THE ABCs OF CANNING

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A good way to collect low-cost jars is to put a few ads up here and there. You'll be surprised at the response. Not only will you find jars, but sometimes you can find a good canner. If you're lucky, you may find an "old-time" canner who is willing to share his knowledge and experience with you.

Hot Pack vs. Cold Pack (Raw Packing)

In order to cold pack, raw food is put into the jar, cut into convenient chunks (if necessary), and boiling liquid is poured in. It's important to leave the proper amount of head space (see chart or your own canning book). With hot packing, however, the food is partially or wholly pre-cooked and then put into jars while it's boiling hot. This makes a more solidly packed jar. Both ways are equally safe and produce pretty much the same taste. If I am in a hurry, I use the raw pack since it's quicker and I can get more done. However, because raw packed food is less dense, I do use more jars that way, and when they're filled up, they don't hold as much solid food as hot packing. So if I have more time or I am short of jars, I opt for hot packing.

One "hybrid" is raw packing chunks of meat (roast, steaks, etc.). The cold meat is placed in the jars. Then the open jars are placed in a slow boil bath until the meat is heated up to 170° F. This draws the liquid from the meat, and helps ensure that it processes well. Add salt if desired, cleanse the rims, seal the jars, and then place them into the pressure canner.

Different Types of Canning

There are two basic forms of home canning: Pressure canning, which is exactly what it sounds like — canning jars of meat or produce under pressure — and the boiling water bath, most often used for tomato products and fruits (because they are acid and can be safely processed at boiling temperature).

THE BOILING WATER BATH

The boiling water bath method is about as easy as boiling water, itself. The best thing about the boiling water bath method is that there's very little danger to speak of. And there's no need to buy an expensive canner. My grandmother canned for years on the same large copper boiler that she used to boil clothes on wash day.

You can even use a plain old large kettle or metal bucket. However, there are a few prerequisites: it must be deep enough to submerge your jars in water (at a strong, rolling boil) by at least one inch. It needs some sort of rack to hold the jars off the bottom of the container and to allow the water to circulate freely. And you need a snug-fitting lid to keep the temperature consistent inside the canner.

Use the boiling water bath method only when it comes to canning high-acid foods. Among these are: orange juice, grapefruit juice, all berries, peaches, pickles, tomatoes (although there are a few new types of low-acid tomatoes which should be pressure canned), and pickled vegetables.

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