Canning Foodby Miriam Caldwell | More from this Blogger 20 Jun 2006 08:31 PM One art that is slowly dying is canning and preserving food. There are many reasons that people have stopped canning home grown foods. It is certainly a lot easier to buy a can off the shelf. Canning is a lot of work and does involve a great deal of time. It is also usually done in the summer when it is hot, and it can heat up the kitchen if not the whole house. However there are reasons to can food. You may be interested in canning food if you want to have organic fruits and vegetables throughout the year. You may have recipes that you have passed down over time. It is satisfying to see the jars of food lined up on the shelf and know that you accomplished it. You may have planted a bigger garden than you thought and do not want to let the good food go to waste. If you have never canned before the task may seem daunting. As you begin make sure that you are only canning foods that your family will eat. You do not want to spend your time canning foods that you will not utilize. You will need to find recipes that give the length of time to process the bottles that you are canning in. You should read information about safe canning procedures. If possible ask someone you know who cans to teach you how. You could find someone at your church or an elderly family member. You may also check to see if a class is offered by a community organization. Canning is an economical and safe way to preserve food. It is important to make sure that you process all the food that is canned. This can be done using a steam pressure canner or a boiling water bath. The length of time is different for each method. The steam pressure canner is more expensive to purchase, but the processing time is a lot shorter. You can find out more about home canning here. Learn more about Miriam Caldwell  Miriam is a SAHM mom of three children. She has a daughter who is seven, and two sons, four and two. She loves being a parent and spending time with her children. Relevantpreparedness tags User Comments  Libby Pelham (13217) 21 Jun 2006 04:43 AMI wish I could do this, but I am so afraid of doing it wrong. My grandmother used to can stuff and I remember it all tasting so good when she opened it!  Miriam Caldwell (8030) 21 Jun 2006 01:36 PMIt can be scary to do it on your own, especially the first time. I would suggest trying to find someone who already cans and have them show you how. You do need to be careful and make sure that you do it correctly, otherwise you do run the risk of your food becoming contaminated. My mother-in-law cans food, and because she controls what goes into what she is preparing it really is good. AuntJamelle (125) 07 Jul 2008 10:58 AMIt's a bit nerve wracking at first, but if you get a good book and follow the directions - or even print instructions off the internet - you should be okay. It is actually pretty simple to do, you just have to understand the steps and do them carefully with each jar. Always use current, canning company approved recipes - older recipes may be "out of date" as far as safety standards are setup now... Never change a recipe ingredients, it could cause the food to spoil... Never substitute boiling bath canner use for pressure canner! Low acid foods like veggies must be done in a pressure canner. Some folks will use the pressure canner for everything, even fruits, just to save time and that is fine... I learn more every year I can - it is an adventure!!! Community Tags Canning, food storage, Preparedness Discuss this article
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