If you’ve ever thought about learning how to can and preserve the many tastes of summer, this is for you! Summer is the time of harvest and is the perfect season to learn the art of canning. You can not only capture the summer flavors in jars but you can also stock your pantry full of delicious goodness for your family. Additionally, canned goods make a GREAT gift idea.
In the below text, you’ll learn the basics of what canning and preserving are including the different methods, materials needed, and more! Canning is something you should try – I’ve put together this guide to show you just how simple it is. Let’s get started!
What Is Canning and Preserving?
You may hear the terms canning and food preservation used interchangeably. While they have some similarities, they have different meanings. Ultimately, food preservation is the process of treating and storing foods in ways that prevent spoilage, extend shelf life and maintain safety and quality over time. Canning, however, is just one method of food preservation. This process involves placing food in sterilized jars, heating them to high temperature to destroy harmful bacteria, yeasts and molds which creates a vacuum seal that keeps air out.
You may remember your grandparents preserving food, as it is a process that has been around for many years. It goes back over 200 years and is tied closely to the needs of military and naval forces starting around 1795 when the French were determining a way to keep foods fresh for military needs. From the start, canning methods have improved and technology has caught up allowing for more food preservation to be done.
Self-sufficiency is something that the more recent generations are bringing back! With the prices of food and essentials, it is important to our family (and many others) to find ways to self- sustain. If we are able to get our hands on fresh fruits and vegetables, why not try to stretch their use throughout years instead of creating waste? Additionally, we know the ingredients and that they are healthier with less preservatives!
Types of Home Canning
There are a few different methods for canning that we will review here:
Water Bath Canning is best for high-acid foods (jams, jellies, pickles, tomatoes with added acid). This is the best way to get started without many special tools. It is the easiest method and usually encompasses the foods that beginner canners try!
The process may seem labor intensive, but I promise it is easy:
The Basic Process:
1. Prepare the Jars
- Wash jars, lids, and bands in hot soapy water. If you’d like, you can boil them for 15 minutes in a large pot too.
- Keep jars hot (in simmering water or a warm oven) until ready to fill.
2. Prepare the Food
- Follow a recipe (see below for some tested recipes) to ensure that you’re following safety standards.
- Keep your prepared food hot until you’re ready to can. If you do need to pause, just reheat before you can.
3. Fill the Jars
- Use a funnel to fill jars ensuring that you leave the correct headspace.
- Measure for the correct headspace (usually ¼ to ½ inch).
- Remove air bubbles (use a bubble remover tool).
- Wipe jar rims clean with a wet paper towel.
- Place lids on and screw bands on fingertip tight.
4. Process in Boiling Water
- Place jars inside of a deep stock pot.
- Water should cover jars by at least 1–2 inches.
- Cover the pot and bring to a rolling boil.
- Start timing according to your recipe.
5. Cool and Check Seals
- After processing, carefully remove jars with a jar lifter.
- Let them cool undisturbed for 12–24 hours.
- Check for seals: the lid should not flex when pressed.
6. Label and Store
- Label jars with the contents and date.
- Store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.
- Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.
Pressure Canning is the canning method used for low-acid foods like vegetables, meats and soups. This process does require some special tools like a pressure canner. The process is basically the same for outside of the sealing method.
1. Prepare Your Jars and Ingredients
- Wash jars, lids, and bands in hot soapy water.
- Keep jars hot until ready to use.
- Prepare your food according to a tested pressure canning recipe.
2. Fill the Jars
- Ladle food into jars or use a funnel.
- Make sure to leave the recommended headspace and measure with your headspace tool (usually 1 to 1¼ inches).
- Remove air bubbles with your bubble removal tool and wipe jar rims clean.
- Apply lids and screw on bands fingertip tight.
3. Load the Pressure Canner
- Add 2–3 inches of water to the bottom of the pressure canner (not enough to cover jars).
- Place jars inside on a rack.
4. Vent and Pressurize
- Lock the canner lid and vent steam for 10 minutes.
- Then apply the weight or close the valve to build pressure.
- Bring the canner up to the required pressure (usually 10–15 lbs), depending on your recipe and altitude.
5. Process for the Correct Time
- Once pressure is reached, start timing your recipe.
- Maintain steady pressure for the entire time.
- Don’t open or lower pressure early—this is critical for safety.
6. Cool and Remove Jars
- Turn off heat and let the canner cool completely and depressurize on its own.
- Carefully remove jars with jar lifter and let them cool undisturbed for 12–24 hours.
7. Check Seals and Store
- Test lids for a proper seal (they shouldn’t flex when pressed).
- Label and store jars in a cool, dark place.
You may be interested or have heard about other methods of food preservation – these are freezing, dehydrating, and fermenting. While I don’t get into the specifics of this here, they are available methods and I can deep dive if you’d like!
Basic Equipment You’ll Need for Canning
- Canning jars – I prefer quart size wide mouth jars but you can also use other sizes and styles.
- Canning lids – you can use the ones that come with the jar sets, but it is nice to have extra lids on hand as you will remove the rings and leave the lids sealed when storing. Further, the lids are not reusable.
- Water bath canner or pressure canner – For water bath canning, you can use a large stock pot. Just ensure that the water is able to cover 1-2″ above the jars when you are sealing. For pressure canning, you will need a special pressure canner.
- Jar lifter, funnel, ladle
- Bubble remover/headspace tool
- Towels, labels, and storage tips – see below for some free printable labels.
Canning Essentials Amazon List
Choosing What to Can
Water bath canning is a good place to start canning! Some beginner recipes are pico de gallo, jams, pickles and more! You can find so many good recipes online for tried and true canning recipes. Here are some of my favorites:
Safety First: Canning Do’s and Don’ts
Always look for tested recipes and you can find a lot of them online! A good website is Ball – they have a ton of tried and true recipes! Another safety tip is to ensure that you have a good seal – you can test this by ensuring that the bubble in the middle of the canning lid is down when the jar has cooled. Secondly, you can ensure that you can’t gently lift the lift when it has cooled.
Before enjoying a canned good, ensure that you check around visually at the top of the jar for any mold or other bacteria that may have grown. If that is the case, unfortunately, you will have to toss. When you open a jar and do not finish the contents, you must refrigerate the remainder.
Common Canning Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
If you live in a higher altitude, ensure that you adjust your recipe accordingly. Tried and true recipes will have altitude adjustment tips.
Another common mistake is overfilling the jars – make sure you measure and leave the proper headspace in your jar.
Having extra canning lids on hand is essential as you cannot reuse the lids themselves. If you do, you won’t get a good seal.
Lastly, never skip the sterilization of your jars. This is an essential step in ensuring that no bacteria grows.
Resources for New Canners
Here are some recommended books for beginner canners:
- Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
- Over 400 tested recipes from the trusted Ball brand. Great for beginners and intermediate canners alike. Covers water bath and pressure canning.
- The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving
- Modern, step-by-step guide with gorgeous photos. Includes small-batch canning and fun twists on traditional recipes.
- So Easy To Preserve
- Scientifically sound and incredibly thorough. Covers the “why” behind canning methods. Excellent for serious beginners.
- Canning for a New Generation
- Creative, small-batch recipes with a modern twist. Great for urban homesteaders and foodies who want to try new flavors.
- The Beginner’s Guide to Preserving Food at Home
- Friendly and approachable. Covers a variety of preserving methods including canning, drying, and freezing.
- Preserving by the Pint
- Focuses on small-batch canning—perfect if you’re short on time or storage space.
- The Complete Guide to Pressure Canning
- Perfect for beginners ready to learn pressure canning safely. Includes meals-in-a-jar, soups, stocks, and meat.
- The Complete Guide to Home Canning
- A bestselling invaluable resource book for persons who are canning and preserving food for the first time. Experienced canners will find updated information to help them improve their canning practices.
- USDA’s Complete Guide to Canning & Food Preservation
- This printable PDF is a must have for all canners!
- USDA Website with Resources
Canning is something that I’ve recently become passionate about. Little by little, we’ve been making small changes in our home to preserve and create the food that we need on a daily basis. This is a skill that improves with practice and I recommend starting small and building that confidence before you go too far into it. My first recipe was for pico de gallo and we enjoyed a jar recently – so good!
Free Download: Printable Canning Labels
To help you get started, here are some FREE printable canning labels. These are great to print and place on the jars for gift giving!