SUE ANN's HOT WATER BATH CANNING - CANNING PART II

Hot Water Bath Canning

 I want to strongly suggest that anyone interested in canning, buy a Ball Blue Book of canning...you can find them in book stores, grocery stores, farm and fleet stores, on Amazon, most any place that sells a quantity of canning supplies. Anything I would first start to tell you about canning, would be verbatim from the book. I can offer you many little insights to canning..that are never in the instructions...like most things..the little details no one tells you...you have to find someone to tell you..and I am that someone!

Food preservation needs to be considered seriously....I have seen lots of people take it as a "fad", and be unhappy with the results..mostly it is because they do not understand what they are doing. I hope I can help.

There are several sizes of canners.They are all steel, blue enamel, with white dots....sort of a signature thing....the smaller size is good for half pints, like jams and jellies, relishes, you can also do pints...it uses less water. The medium, is more for quarts, but pints and half pints can be canned too...uses more water..the next largest,  is for the 2 qt size jars...taller, wider , canner, heavier to lift...more water used...and then there is the mega canner...that needs 2 people to lift, as it holds two shelves for jars...uses LOTS of water! So...you need to know your food needs...when you buy a canner. I use a medium size....as I do a lot of things in quarts, and pints, and I started using the smallest one a few years ago..when our family unit got smaller...doesn't need as much water...smaller quantities of food made...love that little canner!

You need a canner with a lid- they come with them, and a jar rack...they come with them too. The extras I strongly suggest you get is a jar lifter. You can find them everywhere. Tongs do not work. I learned the hard way! You also need a wide mouth funnel, the type that will sit down into the mouth of the jar a bit. You need a timer that works. and you need to be brave...do not be afraid of a big hot pot of water!!!! At best..remember...you can turn the fires off! You will be safe!

Jars must be canning jars...the old glass mayo jars that were used for years when I was a kid...are not the same quality glass as 40 years ago...they will explode in the canner..or crack. all the jars need to be smooth around the tops, no chips, no cracks anywhere.

Next you need seals, they are made by Ball or Kerr, they are what you put on the top of the jar when you are preparing to seal it and get it in the canner. The underside of the seals are a sealing compound,that is the side you put to the glass. Next is rings, jar rings, also called sealing rings. There are wide mouth seals and wide mouth rings, as well as regular seals and regular rings...these have to do with the mouth size of your jar, wide, or regular.

All the jars need to be washed in hot soapy water, rinsed well, and I stand them in the sink, with a few inches of standing hot water, and cover them with a linen towel to keep them hot..until I need them.

I use a small pan...to boil the seals....place as many seals in the pan as you think you will need for  one canning....usually 7 jars fit a canner...I always add an extra seal. Bring that pot of seals and water to a boil -boil hard......then turn it to simmer and cover it...keeping them hot til you need them. The heat softens the sealing compound so it will adhere to the glass. The rings just need to be cleaned and lined up on the counter..ready to go when you are.

Now, you pick your canner...large or small....depending on what you are working on. Fill the canner with hot tap water, a good half full, put the jar rack in the canner, but not down in it yet..the handles are able to rest on the top edge of the canner-put it there. You need it up, when time to fill the rack. Put the lid on, put the canner on the stove..on the burner it fits(electric stoves have 2 different sizes, gas are all the same size, use the large burner)..set the heat at med-high.

NOW...you are ready to work your jars!!! I will use applesauce for an example. Applesauce should have been simmering low all along as you do these preparations. Move it over to the counter, I put a linen towel under it..it is HOT! get your jars out of the water, lined up near the applesauce, have your rings at the ready, pull the hot pot of seals off the stove, and put a linen towel under them too.

At this point..your focus is "quick, clean, and hot to hot to hot...' 

Hot product, hot seals, hot jars, hot water, in the canner. Get you nifty canning funnel and start, use a measuring cup as a scoop...and scoop the applesauce in one jar at a time...fill half full, tap it down, keep filling, and tapping...air bubbles can be a problem sometimes so try to have as few as possible. Fill the jars to 1/4" of the top...air can be deadly. When that one jar is done...place it back in the sink of hot water..which you may have to make hot every so often, and cover the jars as you fill them, with a linen cloth..When all your jars are filled this way, take them all out of the hot sink water....wipe the edges of the jar clean, if any applesauce got on it...use a kitchen fork to fish a seal out of the pot, you can grab the edges of the seal,(not the sealing compound..just the metal edges), and place it, rubber side down, direct center of the jar-hold it there..don't let it move..the hot rubber has begun to want to stick there. Grab a ring, put it over the seal, one hand will hold the seal steady-your fingers will be on top of it, the other hand turns the ring, to tighten......as hard as you can,in one twist. Rings loosen during the canning process. "Double twisting ", the ring, will lossen the sealing compound that has already begun to seal. do NOT tighten the rings when you remove the jars from the canner-their use is done at that point and you can still ruin your sealing compound. There..one jar done! Take the lid off the canner, and put the first jar in the rack..leave the lid off. Continue on until all the jars are filled, wiped, sealed, ringed, and racked.

Now..carefully lower the rack all the way down into the canner..it will touch bottom. Jars can be close..but not so close they are knocking..that would cause cracking. Look at your water and be sure you have 2" of water OVER the tops of the jars, if not, add some hot water from the seal pot..or hot water from the sink.Cover, and turn the heat to med/high. Now....you have plenty of time to prepare for the next canning, if you are doing more than 7 quarts, so you follow the same steps for seals, rings, rinse the funnel off, get your jars in hot water in the sink and cover them, and put the applesauce pot back on the stove on a low heat. Now, you wait for the 2nd boil...the first boil was going on while you were setting up for the first canning. Boil time is on its own...all depends...how hot it was before..now it is full up...more things to get hot...we are going for 212 degrees....to kill bacteria,molds,and also to suck the air out of the jars too.....

You will see steam coming out from around the canner lid..as soon as you see that, start timing! Once the timer goes off..turn fires off, ASAP. Lid off, ASAP. This is where you jar lifter becomes your best friend. 

Lay some old towels on a table, with cookie racks over them, have some old pot holders in one hand.....use the jar lifter to grab one jar, pull it up slow, use your pot holder hand to help carry it to the cooling racks. Place, and release...go back for another...same thing for all the jars...do not place them too close on the cookie racks..they need air to cool down..and listen for the "POPS", and count them...those are your seals pushing the last air out and sucking down tight. Later, when they are much cooler, you can gently run your finger over the seal....very lightly...you will feel a "dip" and a "bump"-dip, it is sealed, bump, it is not..do not re-can, as it begins to degrade the food..just put it in the fridge to eat.Be careful not to push the "bump" down, it is tempting...you will not seal the food....very lightly run your finger over the top of the seal-like a feather...it is easy to feel the dip or bump.

This is the basics with hot water bath canning....does not matter what you can...the process is the same every time....same tools, same steps. and if you think hot to hot to hot to hot to hot........you will be ok.

After all the jars are out of the canner....put the lid back on the canner and let it cool down a bit..it is WAYYY too hot to up and carry.....give it an hour....if you are done for the day....take it outside and dump it on weeds..I have removed poison ivy lots of times with boiling hot water...and any other weed. If you will continue on canning that day.....you would still use the same water, until you are done...there may be times you have to add some water  to get the 2" water over the top of the jars.When you know you will be doing another canning...put the lid on and set the fires at med....get it back up to heat by the time you need it-be sure, each time, the jar rack is resting on the rim of the canner....placing jars down in the canner..has caused many exploded jars..too hot too fast...

You do not put salt in the canning water.......just plain old water.

Many foods canned in a water bath usually have a 1/4" head space..less air to get in and degrade the food. Too full and they will push out, and not seal.

That is the down and dirty, basic hot water bath canning!

The next day, the jars are all cooled....wipe them down with cool soapy water....there will be sugars that got pushed out..during the boil..and they may be sticky, and bugs like to find sticky things in pantries! Even wipe the tops down, and dry them all off...goes real quick. Lastly-label! Stick a label on the seal..write the name of the product, and the date. Even if you make a complicated thing like apple nut relish......has to be on the label....you will forget  in 6 mos what it is!!! Get a small spiral note book..just for canning...keep a journal of your work...like..6-29-13,canned 22 qts. applesauce from banks' tree (where we find our apples at times). A journal helps you to keep a food inventory....and by the time you are done with canning season..you will be amazed at all you did!

The importance on getting a canning book..is it has canning times for all sorts of foods-applesauce in quarts has to be timed when the steam starts..for 35 mins, and the book helps you to understand better the whole idea of processing and preserving foods...

Pressure Canning is a whole 'nother world! Heavier canner, uses less water, has a weight to put on top to create so many pounds of pressure steam....but the premise is the same-hot to hot to hot to hot..etc...seals, rings, jars, jar lifter, cooling racks, towels, timers, large mouth funnel. Pressure canners do not need to be pre- heated..like a water bath....and the jar holder ring inside...can stay down inside..(some of these have a right side and a wrong side, the wrong side has an edge to it, the edge should be down) to hold the jars..they stand more free in a pressure canner.  Try not to put them so close they knock against each other..close..with a hair between. I think it is 4 c water is all you add....hot from the tap.Be sure the inner rubber seal is inside the lid correctly, set the lid on, the lid and bottom pot have locks that will match up...match those up....put the pressure valve on..the valve has numbers on it so you can see what one to use for what food you are canning..the books will tell you....then turn the fire on med....and wait for the jiggle......the pressure valve begins to jiggle and let off steam...you time from the first jiggle...when it is done..turn fires off....,wait for the pressure valve to quit jiggling.Use a kitchen fork(I have a 2 prong fork) to remove the valve...it fits real nice in the fork tines..it will be hot..put it on a pot holder....let the canner cool a few minutes..and twist gently, the lid off..it will not explode..trust me...the pressure has been released already. Then do your thing...jar lifter, pot holder under the jar as you carry to the counter, back and forth..and you are done! You can continue pressure canning all day..til your food is done......The next day is the same too, wipe the jars down, dry them off, label.

Canning is work....I think it is fun work, but it is hot, heavy, work, and sometimes you do this for many days in a row, if you have a good year. The pots and pans are only the mechanical work...there is a lot to do..to get the food ready..many times..when I know I will be canning soon..I am already preparing the food, one day, two days, ahead...depending on what I am making....

I have scads of recipes...and canning recipes always come with how long to can , in hot water bath or pressure can. So if I give you a neat recipe for wine jelly, or rose petal jelly.....you will get canning times too.
How do you know what foods go in what canner?
Hot Water Bath-high acid foods.

apples,apricots,berries,catsup,cherries,chili sauce,chutney,citrus fruits,currants,fruit butters,fruit cocktail,fruit juices,grapes,jams,marmalades,melons,necterines,peaches, pears, persimmons, pickles, pineapple, preserves, quinces, rhubarb, saurkraut, tomatoes.
Pressure Canning-low acid foods.asparagus, beans, beets (unless they are pickled), broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, eggplant, greens, meats, mixed vegetables, okra, onions, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, poultry, pumpkin, rutabaga, seafood, soups, (not tomato), spinach, squash, stewed tomatoes, stews, turnips, yams, and sweet potatoes.
There are always exceptions to these canning rules with the foods..so follow recipes exactly...