Brand New to Canning.... where do I start?

by Samantha
(Indiana)

I am new to canning and the farm scene and was wondering what I needed to can.

I have pretty much every vegetable known in my garden and it is producing way more than my family can eat, give away, or sell in the farmers market.

I've been reading on low and high acid foods needing to be pressure canned and water bathed. I am so confused on what I need. And how do I know which vegetable is low or high acid?

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Samantha, you might benefit from my canning guide e-book.

Any vegetable is considered low acid and must be pressure canned. Here is a place to start with the question on which canning method to choose.

And as far as what you need to can... you can can most any food. I have a search bar on my site in the upper right hand corner. If you type in the type of food your results should show whether I have built a page on that food. I have a lot of directions for how to can... I don't have ALL food though.

I'd also highly recommend you purchase the Ball Blue Book. It is the best book for a beginning canner like yourself. If you purchased a used book make sure the books date is not more than 10 yrs old. Vintage preserving books can be fun to see... but the safety information is outdated.

It sounds as if you will probably want to get a pressure canner. I'd highly recommend either a Presto or an All American Pressure Canner. I just purchased an all american and I'd say it is the better of the two, but either will do the job.

Dehydrating is also a good option for preserving... in fact I've been doing more and more dehydrating. (Though I' don't think I'll ever give up canning!)

I hope that gives you a place to start. If you have specific questions leave a comment and I'll see if I can help.

Sharon

Simply Canning