# what do I need to start canning? Help please!



## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

As far as equipment? I have never canned before. I know I need a pressure canner (I have been eying the All American ones)and some jars. Other than that (and I don't even know what kind I need) I have no idea what I'm dong LOL :stars:

Oh and we have a family of 10 if that matters...


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Pressure canner. (not cooker). I prefer the ones with weights rather than a dial.
Mason jars. Quarts and Pints are best.
lids (the jars normally come with rings and lids, you will need more lids when you re-use a jar).
lid and jar lifter.
Ball book of canning.
Cold water bath canning pot. (Walmart sells these). You use this for things like tomatoes and jams.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

What is it you want to can?


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## Ms.Lilly (Jun 23, 2008)

The very first thing I would go out and buy is the Ball Book of Canning. From there it will give you a list of everything you are needing for the type of items you are wanting to can. If you are going to stick with just fruits and jams there is no need for a pressure canner. Low acid vegies and meats require the pressure canner. Do be aware canning is very addictive 

PS. I have two All American canners and wouldn't trade them for any other!

Lillian


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## fffarmergirl (Oct 9, 2008)

Yeah, get a weighted canner! If you use a pressure dial, you will be babysitting the canner. Of course, sitting in a comfy chair with your feet up, reading a good book while your canner works can be pleasant but . . . . ! 

I loooooooove the Tattler reuseable canning lids. Sometimes I just stand and stare at them, all googly-eyed. That's how much I love them hehe!

We only use wide-mouth jars. It's too hard to manage lids when you have both wide mouth & standard.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

Agree. What you NEED all depends on what you can. Pressure canners are required for all low acid foods like vegetables but a boiling water bath canner is all you need for acidic fruits, jams, tomatoes, pickles, etc.

I would like to suggest you begin by doing some reading at NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Preservation): http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/ 

It will answer all your basic questions as it covers equipment needed, how-to instructions, recipes, and what NOT to do guidelines.

General Canning FAQ: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/general.html

Using a Boiling Water Bath Canner: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/using_bw_canners.html

How to Use a Pressure Canner: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/using_press_canners.html

Common Canning FAQs: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/questions/FAQ_canning.html

are the best places to start. Then you'll want to pick up a copy of the Ball Blue Book of Canning ($6) as no one should try canning without it.

Canning is a science so it has a learning curve and homework to do.


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

I want to can all kinds of fruits and veggies and jam too if I can get my garden to grow and learn to make jam lol. 

We have 8 kids ages 13 down to 2 weeks so we don't need something to babysit LOL! 

Thank you so much for the info and links. 

I was looking at tha Ball canning books on amazon but wasn't sure which one I should get?

Lillian, this is ot but we named our dd that was born the 1st of this month Lilliana


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> I was looking at tha Ball canning books on amazon but wasn't sure which one I should get?


You can find the basic book much cheaper at Walmart and any other store that carries canning supplies but this is the one you want: http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Blue-Book-Guide-Preserving/dp/0972753702/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1298402634&sr=1-2

If you want to spend a few more $$ and have more recipes then the Complete Ball Book http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1298402634&sr=1-1 is the one to get.

But for a beginner the less expensive one is ideal and covers all you need.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Buy the basic Blue Ball book and read it cover to cover (the one in Judy Lou's post). Then go to your library and look at the books they have (watch publishing dates!). Copy down any recipes that will work for your family. Don't invent your own recipes.


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## Ms.Lilly (Jun 23, 2008)

What a beautiful name for your daughter  and congratulations. Now back on topic. I have both of the Ball books the 6 dollar one and the bigger one. There are lots of great recipes in the "smaller" one and is a great place to start without getting overwhelmed. The larger one is full of all sorts of goodies and may be a bit overwhelming at first but a deffinate buy!


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

nursing baby so this is short. thank you all a ton!! had to ask whats a tattler lid?


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

ne prairiemama said:


> nursing baby so this is short. thank you all a ton!! had to ask whats a tattler lid?


Tattler are reusable lid that many of us like. You can do a search, there have been many past discussions on them.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

A kitchen timer is a life saver. You don't have to watch the pot. You can do other things if the timer is in your pocket.

Along with the magnetic lid lifter and the jar lifter, you will want a jar funnel for filling the jars. These things often come in a kit for around $8.

Save the boxes that the jars come in. You will use them for many, many years to store the jars in (both full and empty jars).

A colander, if you don't already have one. Also, one of those collapsable wire baskets for blanching tomatoes and such (not a necessity, but very handy).

Very large bowls. I have about 6 that hold about 2 gallons. Several are made of plastic for doing tomatoes. You don't want to use aluminum when working with tomatoes as the acid will react with the metal and give a "tainted" taste.

A scale is another handy item. I pick my green beans, prep them and weigh. That way I know how many jars it will take (about 2 lbs. per qt.).


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Buy a couple of jar funnels they are SO useful and cheap. I agree with the large bowls. I use all mine and then some when canning things like tomatoes! LOL

Another thing, don't be afraid to ask us to talk you through Step by Step when you are canning. I'd be happy to help, and so would many others I am sure. 

We were all newbies at it once, and you learn by doing.


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Hi Sarah...just chiming in to add that before I do anything, I read, read, read. I made good use of our public library before buying. And, of course the internet has video tutorials on any subject under the sun.

Here's wishing you much canning success. ** 

stef


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## MOgal (Jul 27, 2002)

Had to laugh when OLF commented about asking questions. I have a friend in another state who took the plunge into pressure canning a few years back. We got on the phone, she with her canner and owners' manual in hand and I here at home reading an online copy. I talked her through the entire process LONG DISTANCE. She had a flat rate long distance plan or it would have cost a fortune!


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## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

You will also be able to can meat with your pressure canner, which can be useful if you get a bunch of stew meat or something on sale. I also can venison and other wild game. 

I recommend the wide mouth jars when there is a choice, they are easier to clean. Even with a dishwasher the insides need wiped out. I don't pass up regular ones when they are on sale though.


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

Got my pressure canner in the mail! we decided on the all american that you can put 14 qt jars in at a time. I also got the bigger ball canning book because I couldn't find the little one. So now I'm wating to read that. I'm excited and scared at the same time :lookout: didn't help that the lady at our local store told me about hers blowing up lol.

OLF thank you! I'm nervous and it helps so much to know I have you all here!
MOgal if I had free long distance i might have asked for your phone # LOL!

thank you all so much for the advice! 

oh and on the tattler lids, have you used them? they are safe and seal well?


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

I am not sure the Tattler lids are safe, it is hard to say. I was reading about the plastic they are made out of and it is from formaldahyde. Now, I am not a chemist, so I can't say for sure. It is just a discussion I read and I have not made up my mind about the safety of the materials. I also don't know about the rings as to what they are. 
Ball said they were changing their lids so they would not have BPA in them. 
I wish I could get more information about all of this soon. Canning lessons are soon approaching for me. With 25 students we go through a lot of lids.


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## MOgal (Jul 27, 2002)

Slightly off topic.

DH and I visited Westlake's Ace Hardware in Mexico MO yesterday. While DH looked for items, I looked at canning supplies. I will be the first to say that the Westlake's stores in Fulton, Columbia and Mexico are usually the highest priced for canning supplies but their prices took my breath away! Regular lids were $2.29 and WM lids were $3.49/box of 12. Guess where I won't be buying lids this year but then I haven't since they were on sale for $1.49 last fall when no one else had them.


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## Ryan NC (Jan 29, 2009)

I'm a little late to the party but I'm going to jump the general trend here a bit on what you need to start...

My personal 2 cents is to go grab a dozen new pint or half pint jars w/ lids, a jar lifter (basically big tongs), some form of rack that will fit inside one of your current stock pots, your favorite fruit and a package of pectin... try your hand at making jelly/jam and see if you like the canning process to start with. 

I know very few folks that get started that don't continue but I know a bunch that have been ran off before they even started while looking a couple hundred dollars worth of equipment that they "Must have" to get started. If you like making jelly grab a copy of the blue ball book and add to your processes a little at a time and let it roll from there.


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## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

...or just pick up a box of pectin. There are several recipes on their instruction sheet.

I second the thought about expenses that could be overwhelming. This is how I started: Purchased one case each of quarts and pints, purchased a water bath canner then started canning. I put up tomatoes in the quarts (for soup/chili), and put up strawberry jam in the pints. I was hooked!

As you are pricing jars to add to your supply, remember that there are probably tens of thousands of canning jars stored in parents'/grandparents' attics, sheds, barns, basements, etc. that are no longer being used. Avoid hauling home any old mayo jars, etc., stick with true canning jars. Add things like jar lifter, funnel, lid lifter as you go.

After years of canning fruit, pickles, tomatoes, grape juice, and jams, I invested in a pressure canner and a whole new world opened up! It took about another 15 or 20 years before I invested in an All American - if I had it to do over, I would have gone for the All American as the first pressure canner.

My point is, you don't need _*everything *_to get started. 

One more thing: when my children were small I only canned after everyone went to bed. It cut way down on meal/snack interruptions. I think that canning should be a family project, but that works much better when the children are a little older.

Are there any other adults in your area that are interested in canning? I can't begin to tell you how much fun it is to can with someone else.

One more thing that got me going in this direction - before our garden could supply our needs, I would take the kids to a U-pick farm during the day, bring home a bushel of green beans - and can them up after they went to bed.


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## udwe (Aug 8, 2009)

I have both of these books & love them. I'm glad you steered her to the newest one (BBB). I got mine from Lehman's along with their best clothes dryer. I love it.


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

Thanks everyone!! I don't have the waterbath canner yet but my all american one is here lol. guess I did that backwards. 

I also got the Ball book that has more recipes because I couldn't find the other locally yet. Do I need both books?

so now I need some jars and lids and the funnel ect. 
So its ok to use jars from other places? I know my MIL has offered a bunch to us before  So maybe I'll take her up on them then! 
How do I clean them if they are from say the cellar and have old food in them? theres some in our cellar here but they are from I have no idea when. some are full of food and some are empty but dirty. I'd need to really clean them. One had a green snake coiled up in it a few months back lol...
I'd like to store stuff down there but we have rattlers and dh killed one in there, the cellar is full of regular snakes. I'm not scared of them but rattlers make me nervous. anyway now I'm ot!


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## Ryan NC (Jan 29, 2009)

ne prairiemama said:


> Thanks everyone!! I don't have the waterbath canner yet but my all american one is here lol. guess I did that backwards.


Your all American will work just fine as a water bath canner as well, you are ahead of most folks just starting! ;-) Take your mil up on the used jars, check them for cracks and chips well before using tho...


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

Ryan NC said:


> Your all American will work just fine as a water bath canner as well, you are ahead of most folks just starting! ;-) Take your mil up on the used jars, check them for cracks and chips well before using tho...


Oh ok!! yay! I was trying to use our tax refund wisely so I invested in the all american thinking something like that would last a long time and help us otherwise  I didn't even think of being able to use it as a waterbath canner also. I almost had dh get a wb canner the other day. now I'm glad I didn't lol.
Ok I think next time i talk to her I'll ask about them :grin:


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## Brokeneck (Mar 1, 2011)

My folks got me canning growing up. Loved it and now my family also cans. I do alot of beef and chicken. Wife and I both work with 2 boys still at home. Nothing better than boiling noodles out of pantry and cracking the lid on a quart of really tender beef for beef and noodles in about 10 minutes!
Brokeneck


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

This will be the first year I attempt canning as well. My grandmother canned, froze, or dried just about everything out of their garden when I was a child. I'm planning on just starting with water canning and freezing. So far, I've only purchased one book, You can Can (found it on Amazon for .01...can't beat that price). I will be following this thread with interest!


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

brokeneck that sounds sooo yummy! Jade yay! I'm so glad to have someone here to learn with me!


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

I know, right? 

I'm looking at all of these recipes and getting incredibly excited. I have managed to convince my boyfriend to start a garden this year. Due to my circumstances, I'm unable to start one where I live. I've also spoken to my dad and he plans on butchering one of this spring's bull calves in the fall. 
I'm hoping I can convince him to take in a pig or two.... <grin>


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## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

Definitely take any old canning jars that are offered - or you come across. My method for dealing with old, grimy jars is to soak them in a strong ammonia solution with scalding hot water overnight (couldn't walk through the kitchen, otherwise). The next morning I scrub the dickens out of them with a bottle brush (Lehman's sells a larger than average, stronger than average brush), and then run them through the dishwasher on the extra hot cycle. Most of them come out looking like new; however, if there are any with built up lime on them, I would simmer these in a strong vinegar solution at this point. I know that it sounds tedious, but I love rescuing these jars and can't help but think about the people that have used them before me and wondering about their harvests and canning seasons.

Yes, I get emotional about canning, but that's okay. It's what lets me giggle out loud when I hear the lids ping!


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

Don't worry about doing it backwards. The first canner I bought was a pressure canner too. You can use a pressure canner as a hot water bath canner, but you can't use a water bath canner as a pressure canner so it seemed, to me, the wisest investment of both space and money -- regardless of what I wanted to can right that second -- was to just buy the pressure canner right off the bat. When you use it as a water bath just make sure the lid is in a position in which it can't be "sucked down" and seal and you'll be just fine. I use my 23qt Presto as a water bath all the time.  

I second the recommendation for big bowls and lots of them. You can't ever have enough. Same goes for good pots for simmering and cooking. 

My non-material recommendation would be to figure out how and where you're going to store your canning supplies now. Before they take over your kitchen or pantry. You'll need a place for full jars, empty jars, rings that aren't in use, your funnels, lid and jar lifters, air pocket/headspace tool, pectin (if you use boxed), extra/new lids, etc. And you'll want it all easily accessible.


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## MOgal (Jul 27, 2002)

When I first started canning in earnest, I had a neighbor who bought items at auction to sell at flea markets and such. He had a huge outbuilding and several semi trailers on his place where he kept treasure and things he'd had to buy but wasn't interested in taking to the market. Among the latter were tons of canning jars. He told me I could have all I wanted at 5Â¢ for pints and half pints, 10Â¢ for quarts and 25Â¢ for half gallons. The only catch was that they were filthy (real dirt, dead spiders, etc.) and lime encrusted. I had some commercial acid detergent sold for the restaurant and food processing industry that I used to clean my milking equipment. It finally penetrated my thick skull that the detergent would clean those jars as well. After scrubbing outdoors at the hose to remove the coarsest soil, I soaked them in the sink in water treated with the detergent at recommended dilution. Finally I washed them in the dishwasher and they came out sparkling clean. The only drawback is that the acid detergent is pretty strong and you have to take precautions with it--eye protection, apron and rubber gloves. The gloves intended for dishwashing have always been satisfactory however. You can probably find the acid detergent at a janitorial supply outlet.


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