Looking ahead: Need detailed advice on canning...

[Liz CA]

I have mason jars and all the lids/rings that go with it because I got ambitious once before.

 

I'd like to start without having to buy any additional equipment.

I am particularly interested in canning

 

Tomatoes

Beans

Carrots

 

Could someonw walk me through (hopefully) EASY steps of doing this. I have read so many different instructions that I don't know where to start.

 

Thank you!

[Sara R]

You know, I posted a long ol' reply just before the boards shut down last night, and it got lost. I'm tired. :)

 

The short version: ask your county university extension agents if they teach classes, or look on their websites for free advice and recipes.

 

The best way would be find someone locally who could teach you in person. That way you would have help right there--canning is tricky to do alone, since there is a lot that needs to be done all at once--and you wouldn't have to buy new equipment while you tried this out to see if it's for you.

 

If you don't want to buy anything new, I hope you have a big stock pot. You can can the tomatoes, a high-acid food, in a water bath canner. You need a pressure canner for the carrots and beans. Here is a quick canning guide for the water bath canner.

 

More detailed info about canning is at the USDA Canning Guides.

 

Here is details you need about canning tomatoes specifically.

 

If you eventually want to can different types of things, here is a list of a bunch of other canning guides.

 

If you stay with this, I would recommend buying a jar lifter (tongs with rubberized ends that are curved to pick up jars), a jar funnel, and a lid lifter (a stick with a magnet on the end to fish the lids out of the hot water). And a Ball Blue Book. But the extension publications can help you can safely without the Blue Book while you decide. Maybe you know someone who you can borrow from.

[KristineIN]

Do you have freezer room? Beans are so much better frozen and they are better for you. All you have to do is clean them, blanch them for three minutes in boiling water and shock them in ice cold water, pat dry and put in freezer bags.

HTH.

Kristine

[Liz CA]

Thank you Sara and Kristine! I will check out the links.

I know about tomatoes being tricky because of high acid but want to try it anyway - we usually have a lot and everyone loves them.

 

Kristine: I have some freezer room and am about to gain some more with a new chest freezer that will soon come my way. Blanching beans and freezing them sounds good too. Anything I can stock up any which way because I live 40 minutes from the next grocery store.

 

Thank you all!

[Closeacademy]

We have a couple versions of the book but you can usually pick it up in the canning section of any store. It is published by the Ball Company and has great recipies. They also have a nice site with recipies and a help line (very nice people there).

 

You need a waterbath pot and you may want a pressure cooker for some. I like my tomato juicer as well.

 

What I do when I plan on doing a big canning year is make a schedule of when things are coming in.

 

So May/June is strawberries, raspberries and cherries. I make jam. Freezer jam is great for strawberries. I make sure I stock up sugar as it goes on sale between now and jam season. You also want the little jars on hand.

 

July is a month of rest unless you like blackberries or have an abundance of asparagus.

 

August to September is the big canning season. I usually make sure I have plenty of towels on hand. Vinegar, lemon juice, canning salt and pickling seasoning are a must depending on what you are making.

 

I usually alternate between juice one year and whole tomatoes the next. They are both messy jobs. You will also want to have one of those pots where you have the smaller insert with the holes in it so that you can easily blanch the tomatoes and just drain the water back into the pot and then dump the tomatoes into the cold water so you can peel off the skins.

 

An old tea pot that whistles when it boils is great too for topping off cans of veggies with hot water.

 

Make sure you have two or three good sets of measuring spoons on hand too so that if one is dirty or lost in the canning mess you have another that you can quickly grab.

 

Good Luck and have fun canning. We've taken a break for the last couple of years but I am getting the urge again and may take time to do tomatoes this year.