Essentials for Canning

It is the first of August.  The gardens are now producing awesome vegetables.  The taste of the fresh vegetable can not compare to that which you can buy in the store.  I love this taste in the long winter months, so I can what I can this time of year.  Canning is very simple, but there are many tedious steps to do it.  Prepping is the hard part, while the canning itself is very simple.  I am planning on canning different zucchini recipes and will post them when I am done.  But before you try canning, you need to have the right equipment.  Here are some of the essentials for canning.

The canner:  I only use a hot water bath canner.  I do not use a pressure canner.  What does this mean?  It means that I only can foods that are high in acidity.  Foods that are low in acidity require a pressure canner.  In a hot water bath canner, the high is transferred to the product by the boiling water which must completely surround the jars and 2 piece caps.  A temp of 212 F is reached and must be maintained for the time in the recipe.  This destroys molds, yeasts and bacteria and also inactivevates enzymes.  I can pickles, jellies, relishes and tomato based products using the hot water bath canner.  I do not can green beans, corn or peas, which require a pressure canner.

Salts - There are so many salts to choose from.  When canning, you only want to use canning salt,  table salt has additives which may turn your canning brown.

Jars - Only use jars that are sterilized.  I wash and sanitize my jars in the dishwasher.

Vinegars - If a recipe calls for either white vinegar or cider vinegar, use the vinegar that the recipes states.  If a recipe calls for vinegar, you may use either one.

Canning Utensils - Bubble remover, funnel, jar lifter and lid wand

• Bubble remover - Use this tool before putting lids on jars to remove any air bubbles
• Funnel - Use this tool to aid in putting product in jar
• Jar Lifter - Use this tool to remove jars from hot water canner after processing is complete.
• Lid Wand - Use this tool to remove lids from the hot water that is used to sterilize.