National Canning Day was on October 23rd and it isn’t your grandma’s canning anymore. No more wax on the jams and jellies which that was my job when I was little and more importantly there are steps to make sure your preserved goods are safe! I always tell people that cleanliness is next to Godliness when canning because you don’t want preserving to be the end of your life here. Too many good things are happening.

I always tell people to decide what their family will eat and how much of it they will eat. No point in having 15 jars of canned green beans when you only serve them at the holidays. Not only do I can, I freeze and dry the summer produce because some things I prefer frozen instead of canned and some fruits and herbs I prefer dried.

Some basics for getting started canning. You can buy a starter kit of tools that you will need such as a large ladle, a wide mouth funnel, a jar lifter (which is really important), and a bubble wand which you use to get out any air bubbles

You will also need a waterbath canner, the Ball Canning and Preserving book (which has recipes that are USDA approved), and of course jars. You can get canning jars at hardware stores, some garden centers (especially the ones that have fruit and vegetable market attached), and some of the big box stores too. Because I have been canning a long time, there are certain ones I recommend. They include Ball jars, lids and rings, Golden Harvest with the lids and rings and Mason jars and rings. I’m not making any money off of them but better to safe than sorry. During the pandemic these were all difficult to find and I tried some off brand and the rings didn’t fit properly and the jars didn’t seal either.

The recipes will tell you what size jar you need for your recipe. And they are reusable and so are the rings. You will need to replace the lids every year. There are 4 oz. jars that you can use as gift jars, the 8 oz. jars normally used for jellies and jams, there are also 12 oz. jars that are ideal for whole green beans, pint jars that are great for pickles and my pickled beets and quart jars for tomato sauce, soups and the like. Any of the larger jars are only recommended for juices and vinegars or dried items because you simply cannot heat the contents of that size jar to the correct temperature. You can make some things in smaller jars but you cannot make them in a larger jar than the recipe says. Because I am mostly Italian, there are always plenty of jars of tomato puree in my pantry along with some jars of chopped tomatoes that I use for soups and chili. I also make a lot of pickled beets every year because they are always in demand.

For my use the 12 oz. jars and smaller only take regular canning lids. For larger jars there are regular and wide mouth jars and I prefer those.

Starting off make sure you produce is clean and insect free. No one needs extra protein. I like to pour boiling water all over my sink to sterilize it. Not required but I do it. Wash your jars and lids in hot soapy water and keep them hot. It can be a pot filled with very hot water. You can also use your dishwasher and just have the jars ready when it is time to fill them. Fill your waterbath canner with hot water, cover with the lid and start heating it to at least a simmer. Right before filling your jars, you can turn up the heat so the water boils. Follow the recipe directions on much to fill the jar, wipe off the rim with wet paper towels, place the lid and ring on. Tighten the ring to finger tight. Using the jar lifter place them in the boiling water. If it stops boiling wait a few minutes until it boils again and start your timing. Depending on where you live above or below sea level, you may have to had a few minutes onto your time. That is simply done when the time is done, you leave your jars in the waterbath with the lid on for X number of minutes before removing from the pot. Place them on a towel out of the way of a draft and allow them to cool. You will start to hear popping and the lids will suction down. DO NOT press the lids down because you need them to seal properly. If after 24 hours, they haven’t sealed properly you need to reprocess them or put them in the refrigerator for eating later.

If you are doing pressure canning, you must use a proper pressure canner, not a waterbath canner nor one of the new cookers that claim they are also pressure cookers. They do not heat to the proper temperature needed for processing. Most people just do waterbath preserving but meat and low acid vegetables and fruits must be pressure canned.

Here are two of my favorite canning recipes:

Antoinette’s Old-Fashioned Pickled Beets

• 3-1/2 lb of 2-2 1/2” diameter beets
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 cups white 5% acid vinegar (I use Heinz in a jug)
• ½ cup water
• 1 sweet onion, cut into pieces

Trim the tops off the beets, leaving 1” of the stems. Wash the beets thoroughly. Cover them with boiling water and simmer until they are tender. Discard water, cool beets slightly and remove the skins. Cut the beets into chunks (or slices, or leave small ones whole. I discovered that chunks are better because using slices means you need a lot more beets!) I place just a few pieces of onion in the bottom of the jar before adding the beets.

You can start to make the syrup about an hour into cooking the beets. I usually double the syrup because I find that beets aren’t always the exact same size and sometimes, I have run out. You can freeze any extra syrup.

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar and water and bring this mixture to a boil. Boil until it is nearly a syrup.

Pack the beets in hot glass jars to withing 1/2” of the top. At this point you can add ½ tsp pickling salt to each quart. Cover with the boiling pickling syrup leaving ½” head space.

Put the lids on and process 15 minutes for pints in a boiling water bath. Adjust your time for your local sea level. After the timer goes off, shut off heat and allow jars to sit for an additional 5 minutes.

*You may also cook them in a pressure cooker which takes less time.

Applesauce

• 8 large apples Peeled and cored A mix of Honey Crisp, Braeburn and Golden Delicious for best flavor
• ¼ cup water
• 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar as needed

Toss apples with lemon juice in a large non-reactive pot, add water and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until apples are softened. You can use a potato masher to crush them. It is your choice to leave chunky or finely mashed. Check to see if you need or want sugar. Your jars should be ready to fill. Add the applesauce then use the bubble lifter to remove any air bubbles. Fill to ½ inch below the rim. You can simply do that by running it around the edge of the jar. Then wipe the rim clean, put the lids and rings on and process in the water bath processor for 20 minutes.

I’m a fan of ice-cold chunky applesauce. I prefer to add cinnamon when ready to serve.

Just follow the directions in your favorite recipe book and you will be just fine and have a full pantry too!

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