Can any experienced canners or food preservers out there give a few tips and how to's for a person trying to start preserving my own food... safely? Thanks.
Canning isn't the only way to preserve stuff. I rather like fermenting some things..... these are the muscadine grapes I picked, washed, destemmed and sorted today. They went into the freezer to make into wine later on as I have several batches working right now. These grapes will make 75 bottles of red and white muscadine wine. I really should try making a jar of jam one day but just didn't want to waste the grapes .View attachment 7777
Lol love the idea !Canning isn't the only way to preserve stuff. I rather like fermenting some things..... these are the muscadine grapes I picked, washed, destemmed and sorted today. They went into the freezer to make into wine later on as I have several batches working right now. These grapes will make 75 bottles of red and white muscadine wine. I really should try making a jar of jam one day but just didn't want to waste the grapes .View attachment 7777
Thanks for the advice. It does seem to be better to start off with something more simple like a jam or jelly . [emoji108]Those will also give you step by step instructions on the how tos. Most important is the pH level in the food you are canning. That will let you know if you can do the water bath or pressure can it. This the reason new canners need to follow the approved guidelines. If not processed long enough or acid level is too low, it can becomes a breeding ground for spores and you don't want that. I would recommend starting out with something easy, like a jam or relish of some kind just to get comfortable with the process. Those are both water bath and almost fail proof. Canning can be a lot of fun and peace of mind.
My first attempt was making peach jam from peaches bought at the farmers market when I was 19 years old. I had borrowed a book from the library with instructions cause let's face it, was way before the internet and I didn't have a lot of extra money to spend. It was messy the first go around but I accomplished what I was going for. It was a few years s down the line before I started with the pressure canner. I had heard all kinds of horror stories about them exploding their tops. This doesn't really happened with the newer models with the locking lids. Mine is a Presto that will hold 7 quarts at a time. The pressure canners are expensive but can be used in both water canning with lid just placed on top and not locked down and pressure canning. Just make sure you get a pressure canner with the dial or weight and not pressure cooker. There is a difference. Good luck and have fun with it!