10 Essential Canning Supplies Every Beginner Needs
This is a beginners guide for 10 essential home canning and preserving supplies and equipment you need to get started.
If you are just starting your journey of canning I know it can be very overwhelming. If you clicked on this post you are more than likely a beginner when it comes to home canning. I highly recommend checking out the National Center For Home Food Preservation. They have tons of helpful information when it comes to canning, especially if you’re a beginner.
What is canning?
Canning is the art/skill of preserving food from spoiling. If you raise your own food or buy fresh produce and want to preserve it, canning is a great way. If this is your first time canning the good news is this is a great place to start.
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Essential canning supplies; equipment
1. Pressure canner
Canners are the most vital when it comes to essential canning supplies. Pressure canners have a dial gauge that indicate pressure or a weight that sits on top of the air vent. The weighted gauge allows pressure in the canner to build to the desired point and releases extra steam in the canner by jiggling. A pressure canner is not to be confused with a pressure cooker. There is a huge difference between the two. A pressure cooker is most often used for a meal. Pressure cookers don’t maintain high pressure and high temperatures like a pressure canner can. When preserving food a pressure canner is needed for low acidic foods to kill botulism spores. Botulism spores are killed at 250°F.
What can I can in a pressure canner?
Pressure canners are great for canning meat, green beans, corn, other vegetables, beans or any other low-acidic foods. All low acidic foods must undergo pressure canning to ensure it is safe for consumption.
2. Water bath canner
Water bath canning is processing jars of canned food in a rolling boil for an allotted amount of time. Tops of the jars are covered with 1-2 inches of water in a canning pot. You do not have to buy a specific water bath canner you can use the pot to your pressure canner, any large pot or large stockpot for the boiling water bath method. Water bath canners come with a canning rack or sometimes called a jar rack. If you use an alternative pot you will need to purchase a canning rack to go in the bottom of the pot or find an alternative canning rack. Jars cannot be placed directly on the bottom of the pot because it can cause the jars to get too hot and bust. using a rack ensures that the heat is evenly distributed throughout the jar.
What can I can in a water bath canner?
It is safe to can most fruit, jams/jellies, salsa, tomato sauce, pickles, relishes, or any other high-acidic foods. When canning some foods like tomatoes, the recipe may call for adding lemon juice or citric acid. This is to help add acidity to ensure it is safe for processing in a water bath canner.
In short pressure canning is intended to preserve low acidic foods and water-bath canning is intended to preserve high acidic foods.
3. Food mill
A food mill is one of my favorite essential canning tools. If you plan on canning things like apple butter, jelly, or tomatoes you will want a food mill. Some of them are pretty inexpensive. Here is the exact food mill I use. They are great at removing the skins, seeds, and stems off of food and allowing the inside of the food and juices to puree and pass through. I have a manual one. It is so easy to use and easy cleanup. It is well worth the $30.
Essential canning supplies
4. Mason jars
Jars are one of the most essential canning supplies. Jars come in various sizes including half pint, pint, quart, and half gallon. I like to have a variety of different oz jars. Based on the size of your jar is exactly how much food you can put in the jar. Half gallon jars are 64oz. Quart jars are 32oz. Pint jars are 16oz. Half pint jars are 8oz. Pint jars are the perfect size especially if you have a small family (like I do) or are canning small batches.
Jars are reusable you do not have to buy new ones every time you can. Any glass jars will work as long as they are specified as canning jars for various types of foods. Some are only craft jars and are not safe to can in. They are not made to handle high heat that canning requires.
There are two types of jars, wide mouth jars and regular-mouth jars. My favorite jars are wide mouth canning jars. The regular mouth jars work just as well, it is all personal preference. In my opinion wide mouth jars are much easier to get food in and easier to make sure the food is tightly packed. One of my biggest tips is to always inspect your jars. Especially the ones you have used in recent years to ensure they are in good condition. Look for hairline cracks. I do this by holding the jar up to the light. When checking jars rub your finger around the rim of the jar to ensure there is no damage. If there is any damage do not use the jar for canning.
Where can I buy canning jars?
Typically canning jars can be found at your local grocery, hardware stores or you can usually order them from amazon. They tend to be more expensive when ordering them so I would suggest checking your local stores first. I also buy them second hand anytime I can find them. Always make sure to sterilize them properly and inspect before using.
5. Canning lids and rings
Sometimes lids are also referred to as flats. It is not recommended to ever reuse canning lids. They are intended to only be used once. Often times when removing a sealed lid from a jar the lid can be difficult to remove and is sometimes damaged in the process. If the gasket (the red sealing compound) on the bottom of the lid is damaged in any way you may get a faulty seal resulting in unsafe food. At the beginning of every canning season make sure you have plenty of new lids because I have found that once canning season begins it is extremely hard to find any.
Canning rings are sometimes referred to as screw bands. The ring is used to screw onto the jar. It sits on top of the lid during the canning process. After the canning process is through and your jars are completely cool remove the rings before storing the jars. Canning rings are reusable but if they are rusted or damaged do not use them.
Essential canning tools
6. Jar lifter
If you plan on doing any canning at all whether it be pressure canning or water bath canning you will be dealing with hot jars and will need a jar lifter. After the processing and cooling time is up the canning jars will need to be removed from the hot water. A jar lifter will make the process of removing the jars from the canner and placing them on a clean kitchen towel much easier.
7. Magnetic lid lifter
A magnetic lid lifter is such a handy tool when it comes to canning and trying to lift sterile lids. All lids need to be sterilized, most often this is done by boiling them in a pot of water. It can be difficult to transfer the lid from the pot to the jar if you don’t have a lid lifter. Sometimes a magnetic lid lifter is referred to as a magnetic lid wand but they are the same thing.
8. Funnel
If you use a canning funnel it makes the process so much easier. Especially when using regular mouth jars. I prefer to use a stainless steel funnel since a lot of the foods you put in your jars are hot. A plastic funnel may warp or melt from hot foods. When buying a funnel make sure it is a wide-mouth funnel. Even though it is wide mouth it can still fit into a regular mouth jar. A funnel is a simple tool but aids in the process of adding food to your jars making things cleaner and easier.
9. Debubbler
A debubbler is another handy tool when it comes to canning. It is essentially a bubble popper. Air bubbles have to be removed before starting the canning process. If not it may cause the jar to bust while processing. Some of the debubblers have other features on them such as measurements. It can measure how much headspace you have in your jar. Headspace is how much space is between the top of the water level and the top of the jars. So if you purchase one make sure it has the measurements this will be extremely handy especially if you are just starting out.
10. Canning book
A good canning book will be most needed when it comes to your essential canning supplies. I get most of my best canning recipes from family members or canning books. One of my favorite canning books is the Ball canning book. The canning process can be a little overwhelming at first so it is much easier if you have a book to easily refer back to. Canning books also have essential information besides recipes such as sea levels and step by step safety precautions.
FAQ
Where do I store canned food?
Jars of food should be stored in a cool, dry, dark space. Basements and cellars can be great places to store canned food. Although if your basement or cellar stays very wet do NOT store canned food there. Consequently if there is a lot moisture the jar lids will begin to rust. Light can cause canned food to loose nutritional value so make sure you store it in the dark.
How long does canned food last?
Canned food can last a long time. But the official recommendation for storing canned food is 1 year and suppose to be eaten within 2 years. If the food was canned properly it will last 2-5 years but always do what you are comfortable with and do your own research.
Is a steam canner the same as a pressure canner?
No, a steam canner is very different from a pressure canner and water bath canner. A steam canner has a shallow pan with a rack in the bottom. A steam canner uses much less water than when water bath canning and processes the food with hot steam. Steam canners are intended for high acidic foods.
Those are my top 10 essential canning supplies. I hope you find this post helpful. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below. If you’re not already make sure you subscribe to the blog so you can stay up to date with what is going on at the homestead.
