Welcome to the canning season here at Growing a Greener World!
Since January, we have been traveling the country (and the world) filming special people and places who are making a difference and we can’t wait to share more of their stories with you!
Theresa Loe, Master Food Preserver discusses Water Bath Canning and Pressure Canning at home
While filming, I have also enjoyed visiting some of lush gardens and glorious farms brimming with edibles just waiting to be preserved. When the cameras were focused on our guests, it was all I could do to keep from packing my pockets, purse and suitcase with all that produce so that I could share it with you here in a jar! But I held back… instead I let that produce inspire me to can when I got home, and I will be sharing those recipes here throughout the season.
Besides the usual canning and preserving information, this year we will also have some Canning Videos for you! Sometimes, it really helps to see a recipe done visually and since canning is a new technique to many people, we thought that would be helpful. The clip here is from episode 204 on City Homesteading and it covers the basics of what you need in the way of equipment. For more information, visit some of my other blog posts. I cover everything from Canning Tomatoes and Apple Pie Filling to The Dangers of BPA in Canning Lids.
If you are a newbie, I suggest you start with Water Bath Basics 101, the companion post for the video clip above. Together, they give you all the basics you need to get started.
So as my own garden is brimming and the local farmer’s markets are packed with produce, I’m ready to capture those flavors of summer in jar!
Come on! Let’s do this! Who’s with me?
For more information:
- What’s all this talk about Canning?
- Water Bath Basics 101
- Canning Crushed Tomatoes
- Low Sugar “strawberries and Cream” jam
About Joe Lamp'l
Joe Lamp'l is the Host and Executive Producer of the award winning PBS television series Growing A Greener World. Off camera, Joe dedicates his time to promoting sustainability through his popular books, blog, podcast series, and nationally syndicated newspaper columns. Follow Joe on Twitter
can I water bath green beans and corn using citric acid ?
No you absolutely cannot and here is why:
https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/how-to-can-vegetables-safely/
Okay, you finally got me. My little Redneck Garden is kicking out oodles of tomatoes & peppers & I just gotta save that flavor for winter! Thanks for the Boot Camp!
You got it Matt! So glad to hear your garden is doing so well.
~T
Theresa, you are a pleasure and an inspiration. I’ve been living like this and not knowing about all these sisters and brothers on the net- finally enough people told me to write about my life on the farm and I get to read your stuff! Thanks!
Susan-
Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments. I’m so sorry I had missed them! Apparently I wasn’t getting notifications of comments on this post at all until we revamped the website a few weeks ago.
So glad to chat with a fellow canner!
~Theresa
Oh my, I would be dead if that were true. Definitely eat your oldest stuff first, and there are some things that keep their color and flavor longer. Like, 3 year-old canned cherry puree is brown but still goes great in a fruitcake or a pudding. But (don’t tell) I have eaten five-year old apple sauce, after making sure the seal was fine. Tomatoes only spoil if your seal is no good. And ancient brandied fruit from my Granny made the best ever Christmas fruitcake. Of course, all this is acid stuff or preserved in alcohol. Be careful, check your seals, and make sure you are processing long enough, but be sensible and don’t waste perfectly good food.
Hi Theresa, I’ve been canning for a number of years, and i have both a water n pressure canner. But in all my Readings i have been getting mixed information as to How Long Jars can be stored. Basically i have read 18 months is the Max for most.
Do you have any Information as to Long Term Storage?
Thks TJ
Theresa, I have an abundance of peppers and chilies from this year’s garden. Do you have a recipe to preserve them or recommend the best way to store them? (I have serrano chilies, jalapeno and bell pepers).
Thanks
Cathy
Cathy, I am right there with you. My husband and I travel in chili rich countries so mysteriously I seem to grow a lot. Any chilies with thin skins are traditionally dried, so just pick a bowl full, get some strong thread and a needle, run your needle through the thick end where the stem attaches, and string ’em up! I sometimes twist thread from yucca leaves for a rustic look, using a craft needle which has a big eye, but cotton thread or dental floss works fine. If the chilis are not fully ripe or have blemishes they won’t dry as pretty. If they are bigger, like a Hatch, they will need to be slit open. (Fleshy chilis, like Jalapenos and Serranos, seem to mold for me strung up. They dry best split and laid on screens in my hot attic.)
Dried chilies make great gifts with a decorative spray of corn shucks tied at the top and braided into a loop, but I really use them as well. When they are totally dry you can break them up and shake out the seeds, then throw them in the blender, with or without toasting them in the frying pan, and make your very own chili powder. Is that b-d–s or what?
Jenny, do you have a university extension in your county? Within agricultural extensions there are Master Food Preservers. These wonderful folks are all about educating their communities about canning and food preservation techniques. I bet you could find a mentor who would indeed “hold your hand”. Here’s a cut/paste I found on how to locate your local extenstion:
“If you would like to find out if your state offers this opportunity to become a Master Food Preserver, contact your local Extension Office (usually listed in local government pages of the phone book under Cooperative Extension Service, Ag Extension Office and/or 4-H Office). You could also contact someone at the state university to either ask your questions or let them know of your interest. ”
Warning: extension programs are addictive, LOL! I started with Master Gardener, now am doing some Land Stewardship programs, and eagerly look forward to having some time in the future for Master Food Preserver.
Terry –
You are so right about the extension programs being addictive. I am a Master Food Preserver and I have met some of the most wonderful people through the programs they have there. I love how you are going through so many of the extension programs. Land Stewardship sounds like a fun one for sure. And you will being a MFP!
~Theresa
This is exactly what I need: a video to help me over my first-time canning fears. If I could fly Theresa in to Austin so she could hold my hand while I do it, that would be best, but I’m guessing I’ll have to white knuckle my way through it. Thanks so much for the info!
Thanks Jenny!
You KNOW I would love to come hold your hand through a canning recipe.(Would there be cocktails involved??) This video (and the others that follow) will be the next best thing. You CAN do it my friend!! (I couldn’t help saying that.)
Jenny, don’t worry about it. It’s so not rocket science. When my grandmother was about 20 she was given the Hoheim County canner to drive around the outskirts of Lockhart (TX) and teach farm women about nutrition and sanitation. She was so embarrassed because she knew it was ridiculous, but she was educated and her father had probably delivered all their babies, so they were nice about it. All you need to do is make sure everything is clean, the food is tasty, that it seals verifiably, and that you boiled it the right amount of time for the food you canned. And the recommended times are very conservative, as in, don’t process it longer or you will be losing too much flavor and texture. I personally process my okra pickles only 5 minutes in an open water bath, tomatoes and apple sauce 25. The acid has taken care of everything in there and all I want is a good seal. Of course I am not so cavalier with wild mushrooms and meats- pressure canner all the way with that. To me, the best book is Rodale’s Stocking Up, and I like the older editions better. But no white knuckles. Folks have been doing this a long time. Go ahead!