Canning 101: Equipment

When I opened a jar of home-canned mushrooms the other day, my daughter wanted to try one. She loves mushrooms and loves the food I’ve prepared with my canned mushroom, but she’s never tasted one of the shrooms right from the can. Boy, was she surprised by just how tasty that mushroom was from one of my jars compared to the commercially-canned variety! This is one of the many reasons why I love to can! You just can’t beat the taste.

If you have the desire to learn how to can—whether to put up your own harvest or to be able to take advantage of great deals at the farmer’s market—but you’re feeling a little intimidated, you’ve come to the right place.

I first started canning a few years ago when I learned what a deal U-Pick farms are. I needed a way to take advantage of that deal without driving an hour to the farm every couple of days. So, I read every scrap of information on canning that I could get my hands on.

I was so overwhelmed!

The problem for me was that no one explained the basics very well. I take that back. The directions were great. I just had no idea what the books were talking about! The equipment sections usually came with a limited amount of sketches that I may or may not have recognized. Obviously, I figured it all out eventually, and now my pantry shelves are lined with a couple hundred jars of home-canned goodness at any given time.

Today, I’m going to share a little bit about basic canning equipment as well as a few tidbits I’ve learned along the way.

Canners

There are two types of canners: the Water Bath Canner and the Pressure Canner. Technically, there is a third type of canner, the steam canner. Some people swear by it, but I’m not convinced that it reaches and maintains high enough temperatures long enough to kill harmful microorganisms. Today, I’ll just be sticking with the Water Bath canner and the Pressure Canner.

Water Bath Canner

Water Bath Canner

The Water Bath Canner, or Boiling Water Canner, uses boiling water to provide sufficient heat to kill molds, yeasts, bacteria, and enzymes that promote food spoilage and to create a vacuum seal on the lid. Closed jars are submerged in boiling water for a prescribed amount of time depending on the recipe.

Do you need to race out to the store for a water bath canner? Nope. Any pot that is at least three inches deeper than the height of your jars and has a lid will work just fine. The extra three inches allows enough space to cover your jars by at least one inch of water with room to spare for the water to boil rapidly.

I did not use a “canner” when I started canning. In fact, I didn’t buy one for quite a while. I just used my favorite soup pot. I couldn’t process as many jars at once, but I was only processing three or four jars of jam at a time anyway. I wanted to make sure this was something I would continue to do on a regular basis before I invested in too much equipment.

Pressure Canner

Pressure canner

A pressure canner resembles a pressure cooker, only bigger and heavier. The lid on a pressure canner seals tightly, allowing steam to build up inside the canner. The resulting pressurized steam is able to reach temperatures higher than the temperature of boiling water (212°F).

Two types of pressure canners are available, the weighted-gauge canner and the dial-gauge canner, and they differ according to how they monitor the pressure inside the canner.

Weighted-gauge

 The weighted-gauge pressure canner comes with either one or three weights that maintain 5, 10, or 15 pounds of pressure inside the canner. Once the pressure reaches the desired level, the weight will rock periodically, relieving excess pressure and maintaining the proper pressure.

Dial-guage

The dial-gauge pressure canner has a dial that measure internal pressure. You have to adjust the heat in order to maintain the correct pressure.

Check the seal!

Be sure to inspect the seal around the lid of the canner regularly. If you’re not getting a good seal, replace it! Also, have your dial-gauge canner tested for accuracy yearly. Your local cooperative extension office can help you with this one.

Do I Need a Pressure Canner?

Pressure canners are large, heavy, and expensive but worth the investment if you plan on canning more than jams, jellies, and pickles. The natural acids in fruits and in the vinegars used in pickling deter bacteria growth, and a water bath canner will safely preserve these foods. However, vegetables and meats do not have this wonderful acid to ward off spoilage. In order to kill off harmful bacteria and their toxin-producing spores, the food must reach at least 240°F. Boiling water becomes steam long before it can reach that temperature. Therefore, if you are trying to stock your pantry for the long term and want to eat something other than strawberry jam and dill pickles, I suggest you invest in a pressure canner.

Racks

Whether you use a water bath canner, a pressure canner, or your favorite soup pot, you need a rack that lifts the jars off the bottom of the pot during processing. Most canners come with a rack. If you don’t have one, you can tie a few screw bands together to cover the bottom of the pot.

The rack that came with my water bath canner.

The rack that came with my pressure canner.

Rings tied together to make a rack.

 Jars and Lids

Besides your canner, your jars can be a costly up front expense when you first start canning. Don’t skimp and don’t cheat! Finding free or cheap canning jars from a yard sale or grandma's old jars in the back of the attic will definitely save you some money. Just make sure they're canning jars, and you'll be fine. However, reusing mayonnaise and pickle jars from the store, isn't such a good idea. Although some commercial food jars can be used as canning jars, most cannot. How can you tell? Does a seal and screw band fit securely? If not, then don’t use it for canning. Fill the jar with some pretty dried beans or grains instead.

Also, don’t be tempted to reuse the original lid, either. It is highly unlikely that you’ll get a good seal during canning, and all your hard work and good food will be wasted. Stick to the traditional two-piece canning lid.

Canning lids are made up of two pieces: the seal and the screw band. The seal is a disc with a ring of gasket compound lining the edge. As the gasket compound heats, it molds itself to the jar rim. As it cools, that compound hardens and adheres to the jars, creating a seal.

The screw band, or ring, holds the seal in place during processing, preventing all your yummy food from floating away. Once the jars are sealed and completely cooled, you can remove the rings for storage.

Unfortunately, these days that ring of gasket compound on the seals is pretty thin, making them single-use only. Oh, you can reuse the seals if you’re storing some dried mushrooms or chamomile flowers in the jar, but the manufacturer doesn’t recommend canning with them again. Therefore, you’ll need to purchase new seals each time you can, or you could change your lids over to reusable Tattler lids. Tattler lids are a bit pricey, but their ability to be used over and over again will eventually save you money.

Canning Utensils

Jar Lifter

Jar Lifter

A jar lifter is a set of very large tongs coated with soft plastic that are used to lift jars in and out of the canners. A jar lifter is definitely a necessity! If you try to use regular kitchen tongs even once, you’ll be heading out the door for a jar lifter right after you finish cleaning up the broken jar and jam mess splattered across the floor and bandaging your scalded skin. Ok, you might not actually drop the jars or burn yourself severely, but moving those over 200°F hot jars with regular tongs will be extremely challenging. I know. I did it, and I don’t recommend that experience for anyone!

Wide-Mouth Funnel

Wide-Mouth Funnel

Another must is the wide-mouth or canning funnel. In canning, neatness counts. Bits of food left on the rim of the jar compromise the seal. This funnel puts the food in the jar, not on it.

Magnetic Wand

Magnetic Wand

Although the magnetic wand isn’t a necessity—I canned for years without one—it is a very nice canning tool to have. The magnetic wand is nothing more than a plastic stick with a magnet at one end. However, this simple tool makes retrieving seals from boiling water a lot more pleasant! Are you wondering how I used to do it? Fingernails.

Headspace Tool

Again, this tool isn’t a necessity. A ruler dedicated to cooking will do just fine. My hubby bought me a kit of new tools not too long ago when he saw me fishing the seals out of the boiling water with my bare hands. This headspace tool was in it. Now that I’ve used it though, I love it. Each notch measures ¼”. I set the tool on the rim of the jar at the appropriate notch, and I can easily check my headspace. Also, the other end can be used like a spatula for removing bubbles.

Jar Wrench

Since I have never owned a jar wench, I think it’s pretty safe to say that a jar wrench is not integral to successful canning. However, in case you come across one while searching for a canning utensil set, a jar wrench looks like a plastic coated pair of very large pliers and is used to loosen sticky screw bands. On the rare occasion that this happens and my husband and son aren’t nearby, running the band under hot water usually does the trick.

Basic Cooking Utensils

A few other basic cooking utensils will make your canning experience a lot more enjoyable, but I bet you already have them in your kitchen. You’ll definitely need an assortment of bowls, spoons, ladles, cutting boards, and sharp knives. I know this is probably common sense, but sometimes, when we’re getting ready to try something new, we get so caught up in the new terms and equipment that we overlook the obvious.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you found this list helpful, and you won’t be standing in Walmart or searching through websites wondering what you need to get started canning. I love canning, and I love knowing that what’s in those jars is so much better for may family than what’s on the shelf at the store. Happy canning!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

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