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Plan Ahead for Home
Canning this Summer
Elizabeth Andress, Extension Food Safety
Specialist at the University of Georgia, offers these tips for planning
ahead for home canning. Start by checking your equipment and supplies.
Proper equipment in good condition is required for safe, high quality
home canned food.
A pressure canner is essential for canning low-acid vegetables,
meats, fish, and poultry. Dial gauges must be tested for accuracy before
each canning season. Check the rubber gasket if your canner has one—it
should be flexible and soft, not brittle, sticky or cracked. Also make
sure any small pipes or vent ports with openings are clean and open all
the way through.
A boiling water canner is needed for canning other foods such as fruits,
pickles, jellies and jams. The canner should be deep enough to allow at
least one to two inches of water to boil over the tops of the jars. Both
types of canners should have a rack in the bottom to keep jars off the
bottom of the canner.
Inventory your jars and decide if you need to buy new jars this year.
Inspect those you have for nicks, cracks or chips, especially around the
top sealing edge. Nicks can prevent lids from sealing. Very old jars can
weaken with age and repeated use and may break under pressure and heat.
Consider investing in new jars if you need to, and watch for specials at
the stores. New jars are a better investment over time than buying used
jars at yard sales or flea markets.
Mason-type jars specifically designed for home canning are best. Jars
that use two-piece self-sealing metal lids are the recommended container
in USDA guidelines. Always use new flat lids.
Used lids should be thrown away. The screw bands are
reusable if they are not bent, dented or rusted.
Make sure that you have up-to-date canning
instructions. The most recently revised edition of the USDA canning
guides is dated 1994. Canning books published prior to 1994 will not
have safe processing times and/or methods. Watch this newsletter for new
publications and web sites for the latest canning information.
Planning ahead can save you time, money, and
frustration with home canning. Make it a happy, successful canning
season by getting prepared before your harvest is ready.
Other April 2006 Articles:
Should I Vacuum
Package Food at Home?
Mushroom
Seekers Hope April Rains Brings Morels
Buying a
Pressure Canner?
Cynthia
Fauser
fauserc@missouri.edu
Nutrition Specialist
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April
2006
