Basics of Home Canning for Beginners

Canning is a great way to preserve the fruits and vegetables you worked so hard to grow all summer long from your Vesey’s seeds you bought at Feeds’n Needs! It offers a great way to stock your pantry for the fall and winter or to give delicious homemade gifts. Learn all about canning with our guide to basics of home canning for beginners!

What is Canning?
Home canning is a simple procedure of applying heat to food in a closed jar to prevent decay. By putting prepared food into home canning jars and sealing them with two-piece vacuum caps, you can eliminate exposure to air, which is one part of the decay process.
By heating the filled jars to the proper temperature, you eliminate another part: the spoilage microorganisms and inactive enzymes that break down food over time.
You’ll remove the rest of the air from the food and set the final seal by properly cooling the jars and allowing the lids to vent.

Ingredients
Use only the best, top-quality ingredients. Preserve fruits and vegetables at their peak ripeness. Ensure they are thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed to remove any excess dirt or chemicals.
When canning jams, canning jellies, and other high-acid foods like fruits, fruit juices, tomatoes with added acid, pickles, relishes, chutneys, sauces, vinegar, and other condiments, process them at 212°F. This means you can use a water bath canner for them. Water bath canning is a basic method that involves putting your jam or pickles in a sterilized canning jar. Put the jars into the pot and cover them with at least one to two inches of water. Bring them to a boil, up to 212°F (100°C) and keep the jars at the boil for a specified amount of time, depending on your recipe.
You can pickle all sorts of vegetables with the water bath method, but you need to use an approved recipe. Ensure that the acid you use (like vinegar, citric acid, or lemon juice) reduces the pH to a safe level for whatever food you pickle.

Recipes and Instructions
Follow only current and tested home canning recipes that include the appropriate processing method for the canned food type. Also, follow the canning jar manufacturer’s directions for preparing home canning jars and two-piece vacuum caps.

How to Can
After following the processing directions in the recipe, fill the hot jar with the processed food, leaving the recommended headspace.
Remove air bubbles by sliding a non-metallic spatula between the jar and the food. Then, press gently on the food to release the trapped air. Repeat around the circumference of the jar.
Wipe the rim and threads of the canning jars with a clean, damp cloth. Center the heated lid on the jar. Screw the band down evenly and firmly until you meet resistance (fingertip tight).
After processing, remove the jars from the canner with a jar lifter and set them upright on a towel to cool. Never re-tighten the bands or check the lids for a seal while the jars are still hot.
After 24 hours, check the lids for a seal. Sealed lids curve downward. Press the center of the lid to ensure it does not flex up or down. Reprocess or refrigerate any unsealed jars.
Remove the bands from the sealed jars. Wipe the jars with a clean, damp cloth and dry them off. Wash the bands in soapy water, dry them, and store them away.

Storage
Label and store your jars in a cool, dry, dark place.

Now that you have home canning basics down start with a small project! It will be as fresh and delicious as the day you canned it. For the best quality, use home canned foods within one year.

Sources:
Learn Basics of Home Canning for Beginners | Blain’s Farm & Fleet Blog (farmandfleet.com)
Canning 101: Introduction to Canning — Homesteading Family