Have you thought about canning this year? Canning is a great way to put food away for the Winter, or to make special treats like jellies and jams. To make it affordable you will want some extra time to gather your supplies.
Equipment
The tools needed for canning are very basic, at least for the beginner. Shown above are the items you may need to acquire before starting your first canning project. They include: A boiling water canner, colander, canning jars, canning lids, jar lifter, lid wand, and funnel.
You do not have to spend a lot of money buying these items new. Here are a few tips.
- Yards sales are a thrifty way of finding these items.
- Craigs list; post a wanted listing. Also keep an eye on their free category as canning jars are often listed.
- Buy mayonaise jars online instead of your commercial canning jars. They are half the price and come in several sizes.
- Save any jar that properly fits a canning lid (EG mayonaise jars, coconut oil jars, spaghetti sauce jars).
- Let others know you are looking for canning supplies. You will be suprised by how many people have jars and such they want to give away.
Update: Another item you may want to collect is screw on tops that fit canning jars. This will allow you to use your canning jars for short term storage without using a cap you need to purchase. You can find these on the Golden Barrel Molasses and Coconut Oil sold at Foppema’s Farm, and Traders Joe’s Coconut oil. They are very handy to have so keep a look out.
There are many ways to prepare food for storage; freezing, dehydrating, the root cellar and canning. I find that by combining storage techniques I can have as close to farm fresh as you can get year round. Typically, I like to can pickles, tomatoes, jellies and jams. These are all considered acidic and recquire just the boiling water bath to seal. In another post I will discuss canning low acid foods and canning with a pressure cooker.
If you are truly interested in canning you may want to purchase the Ball Blue Book. This guide is full of canning tips, instructions, and recipes. I consider it one of my must have resources.
