Time to prepare for canning the fruits of your garden
I’m asked all the time how hard is it to can produce and fruit
from the garden. I’m also asked how to dry herbs for the winter? My answer is always the same, time-consuming but
worth every minute it takes to can or dehydrates food and herbs. I was lucky
enough to meet a southern woman by the name of Lola who took me under her wing
and taught me the proper way to can and dehydrate my foods and be able to put
them up for the winter. She was old school southern charm lady and one hell of
a cook too. So allow me to take you
under my wing and pay forward with my knowledge in how to can and dehydrate
your produce and herbs. So let’s figure out
what you’ll need first before you start canning.
There are two different types of canning processes, water
bath, and pressure canning. The water bath uses simply hot water, where the
pressure canning uses a pressure cooker to seal the jars. The water bath process is to ensure that high
acid foods are sealed properly. High acid foods would be pickles, jams, and
jellies, tomatoes, fruits, etc. This process
is pretty simple, you fill your jars up with the food of choice, place your lid
on top, screw on the ring, and place the jar into a water bath using the proper
tool that we’ll discuss shortly. The jars must be completely immersing in the
water and covered with the water. Once the water begins to boil, start your
timer according to your recipe. Pressure
canning is for low acid foods and meats. It is extremely important that you
choose the proper canning method before you put up any jars so that the food
doesn’t spoil on your shelf and is wasted. Follow the directions in both your
recipe and the user manual for the pressure canner. Usually, 3 quarts of water
are used in the canner. It is extremely important to follow directions for both
recipe and canner before opening the canner or you could have one heck of an
explosion from the jars.
First, you must decide what size jar you plan to use. There
are multiple sizes of jars and each jar is used for a specific type of food
canning. For example, the smaller jars,
4 ounces to 1-pint jars are typically used for jellies and jams, but can also
be used for small batches of salsa or relishes. Pint up to 1 1.2-quart jar can
be used for pickling, sauces, large batches of salsa or relishes, tomatoes, or
tomato sauce, and the likes. I have never used the larger sizes such as a gallon
jar as I could never think of anything to preserve in such a large quantity.
I suggest that you buy your jars by the case and have them handy for when you plan to can. I used to have a case or two of the 4 oz and ½ pint sizes, plus a few cases of the 12 oz and quart sizes. I made a lot of jellies and jams and put up a couple of dozens of various pickles and sauces each year.
Once you’ve figured out your proper jar size, now’s the time
to sanitize those jars before you put any food into them. If you have a dishwasher,
run all your jars, lids, and rings through the hottest setting you have and dry
them completely. If you don’t have a
dishwasher then wash them by hand in the hottest water you can stand on your
hands. I used to use boiling water from a tea kettle to ensure I had the
hottest of water to sterile those jars.
Next thing on the agenda for today is equipment. Buy a basic Canning Kit that Includes a
Steamer Rack, Canning Funnel (wide-based funnel), Jar Lifter, Jar wrench,
Tongs, Lid Lifter/Bubble Remover Tool and a ladle, plus a cooling rack.
I would recommend that you invest in a canning recipe book and I highly recommend the one from Ball.
My first year of gardening in my own yard didn’t yield anything
until around September and then I was swamped with an overabundance of cucumbers,
tomatoes (beefsteak, Roma. Cherry, , Peppers,
corn, beans, and herbs coming out of my ears. But I wanted to make jellies and jams
to give out as Christmas gifts in a gift bag, but I had no fruit to use.
Grocery store prices for fruit was high prices, but since I lived in Virginia,
I also lived near a bunch of farms that grew peaches, oranges, strawberries,
raspberries, apples, and grapes, so off to the farms every Friday in August and September.
I would buy a few bushels every weekend and then spend the entire weekend
canning my haul. By November I had put up approximately 100 jars of each, jelly,
jam, and marmalade, plus Apple Butter, and let’s not forget bread and butter
pickles, dill pickles, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salsa, relish, corn
relish, beans and I invested in a dehydrator to preserve my herbs and spices
from the garden. When Christmas time came
around and we headed back to New York for the holiday, I’d bring a mixture of
jams, jellies, and marmalades, and some veggie jars to give out as gifts, along
with some bread, cookies, and pastries that I made and preserved. Best gifts I
ever gave out during the holidays. People still talk about those gifts even
after I stopped doing it, 25 years ago. Another great thing to learn to can is sauces
and pie fillings. Yes, I said sauces, such as barbeque sauce, marinara sauce
for pizza, and your own homemade ketchup. You’ll never want store-bought again
after you learn how to make these simple sauces. Not to mention pie fillings
from scratch. You can make apple, cherry, raspberry, blueberry, and peach pie
filling and can it up ahead of time. Just make your crust, then open a jar of
filling, dump it in and cover it with your other side of the crust, and bake.
When it comes to preserving your herbs, the best way is to
dehydrate them in a dehydrator such as pictured below.
Dehydrating takes many hours to dry your herbs or fruits but
once you no longer have to buy these items in the store, you’ll save money on
groceries, gas and time and thank me for writing this blog post. There is a
good dehydrating cookbook that I surely recommend getting to learn more about
how to dry preserve your food. Here is a link https://www.amazon.com/Dehydrating-Food-Beginners-Jay-Bills/dp/160239945X
Storing your canned goods is important because they must be kept in a cool dry place and never above 50 degrees. Never store near a furnace or boiler or in a room that gets direct sunlight. Be sure to label everything so you know what is on your pantry shelf. I used Avery labels to label my canned goods. They fit perfectly on top or on the side of any jar.
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