Happy Canning: A Mini Guide to Food Preservation

Just a sample of what can be done with canning

 Preservation by canning is a great way to save food that you have a surplus of and to diversify your meals. It is also a great way to keep eating local, even in winter! Pulling out a jar of bright yellow peaches in the middle of winter? Call me over because that’s amazing. But why stop there? Jam, green beans, corn, salsa, pickles, soups, broths etc. The list goes on, and it could meet potentially everyone’s dietary needs and desires. I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty great to me.

 

When deciding what to can its important to pay attention to what’s available to you at the time. Take note of what’s on sale and what’s going to get you the best bargain, or what you have growing in your garden. Most importantly though, look at what you think you'll want to eat later. Once you’ve figured that out, you’ll have to decide which canning method is best for that type of produce.

Now, bear with me here, okay? There’s only two methods of canning: boiling water bath (BWB) canning and pressure canning. The former can be used for all your high acid food needs; luckily, every fruit falls into this category, along with pickles, tomatoes (with added lemon juice) and acidified foods like chutney or ketchup. The latter is used for pasta sauce, soups, broths and veggies. Disclaimer! It is super important to use the proper method for the food your canning. Canning is a perfectly safe method of preservation, but you need to do your research, and follow instructions.

 If you’re new to world of canning, start with BWB because the cost is minimal and its used to preserve fruits and everybody likes fruit.

Next step is to choose a canning recipe from a reputable source and then follow that to the T. I mean it. Don’t try to cut corners to speed up the process. I guarantee you that every step in that recipe is for tasty food that is safe to eat. Nobody likes food poisoning; I can guarantee that. Canning is all about acid levels but you don’t need to know what chemicals do what. Simply follow that recipe and everything will fall into place.

To get started with BWB you'll need some of the following equipment:

• Mason jars with two part lids. One to cover/seal and the ring to secure. The flat lid part needs to be new.
• A pot that is at least 3 inches taller than your jars so that they may be submerged in water. And it needs to have a rack to keep the jars off the bottom
• Canning tongs (DO NOT use kitchen tongs. They are not the same and you will hurt yourself)
• Wide-mouthed funnel
• Bubble tool (plastic knife works fine for small jars)

I know that may seem like a lot, but, you can purchase kits that have almost all of these materials for as little as $12. Great, right?

Now that we've covered all those bases, here are some fantastic resources for canning:

• The National Center for Home Food Preservation  - for all your pertinent canning information

So, now you're ready to move forward and can the night away. Leave a comment below and let us know how it goes or if you have any question or concerns or simply share with us a recipe that you found to be a must-have. Until next time, happy canning!

Homemade peach jam

Don't Throw That Away!

“Waste not, want not.” It’s an old fashioned idea, isn’t it? It really doesn’t have a place in today’s throw-away society. Or does it? Mother Hubbard sure thinks it does! Minimizing waste is even part of the Hub’s Vision Statement.

Minimizing waste shows up in practice, too. The Hub composts, and even collects compostables from a couple of local restaurants. They hold classes in composting. (Have you seen Jessica Sobocinski’s post about her experiences with composting? It’s great.) I’ve talked repeatedly about saving bones to make BONE BROTH and saving chicken skin to make CHICKEN CHIPS OR GRIBENES and I’ve given directions for ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS, too. Domestic Diva Barbara has demonstrated making yogurt with slightly old milk and kim-chi with past-their-prime veggies. The Tool Share program lends out driers and canners so you can dry and can extra fruits and veggies and has classes on food preservation. There was even a class last month on wild edibles (a.k.a. weeds).

In the summer, with all the fresh produce that's available, there tends to be even more vegetable waste than the rest of the year. It's a great time for adding to your compost pile. It's also a great time for finding alternative uses for parts of the fruits and vegetables that you usually toss. So, in the spirit of self-sufficiency, economy and sustainability, here are some recipes for using things that might otherwise be tossed out.

Did you know that there’s only about three-quarters of a cup of corn kernels on an ear of corn? The rest is the husk, the silk (not much of that) and, of course, the cob. I don’t have recipes for the husks (though I think they’re used in tamales) or the silk, but I do have a recipe for the cobs. CORN COB JELLY. I’ve never made it myself, but it’s supposed to taste like honey. Wildflower honey, to be exact, according to some.

There’s a lot of waste with a watermelon, too, what with the thick rind and all. The solution? WATERMELON PICKLES. They’re a lot of work, though, if you make it according to the traditional recipe, or at least the recipe I got in the 70s from Toni, an old Iowa farm girl.They're also very sweet - some recipes call them Candied Watermelon Rind.  Or you could make EASY PICKLED WATERMELON RIND, which are lots easier and much less sweet, though they only keep about 10 days in the fridge. And if you’ve got an old-fashioned watermelon with lots of black seeds, you can make ROASTED WATERMELON SEEDS, which are a popular snack in the Middle East. You can do the same thing with seeds from cantaloupe, honeydew and other melons, too. For that matter, you should be able to make pickles from other kinds of melons, too, though most rinds aren’t as thick as watermelon rind.

Somewhat similar to the Watermelon Pickles are RED HOT CUCUMBERS, that Toni, who would be in her 90s today, used to make. They use the huge overgrown cucumbers that get overlooked in the garden and suddenly appear way bigger than you want to use in a salad. They're crunchy and sweet and cinnamony and spicy and pretty. A lot like the spiced apple rings that used to be used as garnish, especially at Christmas. I can't find Toni's recipe, but I know it took several days. The recipe I'm giving here is one I found online and only takes two days. You can use overgrown zucchini instead of the cucumbers if that's what you happen to have. Just be sure, with either the cucumbers or the zucchini, that they'll fit in your canning jar if you want to keep them in rings.

Looking over this, I see an awful lot of sugar added to the throw away items, so, with the exception of the watermelon seeds, they're not exactly cheap. They are cheaper, though, than if you had to go out and buy the cucumbers or apples or whatever to make pickles out of. And they're something different. And they're easy (fiddly, perhaps, but easy) and good. So why not give them a try?

A Rose by Any Other Name...

…still tastes as sweet!

Roses have been used as food and medicine for centuries – like at least back to First Century Greece. Rose petals and rose hips were collected and eaten in Britain during WWII because of the food shortages there. The hips especially are high in several vitamins, especially Vitamin C. But the best thing about them is the taste. Different varieties of roses used to have different scents and thus different flavors, but the modern hybridized roses tend to all smell and taste alike and have much less odor and flavor than the old ones. Another example of progress. Sigh.

Whatever roses you use, be sure that they haven’t been sprayed. Most roses have been well doused with pesticides, which you probably don’t want to eat. Wild roses, too, may have been sprayed with various chemicals and may have absorbed gas fumes if they are near a road or highway.

When my family moved to Idaho, our house had lots of roses out back, and I made rose petal jam and jelly the first summer. We didn’t much like the jam; we found the texture of the rose petals unpleasant. But the WILD ROSE PETAL JELLY was good. The recipe called for wild roses, but we just used the ones in the backyard.

ROSE WATER is used in many Middle Eastern and Indian recipes. You can buy it, but it’s easy to make yourself. Rose Water is an ingredient in the following recipes.

HONEY AND ROSE COOLER is a refreshing and cooling drink, perfect for a hot summer day. For an elegant (and yes, definitely girly!) afternoon snack, serve it with ROSEWATER COOKIES and ROSE PETAL SANDWICHES. Maybe for an engagement party or a shower?

The most unusual recipe I found is for ROSE PETAL PESTO. I don’t have a problem with roses and basil, or even with roses and cheese. But roses and garlic? I’ll leave that one to you. Let me know if you try it and what you think.

Roses can be used in other ways, too. Rose Hip Tea can be made by pouring boiling water over crushed rose hips and letting it steep. A few rose petals can be added to lemonade or to salads. Rose petals can be added to honey or to butter or can be crystalized and used to decorate cakes, cookies, etc. You can find recipes for these and other delicacies online by googling rose recipes.

Don't forget to take time to smell - and taste! - the roses!

Mary Anne

Canning Season is Here

Canning is a great way to take control of the foods we eat. When you process fruits and vegetables yourself, you know where they come from, and what has been added to them. You can avoid excess sugar and unwanted preservatives, and still enjoy safe and tasty home-cooked products. In the winter time it’s satisfying and comforting to go your own kitchen cabinet for beautifully preserved, locally grown, summer foods. The process of canning is also interesting and fun to do with a partner or friend.

We offer three canning workshops at Mother Hubbard's Cupboard each year, and will also offer demonstrations at the Saturday Farmer's Market in July and September. But if you have some produce that needs to be put up, you probably can't wait until our later summer workshops and demos. Here's the basics to get you started, and some links to recipes and methods. 
Canning is a process of preserving food by heating it to destroy unwanted micro-organisms and sealing it into a jar, to keep oxygen out. Some organisms can survive heating to boiling temperature, and an oxygen free environment. However, these organisms cannot survive in a high acid environment. So, to safely can foods using boiling water, you need to create a high acid environment inside the jar. To can products that are not high in acid, you need to heat the contents beyond boiling temperature, using a pressure canner.
The boiling water method is the one to use for canning tomatoes. Boiling water canning is only safe for preserving high-acid foods, such as most fruits, tomatoes (with added lemon juice) or foods with added acid such as pickles, catsup, salsa and chutney. Any time a low acid food is added to the product to be canned (such as onions, cucumbers or peppers) lemon juice or vinegar must be added (and a trusted canning recipe followed) in order to safely can with the boiling water method. Otherwise, you need to use a pressure canner 
It is easy to get started canning. You need a few special items, but most of them are inexpensive or easy to find second-hand. Consider going in on equipment with a neighbor, relative or friend, to reduce the initial investment. (You can also borrow them from our Tool Share program). For step by step instructions, see the Tomato Canning instructions.
You will need:

• ball jars, designed for canning, these can be used over and over 
• a canning bath (large enamel pot with a rack inside to hold the jars) or a large stock pot with some sort of rack 
  inserted 
• flat lids designed for canning jars (these MUST be new. Do not reuse these) 
• screw-on metal bands to go over the lids (these can be reused, and should be removed once the sealed jar has cooled) 
• a jar lifter 
• a canning funnel 
• a clean small cloth 
• ladle, spoon, knife and other basic utensils for prepping the food 
  Always be sure to follow trusted canning recipes closely. This is not the place to experiment, especially when it comes to the amount of vinegar or lemon juice required in a recipe. Tweaking spices to your own tastes is fine, just be sure keep the ratio of added acid to product consistent with a recipe designed for boiling water bath canning. Get your hands on a good canning book such as the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, or Putting Food By, and use that as your reference guide. County Extension websites (such as Purdue’s) are also great sources for trustworthy, detailed information on canning all sorts of foods. 
  Our goal is to empower you to get started canning, and to feel confident about preserving food safely at home. It is not difficult, just a bit time consuming. It is so satisfying, and at times even exciting, you may discover a new hobby! 

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs can be made out of any kind of bread and can be either soft (fresh) or dry. Dry breadcrumbs are used for breading foods and make a crispy coating. Soft breadcrumbs make a softer crust or stuffing.

To make dry breadcrumbs, start with stale bread (it can be very stale) and dry in a slow oven (200 degrees) until very dry. Let cool completely, then process in a blender or food processor, or break into pieces, put in a plastic bag, and crush with a rolling pin. Add seasoning if you like. Some Italian Herbs added to the bread before it’s processed turns plain breadcrumbs into Italian seasoned breadcrumbs.

To make soft breadcrumbs, start with slightly stale bread and dry it just a bit in a 200 degree oven. Process it in a blender or a food processor; a rolling pin won’t work. Season it if desired.

To make fresh breadcrumbs, start with fresh bread and don’t dry it in the oven. Process it in a food processor or blender (a rolling pin won’t work) and season as desired.

It depends on the size of your slices, of course, but figure on about four slices of bread to make one cup of dry bread crumbs or three slices of bread to make a cup of soft breadcrumbs.

You may be able to substitute crushed crackers, pretzels, stuffing mix, cornflakes, etc., depending on the recipe. Old fashioned oatmeal can be used instead of breadcrumbs in meatloaf and similar dishes. If you avoid grains, finely crushed pork rinds work.

Basic Zucchini Mixture (BZM)

Make up a big batch and freeze it in 2 or 3 cup packages and use in cakes, breads, soups, meatloaf, etc. See the article cited below for 50 uses for BZM!

(based on a recipe at http://articles.philly.com/1990-09-02/food/25878500_1_zucchini-bread-dessert-recipes-onion)

1 c finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T butter

1 T oil

5 lb grated zucchini (about 2 great big ones)

Cook the onion and garlic in the butter and oil until soft. Add the grated zucchini and stir for 4 to 5 minutes. Cool and drain. Squeeze through a clean towel to remove most of the moisture before using. Yields about 8 cups of drained BZM. The onion and garlic will not affect the taste of cakes, breads, etc. made with the BZM.

Note - Kayte came up with a wonderful idea! Instead of squeezing the zucchini mixture in a towel, she put it in a salad spinner and spun away. She got about a quart of liquid out of the zucchini which she's going to use a base for making veggie stock. It would be great in any kind of soup.

Watermelon Pickles

(an old family recipe)

4 to 5 qts watermelon rind

Boiling water

1 T salt

1 qt cider vinegar

6-1/2 qts sugar (26 cups)

28 whole cloves

14 cinnamon sticks

Choose firm fresh melon with thick white rind. Peel and trim away all but faintest pink. Cut as desired – cubes, hearts, shamrocks, etc. (There are old-fashioned cutters designed for this sort of thing. Cookie cutters won't do because they're not deep enough.) The pieces should be about 1". Cover rind with boiling water; add salt. Bring to boil and cook 10 minutes, or until cubes can be pierced easily with a fork. Drain well. Squeeze out extra liquid. Pack in crock or enameled kettle.

Bring vinegar and 6 cups sugar to a boil; pour over rind. Let stand overnight. Each day, drain off syrup and bring the syrup just to a boil, adding more sugar as follows: first day 4 cups, second through fourth days 2 cups each day and fifth to 14^th day days 1 cup per day. Skim if needed; pour back over pickles. (It won’t hurt if you skip an occasional day.)

On 14^th day, pack the pickles loosely in hot sterilized pint jars. To each jar, add 2 cloves and 1 stick cinnamon. Cover with syrup, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel and put on two piece metal canning lids. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Makes 11 to 14 pints.

A Smaller Version - only about 3 pints

4 to 5 cups watermelon rind

boiling water

3/4 t salt 

1 c cider vinegar

6-1/2 cups sugar

8 whole cloves

4 sticks cinnamon

Choose firm fresh melon with thick white rind. Peel and trim away all but faintest pink. Cut as desired – cubes, hearts, shamrocks, etc. (There are old-fashioned cutters designed for this sort of thing. Cookie cutters won't do because they're not deep enough.) Cover rind with boiling water; add salt. Bring to boil and cook 10 minutes, or until cubes can be pierced easily with a fork. Drain well. Squeeze out extra liquid. Pack in crock or enameled kettle.

Bring vinegar and 1-1/2 cups sugar to a boil; pour over rind. Let stand overnight. Each day, drain off syrup and bring the syrup just to a boil, adding more sugar as follows: first day 1 cup, second through fourth days 1/2 cup each day and fifth to 14^th day days 1/4 cup per day. Skim if needed; pour back over pickles. (It won’t hurt if you skip an occasional day.)

On 14^th day, pack the pickles in hot sterilized pint jars. To each jar, add 2 cloves and 1 stick cinnamon.  Cover with syrup, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel and put on two piece metal canning lids. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Makes 3 to 4 pints.

Easy Pickled Watermelon Rind

(based on a recipe from kitchenriff.com)

1 qt watermelon rind, cut into pieces about 1” square

1 c vinegar (rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or plain white vinegar)

1/2 c water

1 c sugar

2-1/2 t table salt

1 star anise

2” piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (optional) OR 1/2 t powdered cinnamon

Cut or scoop out the flesh from about half of a seedless watermelon. You can leave about 1/2 inch of red flesh on the rind or cut it off closer. Either way works, but be sure to leave at least a little bit of pink for the color. Cut the rind into 1” strips and then peel each strip, using either a potato peeler or a knife. You want to get rid of all the green skin. Cut the peeled strips into 1” pieces and measure. You should have between four and five cups.

Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, star and anise and optional ginger or cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Once it boils, add the watermelon rind, return to a boil, and simmer for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and cool for 1 hour.

Transfer watermelon rind to a 1 quart plastic container or canning jar. Don’t leave it in metal; the acid from the vinegar can ruin the metal and/or react with the vinegar to taste bad. Cover with the syrup. Refrigerate overnight and serve chilled.

These pickles must be refrigerated and won’t last more than a week to ten days in the fridge. Do not keep them longer than this.

Corn Cob Jelly

(from chickensintheroad.com)

12 large ears of corn
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
sugar

Cook corn; cut kernels from cobs and store for another use. Measure 2 quarts water into a large pot; add corn cobs.

Bring to a boil; boil hard, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cobs. Strain corn liquid through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer if you want a perfectly clear jelly. Or don’t strain it if you want – or don’t mind having – some bits of corn in it.

Measure remaining corn liquid. You should get about 3-1/2 cups. Return liquid to the large pot. Stir in lemon juice and pectin and a dab of butter to prevent foaming. Bring to a boil. Add sugar cup per cup to match the measure of your corn liquid. Stir to dissolve sugar. Bring pot to a rolling boil. Boil hard one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Ladle hot corn cob jelly into hot jars. Adjust lids and bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes about 5 half-pints.

Red Hot Cucumbers

(closely based on http://allrecipes.com/recipe/christmas-red-pickles/)

7 lbs large cucumbers

1 c pickling line (calcium hydroxide) – not pickling salt

2 t red food coloring

1 t powdered alum

1 c distilled white vinegar

7 c white sugar

2 c distilled white vinegar

2 c water

1 c cinnamon red hot candies (cinnamon imperials)

4 cinnamon sticks

Peel cucumbers. Cut in half cross-wise. Using a knife or spoon, scrape out the seeds, then cut into ¼” slices. They should be in rings. Make sure they’ll fit in your canning jars. If they’re too big, you can cut them into half circles, but the full circles look better. Place the cucumbers in a glass or ceramic crock or big bowl. (Don’t use metal because the vinegar will pit it and the reaction with the metal may make the cucumbers bitter.) Dissolve the pickling lime in about a quart of room temperature water and pour it over the cucumbers. Add enough additional water so that the cucumbers are covered by about 1/2”. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours.

Drain the cucumbers and rinse well with cold water. Place them into a large stockpot (preferably enameled rather than exposed metal) and cover with cold water. Leave them alone for 3 hours then drain and rinse them again.

Return the cucumbers to the pot and add the red food coloring, the alum, 1 cup of vinegar, and enough water to cover by 1/2” inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 hours. Drain them, and let them cool just a bit before returning them to the original glass or ceramic crock.

Stir together the sugar, 2 cups vinegar, red hot candies, and cinnamon sticks over medium heat until the sugar and the candies dissolve. Pour over the still warm cucumbers, cover, and leave them overnight.

Pack pickles into pint jars, seal, and process in a hot water bath for 15 to 20 minutes. Refrigerate any jars that don’t seal. 

Rose Water

(from theprairiestar.com)

Pick rose petals (from roses that haven’t been sprayed) in the morning when they are freshest and the scent is strongest. Remove the white tip, if any, which may be bitter. Rinse the petals and drain them. Fill a container with petals and pour boiling water over them. Cover with a lid and steep. Strain, then refrigerate for up to several days or freeze. To freeze, pour the rose water into ice cube trays and freeze. Put the frozen ice cubes in a plastic bag and label the bag.

Wild Rose Petal Jelly

(the recipe was copied many years ago from an unknown book)

1 qt (4 cups) rose petals - unsprayed

4 c water

1/2 c strained strawberry juice

3-1/2 lbs sugar (7 and 7/8 c)

1 c liquid pectin

Gather a quart of rose petals. Be sure that they haven’t been sprayed. Wash gently. If there are white tips to the petals, cut them off as they may be bitter. Cover the petals with water, bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Strain through a jelly bag, add strawberry juice, and measure the liquid. Add enough water to make 1 quart. Return liquid to kettle, stir in sugar and bring back to boil. Still stirring, pour in pectin and boil 1 minute. Pour into sterilized jelly glasses and seal.

Note – best with wild rose petals and wild strawberries, but roses and strawberries from your garden will work. Food coloring may be added.

Pressure Canning

Preserving Food: Using Pressure Canners COOPERATIVE EXTENSION THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA College of Family and Consumer Sciences in cooperation with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Pressure canners for use in the home were extensively redesigned beginning in the 1970's.  Models made before the 1970's were heavy-walled kettles with clamp-on or turn-on lids. They were fitted with a dial gauge, a vent pipe in the form of a petcock or covered with a counterweight, and a safety fuse.  Most modern pressure canners are lightweight, thin-walled kettles; most have turn-on lids fitted with gaskets.  At least one style is still made with heavy cast aluminum, has screw-down knobs around the canner and does not have a gasket, however.

Modern pressure canners have removable racks, an automatic vent/cover lock, a vent pipe (steam vent), and a safety fuse. Use only canners that have the Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) approval to ensure their safety.

Today’s pressure canner may have a dial gauge for indicating the pressureor a weighted gauge, for indicating and regulating the pressure. Weighted gauges are usually designed to "jiggle" several times a minute or to keep rocking gently when they are maintaining the correct pressure. Read your manufacturer’s directions to know how a particular weighted gauge should rock or jiggle to indicate that the proper pressure is reached and then maintained during processing. Dial gauge canners will usually have a counterweight or pressure regulator for sealing off the open vent pipe to pressurize the canner. This weight should not be confused with a weighted gauge and will not jiggle or rock as described for a weighted gauge canner. Pressure readings on a dial gauge canner are only registered on the dial and only the dial should be used as an indication of the pressure in the canner. One manufacturer now makes a dual-gauge canner; read the manufacturer’s user manual for information on when and how to use either the weighted gauge or the dial.

Pressure canners come deep enough for one layer of quart or smaller size jars, or deep enough for two layers of pint or smaller size jars.  The USDA recommends that a canner be large enough to hold at least 4 quart jars to be considered a pressure canner for the USDA published processes.

Serious errors in processes obtained in pressure canners can occur if any of the following conditions exist:

• The altitude at which the canner is operated is above sea level and adjustments in pressure are not made. Internal canner pressures (and therefore temperatures) are lower at higher altitudes. Canners must be operated at increased pressures as the altitude increases. Check reliable canning instructions for altitude adjustments.
• Air is trapped in the closed canner during the process. Air trapped in a pressure canner lowers the temperature obtained for a given pressure (for example, 10 or 15 pounds pressure) and results in underprocessing. To be safe, USDA recommends that all pressure canners must be vented 10 minutes before they are pressurized.
  
  To vent a canner, leave the vent pipe (steam vent) uncovered (or manually open the petcock on some older models) after you fill the canner and lock the canner lid in place. Heat the canner on high until the water boils and generates steam that can be seen escaping through the open vent pipe or petcock. When a visible funnel-shape of steam is continuously escaping the canner, set a timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes of continuous steam, you can close the petcock or place the counterweight or weighted gauge over the vent pipe to begin pressurizing the canner. (See steps 3 and 4 below.) 
• An inaccurate dial gauge is used. Dial gauges should be checked for accuracy each year before use. If the gauge reads high or low by more than two pounds at 5, 10 or 15 pounds pressure, replace it. If it is less than two pounds off in accuracy, you can make adjustments needed to be sure you have the required pressure in your canner.

Follow these steps for successful pressure canning:

(Read through all the instructions before beginning.)

1.    Make sure the pressure canner is working properly before preparing food. Clean lid gaskets and other parts according to the manufacturer’s directions; make sure all vent pipes are clear and contain no trapped material or mineral deposits. Center the canner over the burner. The burner and range must be level. Your pressure canner can be damaged if the burner puts out too much heat. In general, do not use on an outdoor LP gas burner or gas range burner over 12,000 BTU’s. Check your manufacturer’s directions for more information about appropriate burners.

Put the rack and hot water into the canner. If the amount of water is not specified with a given food, use enough water so it is 2 to 3 inches high in the canner. Longer processes required more water. Some specific products (for example, smoked fish) require that you start with even more water in the canner. Always follow the directions with USDA processes for specific foods if they require more water be added to the canner.

For hot packed foods, you can bring the water to 180 degrees F. ahead of time, but be careful not to boil the water or heat it long enough for the depth to decrease. For raw packed foods, the water should only be brought to 140 degrees F. 

2.    Place filled jars, fitted with lids and ring bands, on the jar rack in the canner, using a jar lifter. When moving jars with a jar lifter, make sure the jar lifter is securely positioned below the neck of the jar (below the ring band of the lid). Keep the jar upright at all times. Tilting the jar could cause food to spill into the sealing area of the lid.

3.    Fasten the canner lid securely. Leave the weight off the vent pipe or open the petcock.

4.    Turn the heat setting to its highest position. Heat until the water boils and steam flows freely in a funnel-shape from the open vent pipe or petcock. While maintaining the high heat setting, let the steam flow (exhaust) continuously for 10 minutes.

5.    After this venting, or exhausting, of the canner, place the counterweight or weighted gauge on the vent pipe, or close the petcock. The canner will pressurize during the next 3 to 10 minutes.

6.    Start timing the process when the pressure reading on the dial gauge indicates that the recommended pressure has been reached, or, for canners without dial gauges, when the weighted gauge begins to jiggle or rock as the manufacturer describes.

7.    Regulate the heat under the canner to maintain a steady pressure at, or slightly above, the correct gauge pressure. One type of weighted gauge should jiggle a certain number of times per minute, while another type should rock slowly throughout the process – check the manufacturer’s directions. 

o   Loss of pressure at any time can result in underprocessing, or unsafe food.

o   Quick and large pressure variations during processing may cause unnecessary liquid losses from jars.

IMPORTANT: If at any time pressure goes below the recommended amount, bring the canner back to pressure and begin the timing of the process over, from the beginning (using the total original process time). This is important for the safety of the food.

8.    When the timed process is completed, turn off the heat, remove the canner from the heat (electric burner) if possible, and let the canner cool down naturally. (Lift the canner to move it; do not slide the canner. It is also okay to leave the canner in place after you have turned off the burner. It is better to do so than to let jars inside the canner tilt or tip over if the canner is too heavy to move easily.)

While the canner is cooling, it is also de-pressurizing. Do not force cool the canner. Forced cooling may result in food spoilage. Cooling the canner with cold running water or opening the vent pipe before the canner is fully depressurized are types of forced cooling. They will also cause loss of liquid from jars and seal failures. Forced cooling may also warp the canner lid.

Even after a dial gauge canner has cooled until the dial reads zero pounds pressure, be cautious in removing the weight from the vent pipe. Tilt the weight slightly to make sure no steam escapes before pulling it all the way off. Newer canners will also have a cover lock in the lid or handle that must release after cooling before the lids are twisted off. Do not force the lid open if the cover locks are not released. Manufacturers will provide more detailed instructions for particular models.

Depressurization of older canner models without dial gauges should be timed. Standard size heavy-walled canners require about 30 minutes when loaded with pints and 45 minutes when loaded with quarts. Newer thin-walled canners cool more rapidly and are equipped with vent locks that are designed to open when the pressure is gone. These canners are depressurized when the piston in the vent lock drops to a normal position. Some of these locks are hidden in handles and cannot be seen; however, the lid will not turn open until the lock is released. 

9.    After the canner is completely depressurized, remove the weight from the vent pipe or open the petcock. Wait 10 minutes; then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Lift the lid with the underside away from you so that the steam coming out of the canner does not burn your face.

10. Using a jar lifter, remove the jars one at a time, being careful not to tilt the jars. Carefully place them directly onto a towel or cake cooling rack, leaving at least one inch of space between the jars during cooling. Avoid placing the jars on a cold surface or in a cold draft.

11. Let the jars sit undisturbed while they cool, from 12 to 24 hours. Do not tighten ring bands on the lids or push down on the center of the flat metal lid until the jar is completely cooled.

12. Remove ring bands from sealed jars. Ring bands can be washed and dried and put away for using another time. Put any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use first.

13. Wash jars and lids to remove all residues.

14. Label jars and store in a cool, dry place out of direct light.

15. Dry the canner, lid and gasket. Take off removable petcocks and safety valves; wash and dry thoroughly. Follow maintenance and storage instructions that come from your canner manufacturer.

Reprinted with permission from the University of Georgia.
Andress, E. (2011rev.). Preserving Food: Using Pressure Canners. Athens, GA: University of Georgia, Cooperative Extension.