Canning Tips & Tricks

Canning is an excellent skill to learn to preserve fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables to enjoy all year round. We have put together a list of some tips and tricks to guide you as your venture into canning.

1. Always check for air bubbles.

2. Review the instructions EVERYTIME before using your pressure canner.

3. Before using the pressure canner, check the gasket for damage.

4. Check your jars for knicks or cracks along the rim AND the bottom before filling.

5. Always use oven mitts in addition to a safe jar lifter designed for use when canning when moving jars in or out of the canner.

6. Run your jars through the dishwasher’s hot rinse cycle instead of a pot of hot water. It holds more and keep the stove top clear

7. Have patience. Learning to can is a process.

8. Follow safe tested recipes until you are 100% positive you know what you’re doing and then still ask those who know.

9. Do not stack jars on top of each other in your pantry. It can cause a false seal.

10. Place hot stuff in hot jars. Cold stuff in cold jars.

11. A pint is a pound in most cases.

12. Can the foods you will eat – in portions for one or two meals.

13. Place a thick towel on the countertop where you will place jars when you take them out of the water.

14. When lifting jars out of the water, pause for a second over the canner before moving it to the counter. That way, if the change in temperature is going to cause the jar to break, it’ll break over your pot and not your counter.

15. Do not set hot jars on cold surface! That’s a good way for a jar to burst.

16. Give yourself more time than the recipe estimates.

17. Always remove your rings and wash your jars in hot soapy water 24 hours after removing from the canner. Tug on the lids to ensure you don’t have a false seal.

18. To keep liquids from seeping out of the jars while in the pressure canner – once the guage gets to the proper pressure keep reducing heat but make sure it stays at the right pressure.

19. When you skim the foam off of jam, put it in a separate jar and refrigerate. It is great in smoothies, over ice cream and in baked goods.

20. Can peaches in orange juice and pears in pineapple juice.