Foods may be processed longer or hotter. Always use tested recipes from reliable, current sources, and follow the recipe exactly. Don't alter ingredients. Alterations can compromise food safety.
Keep it clean and keep it hot: Keep everything scrupulously clean. Wash and sterilize jars. Pack hot food into hot jars one at a time rather than assembly-line style. Take only one sterilized jar out of the canner at a time. As soon as it is filled, place it back in the simmering water in the canner. Credit: Marty Baldwin. Left: Credit: Karla Conrad. Right: Credit: Karla Conrad. Wash canning jars in hot, soapy water, and rinse them thoroughly.
Place washed jars in the water bath canner or other deep pot. Cover with hot tap water and bring to simmering over medium heat. Let jars simmer 10 minutes, then keep them hot in the simmering water until you're ready to fill each one. When you are ready to fill, remove one sterilized jar from the water and place it on a clean kitchen towel to prevent slipping.
Place lids in a bowl and pour some hot water from sterilizing pot over top; do not boil the lids. Screw bands do not need to be sterilized, they never touch food. Most canning racks hold at most seven pint or quart jars, so prepare only as much food as needed to fill your canner at one time. If you have an extra filled jar or two that won't fit in the canner, refrigerate that unprocessed jar and eat its contents within 3 days.
Remove one sterilized jar from the simmering water. Pack food and liquid into the hot jar using a jar funnel. Ladle boiling liquid over the food, leaving adequate headspace. Allow the exact amount of headspace recommended by the recipe. Use a ruler to measure. Release trapped air bubbles by gently working a sterilized nonmetal utensil such ones provided in a canning kit down the jar sides. If headspace changes as bubbles are released, add more hot food or liquid to maintain headspace.
Headspace allows food to expand when heated and the vacuum seal to form. Wipe rims of filled jars with a clean, damp cloth food left on the rims prevents a perfect seal. Place lids on jars; screw on bands. As each jar is filled and assembled, use a jar lifter to place it gently in the canner. Be sure that jars do not touch each other, and each time you add a jar, put the canner lid back on. When all jars have been added, measure to make sure they are covered by 1 inch of water.
For other sizes and numbers of jars, you will need to adjust the amount of water so it will be 1 to 2 inches over the top of the filled jars. Center the canner over the burner and preheat the water to degrees F. You can begin preparing food for your jars while this water is preheating. Load filled jars, fitted with lids and ring bands, into the canner one at a time, using a jar lifter.
When moving jars with a jar lifter, make sure the jar lifter is securely positioned below the neck of the jar below the ring band of the lid. Keep the jar upright at all times. Tilting the jar could cause food to spill into the sealing area of the lid. If you have a shaped wire rack that has handles to hold it on the canner sides, above the water in the canner, you can load jars onto the rack in the raised position and then use the handles to lower the rack with jars into the water.
Add more boiling water, if needed, so the water level is at least one inch above the jar tops. Pour the water around the jars and not directly onto them. For process times over 30 minutes, the water level should be 2 inches above the jars. Turn the heat setting to its highest position, cover the canner with its lid and heat until the water boils vigorously.
Set a timer after the water is boiling for the total minutes required for processing the food. Keep the canner covered for the process time.
The heat setting may be lowered as long as a gentle but complete boil is maintained for the entire process time. Add more boiling water during the process, if needed, to keep the water level above the jar tops. Remove air bubbles by running a non-metallic spatula around the inside of the jar. I like to use a plastic orange peeler for this step.
It is small and easily slides down. A small rubber spatula will also work. Place seals and rings on jars. Tighten finger tight. Place jars on the rack in the canner. The rack will keep your jars off the bottom and will also keep them from hitting each other. The rack should be built so that it rests on the sides of the canner, keeping the jars above the water until you have it loaded and then you can lower it down.
The picture shows the jars lowered into the canner. Water needs to flow freely around each jar. Add hot water if needed until the jars are covered by 2 inches of water. You can also process jars in any pot deep enough to have jars fully covered in boiling water.
You will need to put something under the jars to keep them off the bottom. A neighbor of mine uses a small piece of board. Water bath canners are not too expensive, so it may be worth it to just get one. Cover and return to a full boil.
NOW start your timer, being sure to adjust for altitude. Check occasionally to be sure that the canner is maintaining a full boil.
You may also need to add boiling water to keep the water level up. Carefully raise the rack and jars up. Wait a minute or two before you take your jars out of the canner. Using a jar lifter, carefully remove the jars and set upright on a wooden board or a thick towel to cool. Be sure they are in a draft-free area and leave 1 to 2 inches of space in between so air can circulate. Did you hear it?? This is my favorite part. As the jars cool, the seals or flats will pull down and seal.
They make the coolest little pinging sound. For some odd reason, I love that sound. It is so satisfying. It means all my work is working! Water bath canning is so easy! Resist the temptation to press the lids at this point. If your kids are like mine, keep them away too! After jars have cooled, NOW you may press on the lid to check the seal. The seal should be sucked down and not pop up.
If you find a jar that did not seal, simply put the jar in the fridge and plan on using the food within a few days. Remove the screw cap and wash the jar. The outsides will often be sticky. It is a good idea but not essential to store without the screw cap. Sometimes the screw cap will rust if you leave them on. Just go ahead and store it with the screw cap in place. However, what if you are canning applesauce using different types of apples for each batch?
You will want to know which is which when you open them later. You can then decide which you like better for next time. For example, from experience, my family knows that Jona-gold apples are our favorites for the BEST applesauce in our humble opinion. Always record a date, at least the year. That way, when you find a jar waaaay back in your cupboard, you will know how old it is. You think you will keep them straight, but it is so easy to forget and so easy to label them now.
Trust me. Just do it. Store your jars in a cool, dark, dry environment. Usually a pantry is fine. Direct sunlight is a no-no as well. One of the most often questions I receive is about the pot itself. I do recommend getting a specialized canning pot. There are inexpensive options to get you started, and they make it much easier. However, the good news is; you can get started with any deep pot. Check out this page for more information on the canners I recommend and some alternatives: Water Bath Canners.
Have you heard of steam canning yet? It is a great alternative processing method to replace water bath canning. It uses less water and less time, and I love it.
How to use a steam canner. Question: I recently was water bath canning and processed pickles and jalapenos. I processed them an extra minutes and am wondering if you think they are okay? I found the top now and will be using it in the future. Answer: Yes, they should be fine. Really, the extra processing time was not needed as long as the water was boiling for the entire processing time.
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