First Canning of the Season

Our garden struggled this year. Too many weeds. Not the right drainage. Pesky bugs. We have managed to harvest quite a bit, still, and we finally get to start preserving our food! It definitely is not a money saving way to get food. The man-hours I’ve spent weeding far exceed the cost of buying produce from the local grocery store or farmer’s market. However, the satisfaction of being semi-self-sufficient and providing food from my own yard is priceless.

Everything you need to start canning

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1. Camp Chef–We have a glass top stove, which is not recommended to use for pressure canning. We bought this Camp Chef for doing our canning in the backyard. It also saves the hour of heat in my kitchen (during August) to process each batch of cans!

2. Pressure Canner–A pressure canner is necessary if you want to do vegetables or meats. We have one similar to this, but there are many different options on Amazon. If you are only interested in processing fruits, a water bath canner is all you need.

3. Canning jars–You will need glass canning jars in whatever size you prefer. I prefer using pint jars the best for most of my vegetables, because one jar of green beans works for my family for dinner. I will often use quart size for peaches or spaghetti sauce, but even then, I still like pint and can choose if I want to open one or two for that particular meal.

4. More canning lids–Most of the jars you buy will come with a lid and ring. This will work the first time you can something. Once a lid has been used to seal the jar, it shouldn’t be reused. After eating your preserved food, you can use the jar and ring again, but you’ll want to use fresh lids every time to ensure a good and safe seal.

That’s it!! That’s all you need to get started on your canning journey. I follow my specific pressure canners manual for tips, recipes, and processing pressure/length. Other than that, you are good to go. Happy Canning!

Kristen