Food Canning Basics for the Homestead

A large part of gardening and homesteading, is figuring out how to preserve all the food harvested from the garden to then be enjoyed all year round. One of the ways to preserve food is canning it. Are you new to the idea of canning and preserving? Are you interested in learning the very basics of canning? This post will give you an overview of what the process is all about and how it can help you to store delicious food items in your food storage pantry.

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Table of Contents:

1. What is Canning?
2. Benefits of Canning
3. The Canning Process
   1. To Start Canning you will need:
   2. The Basics of the Canning Process
   3. Related Posts:
4. Pin This Image:

What is Canning?

Canning is one of the many processes of preserving foods for eating later. It is a great way for people to have food throughout the winter months and to preserve food at its freshest and most abundant.

Summer foods grown in our gardens don’t last forever. One way to keep enjoying the taste of summer berries and vegetables is to preserve them. Canning is one way that people living in remote locations in the early days and on homesteads were able to survive the long harsh winters.

There are two main types of canning. There is pressure canning which is used for low acid foods like potatoes as well as any kind of meat should be pressure canned.

The other type of canning is called water bath canning. This is how you can things like pickles and jams. Items that either have a lot of acid (foods that are pickled are done using some type of acidity like vinegars) or a lot of sugar/sweetener like jams and jellies which help to preserve the food.

Benefits of Canning

Canning does take a while to do until you get the hang of the process. So, why start canning at all? There are several benefits of canning for you and your family.

Canning is economical – It saves money on groceries. When you want strawberry preserves in January, you go to the pantry instead of heading to the grocery store.

Canning cuts out food waste – Fruits and vegetables that you have grown in your garden don’t have to be given away or thrown away because you can’t eat them all before they spoil.

Fresh and good for you – Canning uses the natural fresh ingredients without preservatives or additives like food dyes and chemicals. This is better for your body. Also, the natural flavor of the food comes through for a tastier meal.

Canning food stocks your pantry – I think most of us have learned over the course of the pandemic of 2020/21 that it is very beneficial to have a pantry stocked with food. Even if you are not a “pepper”, having a pantry stocked with healthy food is such a relief when major events happen and we can’t access the grocery stores. Major events don’t just mean once in a lifetime events (like a global pandemic!) some other major events that could happen more frequently include:

• Major weather events and power outages
• Job loss
• Critical illness
• Wars and civil unrest

 

The Canning Process

In order to get started, you’ll need a few tools. Kitchen and some home stores usually stock what you will need to get started. You can also Google “canning supplies” online to see the best stores and the best prices or you can click on the red highlighted words to be taken to my favorite supplies on Amazon.

You can even find some supplies second-hand at garage and yard sales, thrift stores and sometimes flea markets. Even if you only can foods one season, your equipment will have paid for itself!

To Start Canning you will need:

• Canning jars
• Seals and lids
• Wide mouth funnel
• Ladle
• Jar lifting tongs
• Pressure canner
• large cooking pot with lid
• Large pot or Dutch oven
• Clean towels

There are also several kit arrangements for various canning supplies like this Granite Ware Enamel-on-Steel Canning Kit, 5-Piece or just the canning utensils like this Norpro Canning Essentials Boxed Set, 6 Piece Set.

The Basics of the Canning Process

The first thing you will need to so is to sterilize your jars and lids. Wash them with hot water and soap. Then boil them for about 10 minutes. Make sure that they are completely covered so they are sterilized inside and out. Or if you have a dishwasher, you can run them through a cycle and this will sterilize them as well.

Prepare your food. Slice up or dice your vegetables and fruits. Pickling may be preferred for some vegetables. Make preserves out of your fruits if you wish. Prepare them at the peak of freshness for maximum flavor and nutrition. Add lemon juice to tomatoes to achieve stable pH. Ascorbic acid can prevent fruits from browning in the jar.

Fill the jars with your fruits and vegetables, leaving space for expansion. Add boiling liquid or pickling solution until it covers the top of the food. Remove any air bubbles before sealing with the lids and the rings.

To complete the process, the sealed jars must be placed into boiling water in a pot of pressure canner. Make sure water covers the jars when water bath canning. The boiling time depends on the food and the altitude.

Allow jars to cool and vacuum seal before labeling and storing them. You can tell when the lids have vacuum sealed by gently touching the tops of the lids and if they are gently indented then they have sealed. If the lids bounce at all then they are NOT sealed and you should put them in your fridge and use them up soon.

These instructions are very basic and are just an example of how to get started with canning. Make sure you take time to really research it and other food storage options like drying or fermenting or root cellaring and maybe pick up a book or two on food preserving recipes etc. Some of my favorite resources for canning are included in homesteading books like in most of My Favorite Homesteading/Farming/Gardening Books.

Related Posts:

• More Favorite Gardening/Farming/Permaculture Books
• Canning Pears in Maple Syrup ~ The Prairie Homestead 
• How to Dehydrated Apple Slices
• 8 Ways of Making Use of Excess Cucumbers with Bonus Antioxidant Salad Recipe
• 9 Unique Ways to Use Extra Tomatoes (with Bonus Goat Cheese Stuffed Tomato Recipe)
• Canning Apple Slices ~ The Prairie Homestead
• Food Storage and Safety at Home
• Spicy Cherry Chutney Recipe

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