It has been said that the average
American household can reduce it's food budget significantly by
having a small garden and growing as many of your own fresh
vegetables as possible. Now I have heard some people quote a 30 to 50%
reduction in your food bill by growing your own vegetables, although
I personally believe that number is highly inflated and unachievable
for most of us. Having said that growing your own vegetables has many
benefits, least of which is a significant cost savings. After all
when you grow your own vegetables you decide whether you want to: 1)
grow organically, 2) grow heirloom or hybrid varieties or a
combination of both, and 3) plant which vegetables you and your
family love best. If you really want some great tips about growing
vegetables go check out my friends Facebook page 'Vegetable Gardening
by Steve Coyne'. Retired from the US Dept of Agriculture, he has a
wealth of knowledge regarding vegetable gardening (shameless plug)
and he has been canning for more years then I have. (See the links at the end of this article)
So now that you have than garden
planted and it has kicked into high gear you suddenly find yourself
inundated with more vegetables than you and your family can eat
before they begin to spoil (your vegetables that is not your family).
You could freeze them, but many vegetables do not do well when frozen
and if your like most people you will soon find yourself running out
of freezer space. Your next option might to dehydrate some of your
bounty, but again some vegetables simply do not rehydrate with the
best results. Your third option is the one that most Americans opted
for 100 years ago and is still popular today and this is....your
guessed it, canning.
Equipment
I will not lie to you, of all the
options listed previously, gathering all the necessary equipment to
begin the canning process does have the largest amount of initial
cash investment. However in the long run the initial cash outlay is
easily recouped and the equipment required to can will last a
lifetime. So lets look at what you might need to get started on a
budget. 1) Canning jars and lids, 2) water bath canner, 3) pressure
canner, 4) bottle or jar handle, 5) bottle brush and 6) a good
reference canning guideline.
Canning Jars
You cannot preserve your bounty with
out the jar! The basic design of canning jar I used today is the same
as the one used by my grandmother 80 years ago. In fact the design
has not changed since John Landis Mason patented the 'Mason' jar in
1858. That's right for 157 years the design has not changed. Think
about that for a second, how many things can you think of that are
being produced today that have remained unchanged for 157 years. That
in itself demonstrates the usefulness and utility of his design.
Canning jars regardless of brand (Mason, Ball, Kerr, Atlas and even
Great Value) will be your biggest cost in the whole canning process.
The most common size of canning jars
for vegetables, meats, soups, stocks etc... are pints (16 ounces) and
quarts (32 ounces) and most canning recipes will give you the
processing time and pressure rating on whether you are canning in
pint or quarts jars. Now there are definitely other sizes of jars
such as half pints (8oz) , jelly jars (jellies) and a few other odd
sizes, but pint and quart jars are the bulk of the home canners
inventory. But wait there's more...Both pint and quart jars are
classified into two specific categories based on the type of lid they
use. They are either classified as 'wide mouth' or 'regular'. A wide
mouth jar simply means that the jar has no neck, that is the lid of
the jar is as wide as the base of the jar. A regular jar has a neck
and the lid is more narrow than that of the base of the jar. Wide
mouth jars are more convenient to use for some types of vegetables
and bone-in meats, but you can process just about anything in a
regular mouth jar. Like many things it is a matter of personal
preference.
All canning jars of this design use a
two piece sealing system called aptly a 'ring' and a 'lid'. The lid
has a small rubber seal on the underside that makes contact with the
glass jar to form an airtight seal when processed, the ring (a.k.a.
band) screws on to hold the lid in place during processing. All new
canning jars when purchased by the case come with a set of rings and
lids for each jar. The rings are reusable, however the lids must be
replaced each time you can your harvest as they will not reseal
properly if you attempt to use them more than once. Replacement lids
are less than $2 for 12 at my local Walmart, but you may even find
them cheaper online.
Prices will vary depending on where you
live, but expect to pay about $7 to $9 for a case of pint jars (12
per case) and $8 to $10 for a case of quart jars (12 per case)
regardless of whether they are regular or wide mouth. If you can find
them or buy them used go for it! I have dug old canning jars out of
my father-in-law's barn, bought them at garage and estate sales, my
wife even found four cases of pint and quart jars that someone had
set out by the curb to be thrown away. Acquiring
used canning jars by any of these methods can save you a great deal
of money and increase your inventory significantly. The great thing
about glass canning jars is unless they have a chip, crack, or you
drop them, canning jars can be reused indefinitely. All you have to
do is clean them up and inspect them for any cracks or chips before
using.
Now for a word of advice and caution.
When buying old jars to can with make sure they are canning jars.
Canning jars are specifically made to handle the pressures and
heating that is required throughout the canning process. Usually
canning jars have the name of the brand embossed on them such as:
Atlas, Ball, Mason, and Kerr which are the most common. I said
usually, because in the last few years Walmart has been selling
caning jars under the 'Great Value' brand name which are smooth sided
and have no name of them. Once you have been canning for a few
seasons you will definitely be able to tell a canning jar by either
the name, the thread pattern on the neck or simply by the feel of the
jar. But never, and I repeat NEVER attempt to can anything in a
non-canning jar. If you are buying used jars or simply find yourself
given some if you ever have any doubt as to whether it is a canning
jar or not, do not use it.
Water bath Canners
The great thing about water bath
canners is they are cheap. That is any stockpot or large vessel that
can contain enough water when brought to a boil to cover your canning
jars by 3 to 4 inches can serve as a water bath canner. I personally
own both a 15 quart enamel (granite) wear stockpot as well as the
21.5 quart enamel wear water bath canner. Why, I needed a large
enough stockpot to cook up large batches or chili, salsa, spaghetti
sauce soups...You get the picture and well I had nothing bigger than
8 quarts. The water bath canner comes with a jar basket to keep the
jars off the bottom of the pan during the canning process (not
necessary) but nice. But like I mentioned you do not need a
specialized water bath canner, any pot than can contain enough water
will do. This is especially nice for those of you starting out on a
budget. There are a few things you have to keep in mind when canning
using a water bath canner. First, only foods high in acid (anything
with a ph of 3 tp 4.6) can or rather should be canned in a water bath
canner and second, water bath canners take about twice as long
process your bounty than pressure canners. So water bath canners are
cheap, easy to use and definitely should have a place in your canning
repertoire, but their use is limited. Check out the USDA guide to Home Canning for more information (See link below)
Pressure Canners
There are two basic type of pressure
canners, the first has a dial gauge on top of the canner to help you
regulate the pressure inside the canner, and the second, has a
weighted gauge. The old Mirro magic canner like I have has a round
gauge with markings for 5lb, 10lb, and 15lbs of pressure as seen in
the picture. Some of the newer Presto weighted gauge canners have a
series of metal rings that you place on the jiggler to get the
pressure required for the recipe. The type of pressure canner you
have is irrelevant, it is simply a matter of personal preference. I
have never used a dial gauge canner, my Mirro magic 23quart
which I fondly call 'Big Bertha' was given to me by my mother and it works great so I have had no need to purchase a dial gauge canner.
Buying a canner used can save you 80 to
90% of the cost of a new canner. Since receiving 'Big Bertha' from my
parents, I have purchased several older style Mirro canners at garage
and estate sales for pennies on the dollar. The great thing about the
old Mirro and Presto canners is that you can still buy new rubber
seals and missing weights on-line. In fact if you buy a used canner,
the first you should do is buy a new rubber seal (gasket). Now a
quick lesson on pressure canners. All pressure canners are pressure
cookers, but not all pressure cookers are pressure canners...HUH?
That's right, you read that correctly, not all pressure cookers are
pressure canners. Remember earlier when you read that a weighted
gauge pressure canner has either a round weighted gauge (5, 10, and
15lb increments) or a series of weighted rings (5, 10, and 15lb
increments) to regulate the proper pressure. Well older pressure
cookers generally only have a single weight to regulate the pressure
inside the cooker therefore the pressure inside of the cooker cannot
reach the desired temperature to safely preserve meats, vegetables,
stocks, soups etc.
So remember when buying a weighted
gauge pressure canner (new or used) look for one that has a weight
marked with 5, 10, and 15lb increments or one that uses a series of
metal rings (weights) that are stacked upon one another allow you to
set the weight to 5, 10 or 15lbs of pressure. If you are looking to
buy a canner with a dial gauge make sure the gauge can read up to at
least 15 pounds of pressure (they generally read to 30psi), and that the gauge works if buying one
used. Now if your lucky maybe you have an aunt, grandmother, elderly
neighbor or family friend who has one tucked away in an attic or
closet that might sell you one or better yet ask them about their
experiences with canning, I bet they would happily share their wealth
of knowledge and experience with you.
The Small Stuff
Simply put everyone who cans needs what
I call “the small stuff.” For myself, the small stuff includes a
plastic ladle (got mine for $1 at the Dollar Tree) canning funnel,
magnetic lid lifter (to remove lids from boiling water) and pair of
jar tongs or jar lifter. I purchased all of mine separately over
time, however many pressure and water bath canners may have them
included if the packaging is labeled as a 'basic canning starter
set.' If not, you can usually find these items in the household area
of your local grocery super center either sold individually or as a
canning utility set. Most canning utility sets sell for about $7 to
$8 which includes all the items I have listed previously and possibly
a few additional things that I do not generally use, but are nice to
have.
The Canning Bible
There have been a lots of books written
about canning and preserving food, but if I could only have one book
on canning it would be 'The Complete Guide to Home Canning' produced
by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Although I
have a few other books on canning and preserving, this is my go to
guide, it is my bible of canning. This guide is divided into seven
distinct parts 1) principles of canning, 2) canning fruit and fruit
products, 3) canning tomatoes and tomato products, 4) canning
vegetables and vegetable products, 5) canning poultry, red meats, and
seafood, 6) canning fermented food and pickled vegetables, and 7)
canning jams and jellies. And the best part it is absolutely
free...yes I said FREE!
These seven individual sections or
guides can be downloaded and then printed from the USDA website at
http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html.
These guidelines are updated as necessary, the time these guidelines
were updated was in 2009. I keep a copy of this in my kitchen and
refer to it almost every time I can something. While these guides do
have some recipes, I use the guides primarily to remind me how much
pressure should be used to preserve a particular food safely and how
long it needs to be processed. It lists processing times for both
pressure and water bath canners depending on contents and the size of
the jars used including adjustments for the elevation in which you
live according to sea level. No other book out there that I know of
goes into such detail that is this easy to read and use.
Conclusion
These are my recommendations for the
things you need to get started in canning. It is by no means an
absolute guide, but rather a primer to get you started in basic home
canning so that you can preserve your hard earned harvest. I may go
more into depth on certain subjects related to canning if there is an
interest. Each time I can and place my recipes on this blog I will
attempt to go into more detail. A good way to start and one that I
highly recommend is to download the USDA Guide to Home Canning and
read it before buying any supplies. Remember these PDF files are free
and it will only cost you a little time and may save you some money
before purchasing any equipment that you may or may not need.
If you want to know more about growing
an awesome garden and increasing your garden's yields, go check out
my friend Steve Coyne's blog, Facebook and YouTube pages at the links below.
