National Canning Day is here, so take advantage of the day and preserve something!
Canning can become an annual activity, if you can fruits & vegetables in season. It’s so nice to open a jar of these treasures in the dead of winter.
Some Basic Rules of Canning:
- Firstly, you must choose produce without blemish or over-ripening. Process according to a good recipe of instructions.
- Berries, plums & most vegetables, which are low or no acid foods, require caution to prevent any development of botulism toxin. This can be deadly. The spores of the toxin may resist 212 degrees F in temperature, which is water’s boiling point.
- Low acid food must be processed at 240 degrees F.
- If you have a jar with a broken seal, or bulging lid, it’s a good sign that you have contamination, and that container should be discarded.
- Do not, under any circumstances, test food for spoilage by tasting.
When in doubt, throw it out! ~ Ingrid Turner
- For successful canning, you will need a very large pot or canner, with a flat bottom, and tight fitting lid, which can take 5 – 8 jars, and is at least 2 1/2″ taller than your jars!
- I have never used a steam pressure cooker, so if this is the equipment you use, be sure to follow its’ instructions.
- Jars should be sterilized & free of chips, scratches, etc.
- Lids and rings should only be used once, and also sterilized prior to use.
- You will require a jar lifter to transfer hot jars; a jar funnel, so you don’t get food on the jar rim.
- Processing times vary. So, follow instructions for every recipe.
- Don’t over-tighten lids.
- When jars seal after removal from processor, you will hear a pop, and the vacuum action will create a slight indentation on the lid. Barely close/screw lid.
What will you can this National Canning Day?
Thanks for checking me out on Cooking with Kimberly. Please check out my blog too:
***
I hope you enjoy this post on Preserves & Canning on Cooking with Kimberly. Until next time…
Be a Champion in Your Kitchen & Eat Deliciously!
Similar Posts:
- How to Can Dill Pickles: National Pickle Day
- How to Can Rhubarb
- How to Pickle Hot Peppers: National Pickled Peppers Month
- How to Make & Can Rhubarb Juice
- How to Can and Preserve Food
Trackbacks/Pingbacks