Let's start with the basics of canning, starting with the jars and lids. The glass jars, like Mason jars, come in an assortment of sizes - half pint, pint, pint and a half, quart, and half gallon. I usually can in the half pint and pint size jars, that way I know the contents will be used before they go bad once I open them. The mouth (opening) of the jars are threaded and comes in a standard size of two and three-eighths inches or in a wide mouth size of three inches. This sizes don't make much of a difference, but when it comes to re-using the jars you'll need to make sure you get the right size lids. The lid comes in two pieces - a flat metal lid and a threaded metal screw-on band that holds the flat lid in place. The flat lid has a resin type compound that'll soften up during the canning process. The compound will slightly melt around the mouth of the jar, forming a gasket type seal as the heat escapes, taking the oxygen with it. These jars have an indefinite life, as long as they don't become chipped, cracked, or broken in any way. The flat lids on the other hand, may only be good for five years from the manufacturer date if new. I've tried to read around about re-using the flat lids, or if there's a compound I can buy to re-use them, but all information leads to no. I've seen boxes of wax in the canning isle at Walmart, but I'm not quite sure if it's for canning lids, or something else.
Before starting the canning process, all the jars and lids need to be cleaned and sterilized. It's a fairly simple procedure. (1) Thoroughly wash and rinse each jar, flat lid, and band with hot soapy water. (2) Choose a pot that is deep enough to completely set the jars inside with the opening facing up. (3) Add enough water to the pot to completely fill and cover each jar with at least 2 inches of water. (4) Using high heat, bring the water in the pot to a boil and let it stay at a rolling boil for 10 minutes. This time will vary with higher altitudes. (5) After the water has boiled for the necessary time, turn off the heat and carefully drop in the lids, along with the grasping end of the tongs you will be using. (6) The lids and tongs need to sit in the hot water a minimum of 10 minutes, but can be left for longer. Don't take the lids out until they are ready to be put on the jars. (8) To be sure that the jars stay sanitized until the process is finished, the jars need to be lifted out of the pot with the tongs, dumped out, and then set mouth side up on a clean paper towel or towel. You can let the jars sit for a minute or so before actually filling them, but the filling will need to be done as soon as possible to ensure that the jar doesn't cool. Pouring hot foods/ingredients into a cool jar could cause them to crack or even burst.
Now that the basic information for the jars, lids, and their sterilization
is out of the way, let's talk about canning methods. There are two different methods to choose from, pressure canning or in a boiling water bath. I don't personally have any hands on experience with the pressure canners, but since I read up on them I'll try to explain. A pressure canner is a heavy-duty kettle type piece of equipment with screw clamps, a vent, and a way to monitor and control pressure. Before each use, you'll need to clean, inspect, and assemble the equipment, being sure not to get the gauge wet or bump it around. The pressure gauge should be checked before each canning season and from what I understand, you should be able to have this done at your local county extension office. As far as the step by step directions go for using a pressure canner, you'll need to thoroughly read the instructions manual that comes with it and then save it for future reference. Now for how it works. Water comes to a boil at 212 degrees F, but pressure canners have the ability to bring the food contents inside the jars to 240 degrees F or higher. Since plain vegetables, soups, animal products, and any other low acid foods with a pH level of 4.6 or above need a minimum of 240 degrees F to properly eliminate botulism, pressure caning is the only safe method to use.
The other canning method, and the one I 'm pretty familiar with, is a boiling water bath. Water bath canning is done with nothing more than a deep pot with a lid, and a rack that will set down inside the pot. I personally use a 15.5 quart sized stock pot that came with a steam tray that sits in the bottom, I think I paid around $20 for it when I bought it. If you can foods in larger quantities, you can find much larger pots than the one I have. Since botulism spores can't grow into the botulism toxin in acidic foods, water bath canning is great for acidic fruits, pickled vegetables, jellies, jams, and any other food that have, or can be altered to have, a pH of 4.6 or less. The pH can be brought to needed levels with additions of citric acids like lemon or lime juice, or vinegar. When you are preparing the pot for the canning, you'll need enough water to ensure that once the \jars are lowered in, they will be covered with about 2 inches of water. The tops of the jars should never be above the water at any time once the process begins. Depending on the contents you're canning, there are guidelines for head space (the space between the contents and the lid) and the time they need to be in the boiling water. If the water stops boiling for any reason, bring the water back to a boil and restart the timer for the processing time. Once this time period is complete, turn the burner off or remove the pot from the heat and leave the lid on for about 5 minutes before opening it. Letting it sit for 5 minutes gives a higher success rate for the seals and allows the contents to settle before you remove them.
Using tongs, take the jars out of the pressure canner or the boiling water bath, and set them on a towel to cool. A cool counter top could shock hot jars causing them to crack, or maybe even burst. Make sure you pick a good place where they won't be in the way because they should cool over night at least. I like to leave them for at least 24 hours and then make sure the seals took right before I store them away. I do a simple test by pushing on the center of the lid. If it doesn't pop up then the seal should be fine. After that test passes, I carefully remove the screw on lid band and grasp the edges of the flat lid, carefully picking up the jar about an inch or 2 to make double sure the seal took. That's the extent of my seal testing, but according to a few things I've read, you can also check the seal by tapping a spoon on it. I guess you can tap the bottom of the spoon on the top center of the lid. If it makes a higher pitched ping sound then they're sealed correctly, but a dull sound could mean they didn't, unless there's food touching the inside of the lid, which will make a dull tap sound anyway... a little weary on this testing method, so I'll just stick to my regulars.
You may notice that the exterior of your jars seem a bit cloudy once they finish processing too, especially if you used tap water. Even if your tap water isn't really hard water, the smallest traces of lime and other minerals can leave the exterior of your jars mucked with mineral deposits. You can add a cup of white vinegar to the water you submerge the jars in before it's hot. This will keep your jars crystal clear on the outside and it'll make the pressure canner or pot easier to clean. Having a chalky looking exterior doesn't effect the quality or safety of the contents in it, but sometimes it feels strange (to me) pulling out a cloudy jar. If you already have some cloudy jars because you hadn't added the vinegar on previous canning sessions, you can clean them off with vinegar too. I've read some suggestions about submerging the jars into warm water that has vinegar in it, but I can't help but feel like if I stuck jars that already cooled into hot water again, it may mess up the seal or something, but I could be wrong. I just dip a clean hand towel in white vinegar and wipe it off, then rinse the whole jar in cool water and dry it. Even though the crystal clean appearance on the outside of your jar makes no difference as far as quality or safety, jars that are sticky or have other food residues on the outside do need wiped off to avoid attracting ants or any other pests.
Once all your jars are properly processed, wiped off if needed, cooled, and the seals are checked, it's time for you to put them away somewhere. Be sure and write whatever food the jar contains and write the date that you canned them. I always write it all on the flat lid so I can re-use the jars for future canning without them being marked up already. Storing them without the screw on band in a dark, clean, and dry place is best, as long as the temperature of the area keeps between 50-70 degrees F. I just put mine in the pantry. Remember to put the newest jars in the back of your stock and pull the older ones forward so they are stored for first in - first out use, just like with everything else that has an expiration date. Again with the shelf life. I've never had anything that I canned last more than a few months before it was eaten, but some research leads me to believe that home canned foods are good for a year for sure, possibly up to 2 years depending on the contents and the atmosphere they're kept in. Now for some telltale signs of spoilage. If you see any leaking, bulging, or swollen lids, or if the jar has cracked, chipped, or broken, throw it away without opening it. If you open a jar because you don't notice any of the previous signs that they went bad and any foam or liquid spurts out, throw it away. Clean it up any spills with a diluted bleach water to make sure you get rid of any botulism or other bad bacteria. If no liquids spurt out but the contents are discolored, smell bad, or are moldy, throw them away too. Never taste any home canned foods to make sure they're good or not. Even the smallest taste test that contains botulism toxins can be deadly.
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Now I have some questions of my own, let's see if you can answer any or just discuss them with me in the comment section below:
Do you personally know of a longer shelf life for any specific home canned foods passed the 2 year mark? If so, what was the shelf life and what were the contents of the jar?
Do you know of a way to re-use the flat jar lids?
Have you seen the brick of wax in the canning section at Walmart, or any other store? If so, is it for canning and have you ever tried it?
Would you trust re-using the lid if you were able to scrape off the old compound and put on a new compound?
Do you have another way to check the seal on your lids?
What are some of your favorite things to can?
Have you canned bacon or heard of anyone who has?
Have you canned any other meat? If so, what kind?
What questions do you have?
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Before I go, I want to share some links with you. I didn't pull anything word for word from these, but this post was partially summarized through some of these. I do not own any of the content or videos in the following links.
General Canning Information
Boiling Water Bath vs. Pressure Canning
Safe Water Bath and Pressure Canning
National Center For Home Food Preservation
Cooperative Extension System Offices
Ball - Fresh Preserving
Canning 101 - video
Canning 101 Pressure vs. Water Bath - video
Canning, Pickling, and Preserves 101 - recipes
Recipe Index - recipes
I hope you enjoyed this post. Please be sure and subscribe if you haven't already, answer some of my questions if you can and ask any that you have, leave a comment if you have one, and share this with others that may find it useful. Check back in a couple days to see the next food storage method on the list, it's a good one. Until then...
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