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The Rich Tradition of Home Canning
Throughout human history, we have been focused upon the acquisition of food and its preservation. Daily life across countless generations has revolved around the procuring of sustenance for ourselves and for that of our communities.
Due to a variety of factors like exposure to environmental elements, the growth of microorganisms and the natural breakdown of nutritive provisions over time, we have had to find creative ways to preserve our food. It has been a constant battle to keep our loved ones fed and safe.
As we will soon find out, one of the best ways to preserve food long-term involves a process called home canning. Today, we will discover just how easy it is to learn this exciting skill set. Let’s learn some canning basics!
The History of Canning
The modern process of canning began with the Napoleonic Wars. Around the year 1800, Napoleon needed a way to preserve food for his troops; he declared a national contest to this end.
Nicolas Francois Appert, known today as the father of canning, rose to the challenge. As a French confectioner and chef, he developed a way to preserve food. He did so, much in the same way wine is preserved. Appert reasoned that if wine could be kept fresh in bottles, so could food. After much experimentation and the influence of homemakers in his community, he mastered this craft on a grand scale.
In 1804, Appert opened a factory called the La Maison Appert (the house of Apppert). It was the first factory of its kind. This facility was able to mass-produce food products on an industrial scale. As it turned out, food preserves produced from canning were ideal for sustaining troops during conflicts and wars. Napoleon personally awarded Appert 12,000 francs for his efforts.
Canning was a game-changer for anyone needing to survive harsh winters, endure food scarcity, and persevere between food harvests. This new technology quickly spread throughout the world.
Here in America, our great grandparents mastered the art of canning too. They would harvest their crops and promptly store away food in preparation for harsh winters. Planning ahead meant the difference between starvation and a secure, thriving winter.
The Benefits of Canning
Today, savvy home cooks can take advantage of this skill as well. We can make the best use of grocery store sales and seasonal harvests. Most often our garden produces far more food than we can readily eat at the time of peak yield. Preserving food as it ripens, is the best way to ensure long-term food provisions.
There are economical considerations too. Regular canning can ensure long-term household cost savings. In other words, you will save a lot of money in the long run.
Additionally, the practice of home canning is fun, creative, and produces the most nutritive consumables. Canning is a skill set that can easily be shared and taught to loved ones and friends. There is nothing quite like cooking and preparing food as a family. It is surely a tradition that we should return to and sustain for future generations.
Having a pantry full of colorful vegetables, fruits, dairy, and organic meats is a delight to our culinary senses. The possibilities are endless. There are soups, sauces, chutneys, jams, and jellies to be savored and enjoyed throughout the year.
In fact, nothing makes winter more bearable or a spring picnic more enjoyable than fresh preserves from your pantry. On top of that, knowing that you made them yourself makes the experience even more worthwhile. You know that you have put in the finest ingredients and tested your very own custom flavor combinations. Such food is a delicacy enjoyed only by the industrious few.
Once you learn the process, you will realize just how easy it is. You may find that you want to regularly preserve leftovers or any surplus produce.
Why We Need to Preserve Our Food
Additionally, enzymes naturally present within our food work to break down food tissues over time. These enzymes are beneficial when consumed in fresh food. They help us digest our food more effectively and make nutrients more bioavailable. However, when preserving food for long-term storage, we want to prevent the breakdown of our food. The canning process neutralizes these enzymes and enables our food reserves to last.
Canning preserves our food by creating a hermetic seal in which air and water are blocked from entering the container. The heating process sterilizes the food as well. This provides a stable environment for our food to exist in and enables it to last.
The Basics of Canning
Tools of the Trade
Whether you are gathering fresh produce from your garden or preserving choice meats from your local butcher, you will need a few items in your kitchen.
Cutting Implements: A well-sharpened quality chef’s knife and accompanying paring knife will help you prepare your ingredients.
Food Prep: A heavy and sturdy wooden chopping board will make processing your food a breeze. Using a chopping board will also make your knives last longer.
Deciding Texture: A hand grater, pulse blender, or food mill will assist in achieving the right consistency.
Convenience: Scissors are great for small, quick, and easy tasks. A colander will be needed to strain liquids. A candy thermometer to make sure you have achieved the right temperature. You will also want to invest in a jar lifter, to remove freshly processed jars.
Preparing Herbs and Spices: A traditional mortar and pestle can help you prepare your herbs and spices.
Weights and Measures: Measuring spoons and cups are needed for recipes. Investing in a kitchen scale will provide increased accuracy.
Utensils: A slotted spoon can help to moderate the amount of liquid in your recipe. A ladle is needed for spooning your food mix into jars. Wooden spoons are needed for mixing.
From the Mixing Bowl and Into Jars: Acquire funnels of varying sizes, especially a jam funnel for wide mouth jars.
Mix It Up!: An array of differently sized bowls for various combining tasks
Keep It Clean and Tidy: Gather a few clean dish towels to wipe the rim of your jars in the event of spills. You can also dip a corner of your towel into some vinegar to get the rim squeaky clean.
Types of Containers
Mason jars are the best type of preserving container to use at home. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. These types of jars can be found in new condition online, at grocery stores, and in local markets. Used jars can be found in antique malls or thrift stores. Below is a list of brands that sell the perfect type of jar to meet your specific needs.
Jar Preparation and Cleaning
It’s worth noting, while glass jars and metal rings may be reused, canning lids can only be used once. This is to ensure a proper hermetic seal each time the jars undergo heat processing. If using a bail-type jar, be sure to use a new rubber seal. It’s worth noting, many people feel that bail lid jars are not suitable for canning and are only useful for dry storage.
Hot Packing Versus Raw Packing
Leaving Headspace
When you go to fill your jars, you will want to leave a little bit of space at the top of the jar. There should be a space between the food level and the lid. Overfilling your jars can cause problems like seepage or seal failure. Underfilling can prevent an adequate seal from forming.
Additionally, different foods can require different headspaces.
Finely processed foods like jams, sauces, and juices should have a ¼” gap.
Chunky, high acid fruits like pickles and tomatoes should have a ½” gap.
Low acid foods like veggies and meat should have a 1” – 1 ½ ” gap at the top.
Preserving Mediums
When you go to prepare your food for long-term storage, you will want to choose the correct medium in which to have it preserved. It should also be noted that fat and oil may be used for herbal infusions and short-term preserving, but are not recommended for home canning. The ingredients listed below are not an exhaustive list but instead are a variety sampler of what is frequently available.
Vinegar – Used mostly for pickling, vinegar is a great medium for preserving cucumbers, onions, beets, and various vegetables. Some of the most popular vinegars include the following:
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- White Wine Vinegar
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Distilled White Vinegar (made from sugar)
Salt – Salt or salt brine is the go-to medium for a variety of preserves, especially meat. It adds flavor and draws moisture out of foods. When choosing your salt, make sure it is pure salt and devoid of added fillers. These two are a safe bet:
- Kosher Salt
- Preserving Salt
Acids – An acid-based medium helps preserve color and slows down oxidation. Microorganisms are unable to grow in acids. Examples include the following:
- Citric Acid
- Lemon
- Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)
- Tamarind
Sugar – Sugar is often used to enhance color, preserve color, and draw moisture out of food; thereby making it an inhospitable environment for pathogens.
- Raw Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Refined Raw Sugar
- Honey
- Molasses
Fun Fact: Did you know that honey was discovered in the ruins of ancient Egypt? Clay jars containing this sweet treasure were discovered in 1905. This same honey remained unchanged and is still good to eat today.
Alcohol – Alcohol, with a proof above 80, is suitable for preserving since nothing harmful can grow in it. Fruit is a great food to preserve with alcohol.
- Rum
- Brandy
- Eau De Vie (a fruit brandy)
Water Bath Versus Pressure Cooking
Once you have filled your jars with food preserves, it’s time to process them for long-term storage. The type of food you are preserving will determine which method is best.
The canning process involves two methods for food preservation. The oldest method involves utilizing a boiling water bath to cook and seal food within containers. The second method also involves a boiling water bath PLUS applied pressure. This second method is called pressure canning. Each method has its own advantages and drawbacks.
Testing Your Foods PH
Acid foods with a PH of 4.6 or lower, are typically good candidates for being processed via the boiling method. For this reason, high acid foods are easier to preserve.
More alkaline foods with a PH above 4.6 should be processed using a pressure cooker. This is because alkaline foods in a low oxygen environment are more prone to developing Botulism.
Factoring Altitude
The Water Bath Method
Utilizing a water bath to preserve fresh food involves the use of a large steel or aluminum lidded pot, known as a boiling-water canner. It needs to be deep enough that water covers the glass jars by at least one inch and has room to boil.
With a boiling-water canner, jars are loaded into the pot and separated by either a pre-fitted rack or by tea towels. The pot is filled with water to a depth of 1 inch above the lidded jar tops. Boil times can frequently range between five minutes to twenty minutes, depending upon the type of food.
The Pressure Cooker Method
Pressure cookers are a great preserving tool because they can process food at high temperatures, under added pressure, and for a prolonged period of time. This in turn kills harmful pathogens that can spoil food and cause illness in humans.
Low acid foods need to be processed at temperatures between 240 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil times can range between twenty and one hundred minutes, depending upon the food being prepared. These temperatures ensure that harmful pathogens like botulism are destroyed.
After processing your preserves, you will want to allow the jars to cool down gradually for 12 – 24 hours.
Further Reading and Resources
A fabulous source of information on the subject is a book by Oded Schwartz called Preserving. It literally covers everything and has full-page color pictures that can walk you step by step through the entire canning process.
Another great resource is a book by Abigail R. Gehring called The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Living. It has an extensive section on canning and preserving, as well as other skills related to self-reliance.
In Summary
Now that you have learned the basics of canning, you can gather your supplies, the finest ingredients, and a few simple recipes, like this one, to get started.
Nothing is quite as special as spreading late spring figs and strawberry jam on buttery sourdough toast, accompanied by freshly brewed tea, and a gathering of dear friends.
I would love to hear about your experiences. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!
From my pantry to yours, merry wishes in your new home canning endeavors.
Research Sources and Links
- Schwartz, Oded. Preserving. New York: DK Publishing, 1996. Print. Preserving: Schwartz, Oded: 9780789410535: Amazon.com: Books
- Gehring, A.R. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Living. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2011. Print. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Living: Beekeeping, Canning and Preserving, Cheese Making, Disaster Preparedness, Fermenting, Growing … Raising Livestock, Soap Making, and more!: Gehring, Abigail: 9781616084677: Amazon.com: Books
- Fig or Strawberry Jam Recipe | RecipeLand
- Fat and oil in home canning – Healthy Canning
- The Science Behind Honey’s Eternal Shelf Life | Science | Smithsonian Magazine
- National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Can (uga.edu)
