Canning help needed

[Warwagon]

My wife wants to start canning and I need a list of canning supplies to get her started. Can someone please help me out with that? Could someone also explain the difference when using a pressure cooker vs a regular cooker?


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[SheilaT.]

My best advice is to contact your local extension office. Most of them run canning classes and they will be able to advise on what she needs.

 

[jimLE]

the 2 in the pic.the one with the gauge,is a pressure canner,but also can be used as a cooker,as well.(if i remember right)..and someone that knows more then i do,can explain it better then me.
the one with-out a gauge,is a pressure cooker.in which thats what i have.i've had no problems with it so far.

some things yall will need to start with.
canning salt
probably more canning jars and lids then what yall think.easy to under estimate some what..i did.
jar grabbers,their for getting the canned foods out after pressure canning/cooking what ever
as for spices and all goes.that depends on what the 2 of you will be canning..
canning funnel..canning labels.
canning towels for setting the hot jars onto for cooling down.
measuring spoons for canning.they've come in handy for me..not only for measuring.but good for getting the juice from the pot,(that yall cooked the food in) and into the jar as well..
ball canning/recipe book(s)..i have 3 of them

 

[Gazrok]

Many of the canning companies (especially Ball) have a starter kit, which should prove helpful.

 

[Warwagon]

Thank y'all for the info...keep it coming if you got some more!!


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[jimLE]

i had done wed search's,and some folks have given me web links..any how some of these may be of use to you..in which i suggest reading Mrs. Wages first.she explains things pretty good..
Mrs. Wages
http://www.mrswages.com/equipment-youll-need/?nt=420

http://momwithaprep.com/101-canning-recipes-for-food-storage/

http://www.canningsupply.com/prod_detail_list/canners/2

 

[Warwagon]

Thanks again!!


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[Brent S]

I got started with just a simple water bath canner, and progressed from there. The great thing about buying the jars are they last for a really long time. You can reuse them literally hundreds of times. I believe the pressure canner and cooker are the same thing, but with the canner just being larger. I made the mistake of buying a small cooker at first, but shortly got the full sized presto canner. Either will work, but it's more efficient to do bigger loads at one time. One thing I did do was buy some extra parts, like a gauge and new gasget, as well as a bunch of extra lids. I mostly use the ball canning guide, but you can find a huge amount of info and recepies on line too. All I can say is have fun. It's one of the most satisfying things I've done.

 

[jimLE]

i've been thinking of getting a 2nd one lately..on account there's been times,it would of come in handy..

 

[rachaelk]

The ball canning book, I can't do without it! My dad passed it down to me, and it is full of family recipes from both sides of the family.
When I got married, I asked for canning supplies for presents from our church. I didn't know what I was asking for! It is a lot of work.

Pressure Canners are a must for food safety. Pressure cookers don't have the gauge, but I use mine all the time for cooking food.
Water bath canners are handy because of their size. I also like the large pots with flat lids, handy for soup canning time.

What I use every year....

Water bath canner, with the metal plate that sits in the bottom. (beets, pickles, soup, jelly)
Pressure Canner. (greenbeans, juices.)
Lots of jars, cricket free! Wide mouths, narrow mouths, pints, quarts, little ones.
The metal magnet for jar lids.
Glass measuring bowl for heating water in the microwave for lids very handy.
Dipper Spoon.
Large wide mouth funnel.
Flat air bubble plastic knife (can't find mine!)
Weights for the pressure canner that came with it.
Canning Salt.
Ball Canning Book.
Large metal bowls.
Large plastic bowls. (Can't ever have too many bowls!)
knife sharpener
Lots of white vinegar. Lots of Sugar. Lots of dill weed and garlic. Lots of pickling spices. (I don't like kits!)
Paper Towels.
A large allotment of time and energy.


Happy canning.

 

[Danil54grl]

These are my must have to canning supplies:

Pressure Canner - with either a dial or weight gauge on it. Used for low-acid foods such as veggies and meats
Boiling Water Bath Canner - Just a really big pot that can accommodate the jars you are canning with an additional 4 inches in height (you want 2 inches water to cover jars and then a couple more inches for headspace). I use a Tamale Steamer pot that I picked up at the grocery store real cheap since the lids knob was damaged and needed replaced. You will also need a
Canner Rack, that you can pick up at Wal-Mart, Tractor Supply, etc. Or really anything that will keep the jars from touching the bottom of the pot. You can use a piece of wood that fits in the bottom of your pot that has holes drilled thru the bottom or even a dish cloth that has been folded over a few times. Just make sure that the water can still circulate on the bottom of the jars. Used for high acid foods, like pickles and jellies.
Canning Jars
Lids/Bands - lids should be used once then tossed, but the band multiple times as long as they are clean and rust free
Jar Lifter - used to lift jars out of canner. You will really want one when trying to lift out of boiling water baths!
Nonmetal Spatula - something that you can run down the sides of the jars to remove air. Wooden, plastic will do.
Scale - lots of recipes go by weight so it is nice to know before hand how much brine or whatever else you need to make
Timer - I use my stoves
Large Stock pot - Used to prepare recipes
Saucepan - Used to simmer lids and bands
Knives - a variety of sizes are nice
Spoons - I do like a variety of stainless steel but use whatever you can. Love my slotted for lifting and ladle for pouring brine. I even have a large skimmer that I use when juicing a lot of berries.
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Dish Clothes - to set jars on to cool after canning
Jellybag/Cheesecloth - to strain fruit juice for jelly making. Grocery stores sell a large mesh bag to hold produce in that I have been using. Once I have juiced my fruit, I stick it all in the bag that is tied to a long skewer over a large pot to catch the juice. I find that the jelly bags do no hold up well and tend to tear due to the weight of the fruit.

These are nice to have items:

Jar Funnel - helps to keep rims of jars clean while filling
Colander -
Canning Labels - My opinion is that these make for pretty jars, especially all lined up on your shelves facing front and forward if your anal like me on my stock shelves. But not a necessity. After my jars have cooled and I have wiped down the lids and that are dry, I take a permanent black marker and label what it is and what month/year I canned it.
Food Brush - to wash veggies real good. . . Nothing like canning carrots, potatoes, radishes and still tasting dirt!

Salt - any non iodine salt will do. Iodine is a non cake agent that is found in regular or table salt. What I use is plain salt, which is iodine free and cost the same as the table salt (lots cheaper than canning salt here).

 

[jimLE]

i use a hand held/portable my mom had bought..in which that allows me to do what ever.pluss it allows me to go check on things when i figure i need to.it also comes in handy for when im baking cake or something else in the oven..

Timer - I use my stoves

 

[rachaelk]

My wife wants to start canning and I need a list of canning supplies to get her started. Can someone please help me out with that? Could someone also explain the difference when using a pressure cooker vs a regular cooker?


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Question regarding canning.....22 quarts of pickled beets down today.......recipe is 1 cup beet juice, 2 1/4 cups sugar, 2 cups white vinegar, 1 tsp salt. process 20 min. My problem is that on the last run, two of my jars broke in half. This is not the first time that has happened....which is hugely frustrating as it makes a big mess and then I have to rework it all watching out for glass. Why are they cracking? Too hot of water, too cold jars? The jars are hot taken out of the dishwasher, hot filled with beets, hot filled with syrup, then they cool slightly while waiting their turn in the cooker.......long canning day today. And tomorrow is another one.

 

[Brent S]

Question regarding canning.....22 quarts of pickled beets down today.......recipe is 1 cup beet juice, 2 1/4 cups sugar, 2 cups white vinegar, 1 tsp salt. process 20 min. My problem is that on the last run, two of my jars broke in half. This is not the first time that has happened....which is hugely frustrating as it makes a big mess and then I have to rework it all watching out for glass. Why are they cracking? Too hot of water, too cold jars? The jars are hot taken out of the dishwasher, hot filled with beets, hot filled with syrup, then they cool slightly while waiting their turn in the cooker.......long canning day today. And tomorrow is another one.

Usually it is the rapid temperature change that breaks jars. The water bath canners have a wire rack you can set in the pot. Use it to set your jars just slightly in the hot water, instead of submerging them. It will give them time to heat up till your ready to process them all.

 

[Danil54grl]

Question regarding canning.....22 quarts of pickled beets down today.......recipe is 1 cup beet juice, 2 1/4 cups sugar, 2 cups white vinegar, 1 tsp salt. process 20 min. My problem is that on the last run, two of my jars broke in half. This is not the first time that has happened....which is hugely frustrating as it makes a big mess and then I have to rework it all watching out for glass. Why are they cracking? Too hot of water, too cold jars? The jars are hot taken out of the dishwasher, hot filled with beets, hot filled with syrup, then they cool slightly while waiting their turn in the cooker.......long canning day today. And tomorrow is another one.

I would only do one canner batch at a time instead of filling all jars and having them sit out while waiting their turn. Another option would be to hold them in a warm oven. I have done that one time that I can remember off hand. Set oven at 200 and set filled jars in until it was their turn. Think I was only doing two loads at the time with only a 10 minute process. If any of your jars have even a thin crack they will explode in the boiling water. This happens to me on occasion when I am using some very old jars that were left by a previous owner who stored them outside in a garage. Thinking I may have missed something when inspecting them.

 

[Brent S]

I would only do one canner batch at a time instead of filling all jars and having them sit out while waiting their turn. Another option would be to hold them in a warm oven. I have done that one time that I can remember off hand. Set oven at 200 and set filled jars in until it was their turn. Think I was only doing two loads at the time with only a 10 minute process. If any of your jars have even a thin crack they will explode in the boiling water. This happens to me on occasion when I am using some very old jars that were left by a previous owner who stored them outside in a garage. Thinking I may have missed something when inspecting them.

I put my jars closely around the canner on the stovetop to help them stay warm while filling. I was miserably slow filling the jars in the beginning, but have gotten faster with practice. I don't think I've had a cracked jar in a long long time now.

 

[rachaelk]

I put my jars closely around the canner on the stovetop to help them stay warm while filling. I was miserably slow filling the jars in the beginning, but have gotten faster with practice. I don't think I've had a cracked jar in a long long time now.

I would only do one canner batch at a time instead of filling all jars and having them sit out while waiting their turn. Another option would be to hold them in a warm oven. I have done that one time that I can remember off hand. Set oven at 200 and set filled jars in until it was their turn. Think I was only doing two loads at the time with only a 10 minute process. If any of your jars have even a thin crack they will explode in the boiling water. This happens to me on occasion when I am using some very old jars that were left by a previous owner who stored them outside in a garage. Thinking I may have missed something when inspecting them.

Great suggestions.......I definitely think it was a temperature problem.....the jars cooled off too much.....never thought to use my oven. I do use a canning plate in the bottom of the canner. I will start keeping in the dishwasher and fill them just when they are ready to put in. Last night I had to stop to take the kids to bible school, and the canner cooled down, so I put the warm jars, warm beams, in the warm canner water and heated it all at the same time. Probably not food safe the best idea but the jars didn't crack. I am using really old jars.

 

[Brent S]

Great suggestions.......I definitely think it was a temperature problem.....the jars cooled off too much.....never thought to use my oven. I do use a canning plate in the bottom of the canner. I will start keeping in the dishwasher and fill them just when they are ready to put in. Last night I had to stop to take the kids to bible school, and the canner cooled down, so I put the warm jars, warm beams, in the warm canner water and heated it all at the same time. Probably not food safe the best idea but the jars didn't crack. I am using really old jars.

If they are all heated at the same time (water and jars) it will be fine as far as safety. The only potential problem is they will be cooking in the jars longer, and I've found that some foods are not as good when over cooked.

 

[Danil54grl]

Normally if I am water bath canning, I sterilize jars as I go. . . You already have to have a pot of boiling water, so just sterilize, fill, then put back in. (Since only hunny and I at home, I don't usually use the dishwasher any more except when we get the family all together for a meal. Minimum 12 ) Use the oven to keep your jars warm. If I am doing a brine to pour over, just keep it simmering until the next batch.

 

[jimLE]

one thing i've learned (not long ago) when it comes to canning 2 or more batches.go ahead and pressure can/cook the 1st batch.then get that batch set to one side and out of the way.then dump and add fresh hot water straight from the faucet..i find that nothing goes wrong this way..i'm thinking,thats where i went wrong with the chicken broth one time..