Essential Home Canning Equipment For Food Canning

One of the best option that people choose when it comes into their homes is to preserve their foods in terms of food canning. Pressure canning, water bath method and using other techniques have been learned based on th kind of food to processed. With this, there are various home canning equipment which have been used for making the canning process a lot easier.

Opt for a wing nut system canner. Steer clear of pressure cooker and canner which contains plastic gasket seal as it can wear down and crack in time. Then from time to time it will be requiring a replacement which could be costly and time consuming on your part. Wing nut system on the other hand does not require gaskets replacement thus, you have an equipment anytime you want to use it. This is one big advantage you can get using the wing nut system.

Your equipment for home canning, particularly canner parts, must be kept altogether to prevent loss and from frantically searching looking for them when you need them. Constantly check the wing nuts, pressure gauge, pressure regulator as well as other canning supplies. keep in mind that a canner or a pressure cooker without vent regulator is worthless. When storing equipment, store the loose parts right inside the canner to secure them.

Basically, the home canning equipment includes jars. Prefer glasses that can tolerate high heat, like the Mason or Kerr canning jars intentionally made for pressure canning and boiling bath. Apart from a canner, metal coverings and screw bands are also included. Eventually, metal lids are only used once and discarded when the content is completely consumed. Conversely, screw bands can be used repetitively.

If you can afford and get them, home canning equipment pieces should be anodized aluminum and stainless steel made. Do not choose cast iron, galvanized zinc, copper or brass since they negatively react with acid or salt in foods. Other equipment used for home canning include saucepans and pots, colander, cutting board, heat-resistant ladles and spoons, knives, potato peeler, measuring spoons and cups in different sizes, a mixing bowl and a funnel especially-made for jars.

There is more. For you to complete you home canning equipment, you need to incorporate dry towels, permanent marker, cheesecloth, non-metal spatula, timer, air lifter, kitchen scale and more.

Home Canning Tomatoes

Tomatoes are probably the most popular food item grown in gardens. Usually there is an abundance of this crop once they begin to ripen. Home Canning Tomatoes is one way to ensure that the overstock of produce will not go to waste. By canning your own tomatoes you will also be able to enjoy the flavorful taste of you home grown tomatoes long after the season ends.

Ways to Preserve Tomatoes

There is an assortment of ways to preserve tomatoes. They may be canned, frozen or in some cases even dried. The most popular way of preserving tomatoes is to canning. This versatile method allows you to utilize the canned tomatoes in a variety of techniques that can be used later to make soups, chili or stews. Who wouldn€t want that same great fresh tasting flavor even in the cold winter months?

Preparing Tomatoes for Canning

Only a stainless steel pot or saucepan and stainless steel utensils should be used when preparing tomatoes for canning. Because the tomatoes have such a high acidic value, using any other type of pot may result in bitter tasting canned tomatoes that have a less than desirable color about them.

Canning Tomatoes Safely

It is important to remember that in order to ensure safety tomatoes must be canned correctly. Only choose disease free, fresh firm tomatoes for canning. Tomatoes tend to be a high acidic food item. Boiling Water Bath Canning or Pressure Canning methods are the recommended processing technique to be used when home canning tomatoes. According to some sources using a pressure canner may even yield higher quality flavor with more nutritious value. Either however, is an acceptable means of preserving tomatoes.
The USDA recommends that all home canned tomatoes be acidified prior to canning to ensure safety from botulism. This is achieved by adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or teaspoon of citric acid per quart. Using pints, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or teaspoon of citric acid.

Processing times for hot packed crushed tomatoes in water bath canning is 35 minutes for pints and 45 minutes for quarts. If using a pressure canner the processing time is 15 minutes for both pints and quarts. You must be sure to set the dial gauges on the pressure cooker to 11lbs. of pressure and the weighted gauge should be set at 10lbs. of pressure.

Following these instructions should assure the quality of taste when Home Canning Tomatoes. Just think about how happy you and your family will be this winter when you are enjoying the same great flavor you had this summer.

Homemade Canning - The Home Canning Essential Equipment Checklist

Before beginning to can at home, it is important to have the right equipment on hand. There are two types of homemade canning: boiling water canning and high pressure canning. However, aside from the style of pans used for canning, the rest of the supplies are identical.

Essential Supplies Needed for Canning

The following are the supplies and equipment you will need to successfully can meats and produce at home:

Canning jars Boiling canner Pressure canner Or Dutch oven Large kettle to pre-boil equipment in Jar tongs Proper canning jars Canning lids Lid rims Wide mouth funnel Food mill Food sieve Colander Spoons Heat proof rubber spatulas Measuring cups Different sized bowls Towels Bakers cooling rack Knives Cutting board Filtered water (preferably also distilled) Food to can Waterproof labels and label marker

Use the Right Kind of Canner

A boiling canner is used for high-acid foods such as fruits, jams, tomatoes, pickles, relishes, preserves, and tomato based salsas and sauces. High-acid foods only need to be brought up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of boiling water, for the specific time specified in the recipe.

A high-pressure canner is used for low-acid foods such as vegetables, meats, grains, noodles, and low acid sauces. These low-acid foods need to be brought to a temperature of 240 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit for the time specified in the recipe.

With either type of canning, it is important to carefully follow the directions for the type of food being canned to ensure quality and food safety.

The Importance of the Right Jars and Lids

It is important to only use jars purchased for canning. Standard canning jars are tempered, and the mouth is specially threaded for canning at home. Do not reuse jars which originally housed store bought foods, these are not tempered for the canning process and may crack or explode when boiled or pressure canned or even while being handled.

Use flat lids with screw bands made specifically for the brand of canning jars purchased. Do not reuse the flat lid part or reused jar lids from store bought foods as these may not seal properly and will allow bacteria and spoilage of the food canned.

Carefully inspect the jars for chips or cracks, especially around the rim of the mouth and discard any cracked or chipped jars. Also, carefully inspect the lids for rust or damage and discard any lids with cracks in the rubber seal, a non-existent rubber seal, rust, dings or bends. These lids may not seal correctly and allow for food spoilage.

Other Canning Equipment Needed

When purchasing other canning equipment, use products that are made for home canning, especially when it comes to the pan inserts used to keep the jars upright and the tongs used to remove hot jars from the pans. Not having essential equipment can cause the jars to fall over during the canning process and get water in them. Not having the proper jar tongs can lead to burns or dropped and broken jars.

Other than purchasing replacement jars for broken or chipped jars and purchasing new flat-lids, the rest of the equipment is a one-time purchase and is really an investment. Once purchased, it can be reused multiple times.

Getting the proper equipment before beginning the homemade canning process is indeed a must to save time and money.

Homemade Canning - Best Foods To Can When Just Getting Started With Home Canning

Home canning is the best way to capture the fresh taste, flavor and nutrients of the local foods. Food preservation is not a complicated affair. It has a simple procedure, which is easy, and you also need not worry about the food being spoiled if stored for a long time. The advantage of enjoying the preserved foods is that you can even have it off-season and it is not expensive if canned at home.

It will help you save a lot of your money and also you will feed your family a healthy food compared to the market canned which has preservatives added to it. Home canning also makes you more self reliant in terms of any short supply in the market or bad weather conditions when you cannot drive to the store. You also retain the nutritional values of the canned products. Being a very economical and healthier option, thousands of people have picked up home preserving procedures.

If you are a beginner and doing the canning for the first time, than it is very important that you do it correctly and should know the recipes and procedures for preserving. For home canning of foods, canning tomato sauce and canning beans are great starters. Tomato sauce is used as a taste and flavor adder therefore; it is used throughout the year. Home canned tomato sauce is cheaper and as healthier as that available in the market. Most of the tomato sauce at grocery stores has lot of sugars and additives and which is why many people prefer home food preservation.

Applesauce is also a good choice especially for the beginners as it is easy to can and do not require any specific skills to get started. When canning applesauce, do not make the mistake of peeling the skin off as it contains lots of nutritional value.

Canning is the best way for preserving fruits and vegetables. Boling water method is best when preserving peaches at home. Follow the right home canning recipe and enjoy the peaches even during the off seasons. Beginners can also try canning beets. It is a simple recipe and can be easily done. Depending on your personal choice, for beet preserving you can either use the water bath method or pressure canning methods. A good surprise is that a canned beet tastes even better than the actual fresh beets. The canned beets retain their nutritional value for two years.

Jelly is the fruit spread, which contains sweetened fruits or vegetable juices. The home canned jellies are the best way of enjoying a wholesome, chemical free food throughout the year. The recipe and procedure of canning jelly at home makes it totally healthy and hygienic. Jellies can be canned and stored for many years adding good taste to your meals. During winters, soups are the most liked and popular dish.

Soup is also a very good idea, which saves you time and money in winters. It is always better to can clear soups and ingredients like thickeners, oils, noodles should be avoided. Soups should be kept in pressure containers and do not require any refrigeration for several months.

Today homemade canning has become the most essential part of our kitchen duties. It helps us stay self-reliance and is a good way of eating healthy food. Home canning of fruits and vegetables will allow us to have a chemical free healthy meal at a very low price.

Weck Canning Jars

In the beginning of the 19th century, J. Weck Company was founded in O flingen Germany. It introduced the home canning method in glass jars and became popular not only in Europe but worldwide. Weck jars are those beautiful jars that you so around in many houses with a glass lid and a rubber seal. Weck jars are a little expensive than those other common jars available at every grocery store but the strawberry mark weck canning jars' beauty and the quality worth the price.

Advantages of weck canning jars
Weck canning jars bring satisfaction and the realization of family and friends. Weck has been successful in providing canning jars to preserve food in healthy and economical way especially when the food is home grown. Weck canning jars:

Have mouth wide open for easy fill

Are made of glass lids that do not rust

Glass Canning Jars

The glass canning jars is a modern and stylish type of jar that is used to preserve the food items. They are generally used in home canning for the purpose of storing the different eatable items. These classical glass canning jars are made according to the requirements of the people for the preservation of the food. In this modern age this equipment is designed by keeping the requirements of the most of people in view. This is the most modern, stylish and attractive product that is designed for the ease in preserving the food items. These are designed as high efficient and high quality so that these can be purchased and utilized individually by everyone.
These are the simple and beautiful glass canning jars that are found today just for the use in several homes, according to the needs of the people. These classic glass canning jars are reliable to utilize and do not have leakage problem, crack and break quickly issues over a long period of time. Surely keep the things safe by encasing in glass canning jars.

3 Secrets to Conquer Soggy Home Canned Dill Pickles

Home canning has been a part of our family traditions for as long as I can remember. Each year, when the harvest was complete and preserved in our family cellar I loved to be the one to give the final count on the fruit of our labors - peaches, pears, applesauce, beets, green beans, strawberry jam, and....PICKLES! I loved the pickles.

One particular day I wandered down to the cellar. I looked around the room, it was loaded with perfect home canned fruit and vegetables right out of our family garden and orchard. But...I had my mind set on one thing. I carefully scanned the shelves - Ah ha I found what I was looking for -- a bottle of dill pickles I had canned myself.

As the bottle came off the self, my mouth started to water. Those pickles looked so good, I could hardly wait to get the lid off the bottle.

I finally made it to the kitchen and popped off the lid - immediately the smell of those home canned pickles wafted through the room - I couldn't wait any longer. Out came the biggest pickle and I sunk my teeth into it.

Surprise! My joy quickly turned to despair when my teeth squished into a soggy dill pickle - not even worth eating! Almost weeping I ran to mother. What bad thing had happened to my pickles?

With a twinkle in her eye and a half smile, she started quizzing me down: "How long did the cucumbers wait before you pickled them?" "What size were the cucumbers that you used?" "Did you get them right out of the hot water bath when it started to boil?" Etc.

After playing detective for a couple of minutes, she laughed and gave me these important keys:

3 Family Secrets for Crispy Home Canned Pickles:

1. Harvest your cucumbers early in the morning and pickle them within 24 hours. The quicker the better. If you start with fresh, crisp, firm cucumbers you will have a better pickling experience.

2. Don't let the cucumbers get too big. Smaller cucumbers become better pickles.

3. When you process the bottles of pickles - make sure you DON'T over cook them. The less they are cooked, the more crisp and crunchy they will be.

Believe me, I learned a valuable lesson - one I never forgot! Next time I canned my dill pickles I followed these guidelines religiously. My dream came true - to bite down into a crispy, crunchy, mouth-watering home canned baby dill pickle

I wanted to share these family secrets with you so your pickling experience can be a successful and happy one. Good luck fellow pickle lovers!