Do you have a garden full of fruits and vegetables that you’ve been wanting to preserve? Or are you interested in making your very own pickles and jams at home?
Learn all about water bath canning and how to preserve and enjoy different foods year round with Blain’s Farm & Fleet.
Water bath canning is the easiest and least expensive method of home canning.
This makes it great for novice canners and experts alike. The process of water bath canning provides canners quite a few options, such as canning jellies, jams, vegetables, fruits, and pickles.
However, there are some limitations to water bath canning, namely foods that have low acidity, including many vegetables and meats. Water bath canning does not adequately preserve low acid foods, which can result in food poisoning. You can only can low acid foods using a pressure canner.
The process of water bath canning involves submersing canning jars into boiling water, which creates a vacuum seal within the jar and kills bacteria in the food. This allows you to preserve it without refrigeration.
A water bath canner is a large canning pot that is at least seven quarts in size. It’s usually made of aluminum or enameled steel. Inside the canner is a rack to place the canning jars. These jars can be quart or pint sized.
Water bath canners come with either a flat or a ridged bottom. Electric stoves can only accommodate the flat-bottomed variety, whereas gas stoves can accommodate either type. But the overall diameter of the canner cannot be more than four inches wider than the stove burner.
You must use canning jars/mason jars because they have special rings and lids. Canning lids contain a compound which softens during the canning process. When this compound softens, it creates the air tight seal needed to preserve food. The canning jars can be either regular or wide-mouthed.
Other tools used in water bath canning include:
Jars that have not been fully sealed can cause food poisoning, so it’s important to follow canning recipes very carefully. Also, if you live in an area with a high altitude, keep your jars in the canner for an extra minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level.
We suggest checking with a local canners club or cooking store to find exactly how long you should process the jars.
In addition to processing time, cleanliness of supplies is essential to ensure you produce a safe product. Sterilize jars and lids, and wash all supplies in hot soapy water.
Below is a list of only some of the high acid foods that can be canned using the water bath method. We hope this list will inspire you to get canning!
Now that you have all the information you need to get started with water bath canning, check out our Canning Blog for more tips and ideas.
