What Are the tools You Need to Start Canning?

Producing your own food, whether it’s planting veggies or rearing poultry, is incredibly rewarding.

However, home growers and DIY foodies frequently struggle with the process of preserving those commodities.

Canning is one of the most satisfying ways to store food for later use, yet it isn’t difficult or expensive to accomplish.

Simply said, canning is the act of preserving fruits, vegetables, jams, stews, and other foods by sealing them in an airtight container, most commonly a mason jar.

You can reduce the spread of germs and other hazardous microbes by heating food containers and then boiling canned goods. Canned foods can be kept for one to five years longer with this method.

Now you have an idea of the importance of canning for food preservation. The canning process often involves the use of many basic tools, some of which we will list and provide details on in this article.

Benefits Of Home Food Canning

Canning food at home is a safe and satisfying procedure that is regaining popularity as food costs rise and people recognize the importance of safeguarding their food supplies.

Home canning is a great way to improve your intake of local foods by preserving food.

Eating locally necessitates eating foods in season, and canning allows you to capture the bounty of any particular crop in season and increase its availability year-round.

To guard against germs, bacteria, mold, and yeast, canning affects food chemically by modifying moisture, pH, or salinity levels.

It also reduces the activity of dietary enzymes. The physical barriers of glass jars, seals, and lids, together with these chemical processes, efficiently prevent deterioration.

18 Tools You Need To Start Canning

Learning to can fruits and vegetables is a fantastic skill to have. However, just thinking about all of the canning supplies you’ll need might be intimidating, especially if you’re new to the process.

We’re here to assist you in mastering the art of canning. Everything you need to know about canning equipment is right here.

Canner

Presto 01781 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker

You can use one of two main types of canners.

Water bath canners are the most common and frequently appear to be the least intimidating to someone who is new to canning.

This type of canner resembles a large stockpot with a bottom rack that holds the jars in place and prevents them from colliding and breaking.

High acid items such as fruits, pickles, salsa, tomatoes, applesauce, and jelly are canned in a water bath canner.

A pressure canner is more complicated, with a vent, sealing ring, and pressure gauge, which allows it to shut tightly and cook at a higher temperature.

Due to this, you can safely eat food items like meat, broth and vegetables that have been known to have low acidity.

It should also be noted that if these food items are not canned at this proper temperature, it can harbor bacteria that can cause serious health issues. 

As for food items with high acidity, it is preferred that you use a water bath canner since it’s so much faster and easier.  

Getting a canner often depends on your budget and preferences but here are some recommendations:

• Water bath canner
• pressure canner
• Canning Rack

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Canning jars, lids

Ball Glass Mason Jar with Lid and Band, Regular Mouth, 12 Jars

Jars for home canning come in a variety of forms and sizes. Choose canning jars that are suitable for the goods you’ll be preserving.

Choose canning jars that are affordable, useful, and well constructed if you plan on storing your preserved goods in your pantry for yourself.

If you plan to give some of the things as gifts, you might want to use more decorative canning jars.

A one-piece lid is used on some canning jars, while a two-piece lid/band solution is used on others. There are also reusable canning lids that can be reused. Use the appropriate sized lid for your canning jar.

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Jar bands and rims

Ball Jars Wide Mouth Lids & Bands, 12 Lids and Bands

Canning lids are thin metal lids with a rubber seal that fits on top of the jar and seals the jars once they’ve been canned.

Jar bands are ring-shaped and used to secure the canning lid during the canning process.

When you buy new jars, they usually include both canning lids and bands. However, as you can more jars, you’ll need to purchase more lids and jar bands.

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Jar lifter

Ball® Secure-Grip Jar Lifter (by Jarden Home Brands)

Lifting glass jars in and out of boiling water is necessary for canning. Even the prospect of using pasta tongs, oven mitts, or your bare hands to lift jars is enough to persuade you to invest in a jar lifter.

A jar lifter is useful for lifting your food jars into and out of the canner and sanitizing the jars before getting started.

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A kitchen timer

Uigos 2 Pack Digital Kitchen Timer

Sure, you can keep track of time using a wall clock, wristwatch, or phone, but let’s be honest…that never works!

A kitchen timer will make your job a little easier by ensuring that the cooking and sealing process runs well.

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Wooden spoon

Chef Craft Select Maple Wooden Spoon Set, 10, 12, 14 inch, Natural

The Wooden spoon is an essential tool required for Mixing and Stirring during the canning process. 

If you’re canning your own fruits or vegetables, you’ll need to use a wooden spoon to stir the contents of the pot.

This is because metal can react with the acid in the fruit or vegetable, affecting the taste. A wooden spoon won’t react with the acid, so it’s the best tool for stirring.

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Vidalia Chop Wizard

The Original Vidalia Chop Wizard

This is one of the most loved kitchen tools for canners. It is often used for dicing onions, peppers and tomatoes during the canning process of tomatoes and salsa.

It is also used for dicing other food items like carrots, potatoes and vegetables.

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Good Ladle

Norpro Stainless Steel Canning Ladle, Set of 1, Silver

A sturdy canning ladle will prove very helpful when moving food from cookers to jars. This is a culinary item that should be included in your canning supplies.

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Paring knives

Rada Cutlery Everyday Paring Knife Stainless Steel Blade with Aluminum

Paring Knives are just what you need to slice and peel your food items when preparing them for canning.

You should not underestimate the importance of a good pair of knives when preparing your vegetables and fruits for canning.

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Tongs

OXO Good Grips 9-Inch Locking Tongs with Nylon Heads

Tongs are like superhuman fingers when it comes to reaching into hot places without getting burned while canning. Use them to remove lids off pots and reach inside hot jars to reposition large pieces of fruit.

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A slotted spoon

OXO Good Grips Nylon Slotted Spoon,Black

When canning, this is used to separate the food items. This is very useful when canning whole pieces of fruit or tomatoes that require the liquid to drain.

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A strainer and/or cheesecloth

U.S. Kitchen Supply – Set of 4 Premium Quality Fine Mesh Stainless Steel Strainers

Food mills and strainers make grinding or pureeing foods for canning quick and easy.

It will come in handy if you’re processing flats of tomatoes at a time or want to get all of the microscopic seeds out of your tomatoes, blackberries, and other fruits.

It contains a fine-holed screen to keep bothersome seeds out of your jellies, applesauce, and tomato sauces.

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Oven mitts

Oven mitts are often used to protect your hands from burns when handling hot items during canning.

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Canning funnel

Norpro Stainless Steel Wide-Mouth Funnel w/ Handle

It’s messy and not very pleasurable when you have to scoop a hot brine or tomato sauce into a small opening 10-15 times in a row.

Making the opening of your jar bigger can make canning so much easier.

A canning funnel keeps the food from running down the sides of the jar and into the jar. There are sizes for 2.25″ standard neck jars and 2.75″ wide mouth jars.

I advocate utilizing stainless steel funnels when working with boiling temperatures, such as spicy sauces and jams.

They are more resistant to greater temperatures than plastic funnels.

It’ll come in handy for everything from boiling jelly filling to making Mason jar salads. A clean jar rim goes a long way toward maintaining a solid lid-to-jar seal, so it’s must-have canning equipment.

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Food mill or food processor

Mirro 50024 Foley Stainless Steel Healthy Food Mill Cookware, 2-Quart, Silver

This is a must-have equipment if you want to produce jellies, jams, or sauces.

It strains out fibers, large seeds, and skin in addition to pureeing the food you put into it because no one wants stringy peach butter or seedy jelly.

Check out this Weston model, which comes with three adjustable milling disks for complete control over your sauces and purees.

If you want a really fine strain for juices and jellies, you might also want to pick up a Fine Mesh Strainer to pass the milled food through.

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Bubble Popper

2pcs Canning Bubble Popper Bubble Remover

Have you seen any bubbles in one of your jars? There is no need to be concerned.

Simply take out your bubble remover, which releases air bubbles while also measuring headspace in the jar. In an emergency, a wooden chopstick will suffice.

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Magnetic Lid Lifter

Farm to Table Magnetic Canning Lid Wand/Lifter, Plastic, Red

When canning, cleanliness is critical and utilizing this canning lid lifter will help keep everything safe and sterile.

This magnetic lifter protects your hands from heat and your equipment from contamination from the outside.

With the aid of a magnetic lid lifter, you can sanitize your lids and safely remove them from hot water.

Pro Tips For Beginners When Canning Food

●     Choose the right jars: Canning jars, often known as mason jars, come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Each size and shape is more suited to different kinds of the canning process and different kinds of canned produce.

●     Buy new lids: New lids don’t require heating to activate the sealing compound before being placed on the jar top.

●     Choose a good pressure canner: A pressure canner or pressure cooker is required for low acid items like meats, seafood, and non-brined vegetables like green beans, carrots, asparagus, and beets.

●     Clean jars and lids: Wash and sterilize the jars, then keep them hot in a pot of boiling water until you’re ready to fill them. The dishwasher has also been known to be capable of handling this task in place of the boiling water. 

●     Checking for cracks/chips: Only utilize jars that are free of cracks or nicks.

●     Keeping an even temperature: The canning jars should be kept at high temperature (preferably in boiling water) until it is time to pour the food item in.  

●     Space between the top of the product in the jar: When filling the jars, don’t go all the way to the top. This is known as “head space,” and it varies by the recipe (1/4 inch or 1/2 inch). If you overfill the jars, the food may interfere with the sealing material on the lids, causing your jars to leak.

●     Removing air bubbles: Get rid of any bubble observed in the canning jar with the use of a proper bubble remover tool. 

The Final Sentences

Consider canning to be a style of cooking. Instead of making a single meal for immediate enjoyment, you’re preparing food that will last for months! Why are you doing this?

Because canning allows you to preserve the best flavors of the season so you can enjoy them all year! Consider the incredible flavor of garden-fresh tomato sauce in the dead of winter.

Also read: How Did They Store Food Before Refrigeration? – 13 Best Methods To Store Food Before Refrigeration