution, try a dual-fuel wood and gas stove. With a dual-fuel stove, you’ll be able to use wood as your primary heat source to bring canning water to a boil, but still use a more gentle heat from a small gas burner to gently cook down jams and jellies before they go into the water bath.

Temporary or Permanent Canning Kitchen

It’s easy enough to set up a temporary canning kitchen for the afternoon by simply hauling your propane burners out to a safe spot, but if you’re canning more frequently, it might make sense to set up a semi-permanent or permanent canning kitchen.

A semi-permanent option with a tarp or tent canopy roof means that you can leave your materials outdoors and can several times a week without exhaustive setup time. A simple sink built into a 2×4 framed countertop can be plumbed in with a garden hose. With this option, you’re still at the mercy of the weather to some degree, as tarps don’t fare particularly well in high winds and storms — and flies, honeybees or mosquitoes are sure to be a problem.

If you can afford it, the best option is a permanent screened-in outdoor structure that has a solid roof and fully screened walls to protect you from the elements and unwanted pests. Keep in mind: If you set everything up correctly, you could do just about all of your summer cooking in your outdoor canning kitchen to help keep your house cooler.

For a truly year-round option, try integrating your canning kitchen into a sugar shack. A sugar shack is already set up to vent heat and steam, and most are designed with a bit of counter space for making value-added maple products like maple cream and candy. If you’re considering building a sugar shack or summer canning kitchen, why not design them together into one structure to save both space and money?

Do you have an outdoor kitchen? Share your ideas for one in the section below: