Preserving the Fruits of Our Labour Through Canning

Reasons For Canning

As we begin to produce more of our own food at home, we naturally need to learn different ways to preserve it. Freezing is often the first method thought of, but that is dependent on freezer space and also on having the time to thaw something or have it take longer cooking. Some foods work wonderfully frozen, and others not as well. Freeze drying and dehydrating are options as well, but those supplies can be costly for some people. Canning is a way to take your harvest and make it shelf stable. While some foods lose some of their nutrients through the high heat involved in the canning process, that may be worth it for the convenience and space saving benefits. 

It is important to learn the proper canning methods as it is important to preserve our food safely so it does not spoil or have bacteria. There are many resources available out there, and some favourites will be shared at the end of this article. 

Types of Canning Methods

There are two different canning methods: water bath and pressure. They are not interchangeable, and each method is for a certain type of food. Anything with meat must be pressure canned, broth included. Vegetables are pressure canned. Essentially the rule is that every low acid food must be pressure canned. These foods CANNOT be safely processed in a water bath. Although botulism bacteria can be killed at the temperature reached by boiling water, the spores are not. These low acid foods must be processed at a higher temperature to be sure the spores are gone, which can be achieved using a pressure canner. Pickling changes the pH and therefore can also be used to alter a low acid food, making it able to be water bath canned. It is the higher temperature of the pressure canner that makes it the only safe method for certain foods. Any acidic foods, fruit, pickled veggies, and tomatoes can be safely processed in the water bath canner. 

Canning Supplies

You can get started with canning with just a few basic supplies such as jars and lids. You can create a water bath canner in a regular large pot as long as you put a tea towel or something under the jars, but a proper water canner with a rack is helpful. 

If you want to process foods requiring a pressure canner, you will need to purchase a pressure canner. A pressure cooker is not the same thing, although some models are made to be able to do both. You would need to ensure you purchase something that is made to do pressure canning.

Some other materials that can make the canning process easier, but are not required, would be a large mouth funnel, a jar lifter, and a magnetic lid grabber.

It is also helpful to have at least some print canning recipes and instructions in the event you cannot access the internet for instructions. 

There are so many amazing resources out there for canning, from books to websites to Instagram accounts. The biggest thing is to can what your family will use. You don’t want to spend time, energy, and money preserving something that will end up going to waste anyways. Some other easy things to can are potatoes, carrots, sweet potato, applesauce, and homemade soups. 

What do you love to preserve?

Written by Kristin Stewart

Kristin is a former teacher who now homeschools her two daughters, ages 10 and 8. She has lived many places in Canada due to both her teaching and being an RCMP wife. She is a writer and content manager with The Canadian Schoolhouse. She blogs at From Kristin and is passionate about helping mothers feel equipped to educate their children. She does homeschool consulting to help those starting out or struggling to choose a curriculum. She loves reading and traveling and actively posts on her Instagram.