r/Canning

Last year was my first time canning. I made about a dozen jars of pizza sauce from tomatoes in my garden.

I was genuinely surprised that we went through every single jar. And well before the growing season started again. Having sauce ready to go made homemade pizza night an easy dinner option.

This year I have done pizza sauce again, and added jam, salsa, and crushed tomatoes to my pantry. I’m looking for ideas of what else to can and make Winter me happy to have on hand.

I know the basic idea of ‘can what you will use’. I knew I would use pizza sauce but was shocked how much we went through and ensuring I put away even more this year.

What have you been pleasantly surprised with and now do more batches of, as you love having it on hand?

Recently retired. No expert here but I did can about 150 jars since August 1. Hubby has a big garden. Now to get some shelves to store them all as he is sick of looking at dining table and chairs stacked. Too bad they cannot go in the garage but will freeze here in Massachusetts. Somethings I learned this year from this sub and a FB group and authorized websites and books. I water bathed and pressure canned in my old (1990) Mirro 12 qt.

Setting up an assembly line is important to me. I work left to right to the stove.

1. I have an old thick aluminum cookie sheet I use next to the stove to sit the hot jars on while filling. PLUS reduce the mess on the counter.

2, I have an old thick placemat next to the cookie sheet that I sit the hot pan on while filling the jars. PLUS reduce the mess on the counter. Use other placemats for setting jars out of the canner.

3. Lids and bands in a small pot of very hot water. I know you do not have to boil them anymore but I like my lids hot. Saw a tip it helps to soften the rubber.

4. Hunt thrift stores. This time of year many yard sales etc. FB marketplace. Maybe even some jars!

5. Look for another pot for waterbath. WHY?? Today my old Graniteware canner sprung a tiny pinhole size hole in the bottom!! I checked the water temp and it was almost empty! No wonder my socks were wet! Luckily I was just canning jelly today that fit in my pressure canner.

6. Of course follow tested approved recipes. Read them through more than once. Print them out if you can both for checking off steps/ingredients and for making notes. I started a binder for them all this year. Make sure to write down WHAT you are making and from what source. DO NOT count on memory!! Especially with similar items like Salsa (I made 3 kinds). Label as soon as possible even just writing on top of lid what is in jar. MAKE SURE TO NOTE HOW MUCH THE RECIPE ACTUALLY MADE!! As recipes are all over the place with amount results.

Get a NOTEBOOK! FOR NOTES. Keep a MASTER list of how much produce used as you go along. This helps in planning what to plant next year as well. Example I needed about 25 pounds of red peppers for what all I wanted to make. Had to buy quite a few as we only planted green. Same for hot peppers if you plan on making any salsas.

7. Some of my canning excursions started with me prepping late afternoon and making the next day. When possible and practical, I used some of my quart jars to mix together the liquid ingredients needed, using my fridge containers for veggies etc. I love rubbermaid takealongs that hold 4 cups as they are flat and stack in fridge. As prepped, Using my printout to check off each ingredient.

8. BIG one cannot double jam/jelly recipes with pectin. To make double use 2 pots at the same time to make 2 batches.

9. Look for discounts on canning supplies now. My grocery (Shaws and Stop and SHop) both had some markdown jar prices. My ACE Hardware has been the best price and they have BALL lids on sale for best price.

10. FREEEEEEE BOOKS!! Archive.org has a couple BALL books for free and you can download them.

2017 Ball Canning Back to Basics Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

2016 The All New book of Canning and Preserving The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving: Over 350 Of The Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, And Preserved Recipes : Ball Home Canning Test Kitchen : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

2006 Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving 2006 JK Ball Complete Book Of Home Preserving : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

2004 Yes old but can be used to compare to new recipes you want. ball-blue-book-guide-to-preserving-2010 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

The USDA guide can be downloaded in sections from the website. Choose those you want/need.

Complete 2015 revision here to d/l Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015 revision) : US Department of Agriculture : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Extension services have sooooo much info. Food and Nutrition | NDSU Agriculture

Oregon State University Extension Service Salsa recipes for canning | OSU Extension Service

WHAT TIPS AND TRICKS DO YOU HAVE?? HAPPY WINTER! Although I plan on canning those recipes using canned store bought tomatos! and other stuff!

Also I got some plastic totes to store all my lids and bands. Also was informed REGULAR size lids are way cheaper than WIDE mouth lids. I use both kinds depending on recipe but good to know.

Obviously, I’m going to water bath can on the stove. However, I really don’t feel like babysitting a dutch oven for a few hours. Can I make the Ball apple butter recipe in the Instant Pot? I was looking at some untested recipes that all seem to suggest around 15 minutes of pressure. Any tips?

Hello all. This summer I have been saving all my tomatoes in the freezer after coring them and last night following into this morning I finally thawed them all, peeled the skins and processed them into 27 cups of tomato sauce. I'm following the Ms. Wages tomato sauce recipe which calls for 10 cups per packet. Would it be safe to use a commercial plain tomato sauce to make up the missing 3 cups to make 3 full batches? My husband thinks I should just add a little more than half from the third packet but I don't want to rid the acidity levels being messed up. My other idea would be to process 3 more cups of whole tomatoes but I already cleaned up from my big processing this morning and I don't have the time for that. I plan on water bath canning. Thoughts?

So I made my first batch of applesauce last week using our Honey Crisp apples. The batch turned out fantastic. Today I made my second ever batch using our Winter Banana apples. This experience was far different.

During the cooking process, I used a different pot (stainless steel) with 3/4 cup of water in the bottom, about the same as my first batch which was done in a nonstick pot. Unfortunately, the apples at the bottom badly burned in the bottom of the pot. While I was able to save 5 jars of applesauce which tastes great but clearly smokey. Questions:

1. Anyone else done this before and did you have any issues eating it afterwards? I’m still completing the canning process now and plan to save the jars.

2. Any ideas for other uses of the smokey applesauce? I was debating making some barbecue sauce with part of the batch. Thoughts or recipes appreciated :)

Don’t be too hard on me. It’s bad enough I ruined a pot during the process! Thanks in advance!

Not salsa for dipping chips, I'm looking for a green enchilada sauce made with tomatillos.

I was surprised with whole bunch of wild apples yesterday and they aren't in the best shape for cooking so I was going to make them into cider.

I can't consume alcohol for health reasons so I'm looking for safe recipes I could follow to preserve the cider without it fermenting.

I've seen mention that apple cider can be processed similarly to the guidelines for apple juice, but since this is my first time attempting to make cider I would appreciate a recipe I could follow specifically for it.

I like a nicely spiced/mulled cider so bonus points for any non-alcoholic recipes for that, but I can also spice it myself so plain sweet cider is okay too.

Thanks in advance friends!

It is difficult to find pressure cookers in my country, so I need to buy online. I have an induction stove, so the cooker must work with that. If I buy one I figure I might as well go big, so I think I want something in the range of 15-20 liters (or quarts, they are similar). It needs to be shipped to Europe, so if it is available on Amazon it is helpful.

Any suggestions? Or any advice on things to look for or avoid?

Came out of the canner late afternoon. Can I reboil it with more pectin tomorrow morning and reprocess it? Thanks.

My question is about the safety of using beer growler type jugs for the canning of ciders and juices. I know you can purchase commercial juices in this style jug and can get new lids. Is it safe to use for canning of ciders (sweet not hard) in these containers (1/2 gallon or smaller) or should I stick to the 1/2 gallon mason jars?

Thanks