Home Canning

[Lauren Chaste]

What are the best methods to start?

 

[Chuck]

What are the best methods to start?

I would start out with the water bath method first. This would allow you to pickle things and to can acidic foods. Then move up to pressure canning for non-acidic foods when you have a better understanding of things

 

[DancingLady]

Use a traditional water bath canner. Get a good canning book and read all the directions more than once before you start. Make sure you understand everything clearly and know exactly what you need to do before you start anything. Having everything completely clean and hot is extremely important to prevent breaking jars, unsealed jars, or possible contamination. Always follow the recipe exactly, do not experiment. I know there are people who do experiment, but if you do, you are risking botulism.

 

[marlingardener]

Lauren, read up before canning up! Ball puts out a blue book on canning that is very informative.
Get a good water bath canner, a pair of jar lifters (glorified tongs), and buy good lids and rings. Of course you will lneed good canning jars--not mayonnaise jars, or anything that isn't intended specifically for canning. The cost will be recovered many times in the savings you will have from your own canned goods.The rings can be used many times--I can up produce, and when the jars are cooled and I know they are sealed, I remove the rings and use them the next time.
If you are canning tomatoes make sure they are acidic enough. Many of the newer varieties just don't have enough acid to be safe to can "as is." You can add lemon juice or vinegar to increase the acidity.

 

[Rosyrain]

I am also going to start canning this next year and will probably use the water bath method as opposed to the pressure canner equipment. The equipment is expensive and I want to master the basics first. I am going to attempt pickles, pickled onions, and asparagus to begin with and then get more adventurous over time. I tried some spicy pickled asparagus this summer and they were very yummy.

 

[JessiFox]

This is something I'm just getting into as well- my great grandma did it and put a lot of time and effort into it, but I never really learned. Thankfully my grandmother in law does as well so I have someone to learn from directly, on top of on here and all the other great resources online. Definitely something I want to study up on first to make sure that I get absolutely right, but it sounds like there are some great suggestions here.