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Ways to Make Canning Faster, Easier, Cheaper

2K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Grainlady 
#1 ·
Do you have a way of making canning easier, faster or cheaper? What tips would you share with others if you were teaching a class on canning?
 
#2 ·
I actually teach canning classes... However, I no longer do home canning because it's not cost effective for me anymore due to the high price of energy and sugar. I dehydrate as much produce as possible, and also put some in the freezer (I only have the refrigerator freezer). You'd be amazed how many dehydrated tomatoes you can stuff into a quart jar for maximum storage capacity. And if you have a FoodSaver, you can vacuum-seal your dehydrated foods so they keep longer. Dehydrating also helps maintain the enzymes in foods, while high-heat processing destroys it. Dehydrating takes very little energy.

1. Avoid costly mistakes to begin with.

-Although you can safely use old mayo/peanut butter/etc. jars, these "one-trip" jars are thin because they are designed to be used once, they are not made from tempered glass, and are more inclined to breakage than canning jars. Every broken jar adds to the cost. Use canning jars, if at all possible, to lower the potential for breakage.

-Caution using old jars - especially if they have been stored in a shed/garage (extreme conditions of hot and cold), or have been heat processed for years and years during canning. Old jars tend to get brittle and can easily break. Every broken jar cuts deeply into your canning costs.

-Plan ahead. Can you realistically consume 120 quarts of green beans or 50 jars of jam/jelly in one years time? It's suggested to store home-canned foods for about 1-year. After one year the nutrients are nearly nonexistent, flavors and textures change, so all you have paid for are empty calories. There is no sense spending money/time/energy processing more food than you can realistically consume in one year.

When you are planning your garden, make the production in line with your needs. The cost of the garden is also included in the equation. If you have to pay for water, chemicals, and other assorted things for your garden, you are adding more cost of your home-canned foods.

-Shop for your canning equipment BEFORE you need it to assure you have everything you need. Take advantage of end-of-season discounts to use the next year. Try to use canning lids that you purchased no more than 1-2 years ago, and store them in a controlled environment (no extremes of hot/cold/humidity/heat). The sealing compound can degrade if they have been stored a long time, and not seal properly, leading to potential growth of microorganisms, molds, or yeasts in the canned foods, as well as the seal failing completely.

-Plan to can your produce immediately after harvesting to get the best quality and most nutrients from the foods you can. If you can old produce, you are essentially canning empty calories and paying a high price for foods that are very low in nutrients.

Nearly half of the vitamins may be lost within a few days when harvested, so be sure to refrigerate produce and can them A.S.A.P. "Within one to two weeks, even if the food is refrigerated, it loses half or more of some of its vitamins. The heating process during canning destroys from 1/3 to 1/2 of the vitamin A and C, thiamin, and riboflavin." Once canned, "additional losses of these sensitive vitamins are from 5-20 percent each year - provided they are properly stored. They can have even bigger losses if improperly stored.

-Use up-to-date TESTED recipes and canning methods. Don't make up your own canning recipe/s. Without scientific testing, you won't know how long the products need to be processed to be safe.

-Avoid using iodized salt when canning, which can discolor pickles or make the brine cloudy.

-As Larry the Cable Guy says, "get 'er done". Finish what you start. In one instance I know about, the person filled their canning jars with food and sealed them, then had to run an errand before they processed them. Even though they followed the processing directions when they got back, it wasn't long before the food showed signs of spoilage. This is what is called "latent spoilage", and is what happens when food is sealed, but allowed to sit at room temperature several hours before heat processing. The bacteria grew so much in those hours that the amount of processing time wasn't enough to kill the bacteria. So get your jars into the canner and processed as soon as possible.

-Sugar is at an all-time high price. Reconsider just how much high-sugar foods you really need to can.

2. Cheaper

- Look for free produce... or produce your own. If you purchase produce try to get it directly from the producer. Pick it yourself, if possible, so you get the freshest possible, and also might save money.

- Process your home canning in a porch or outdoors. Not only will you use energy for heat processing the food in the kitchen, but also the energy to cool the house with an air conditioner.

- Make sure you use a burner that is the correct size for your canner - not too small or too large.

- Don't forget to calculate... your time for home canning, the cost of the utilities, cost of produce (homegrown or purchased), cost of equipment (and amortize it over the number of years of possible use)....

-If you can borrow equipment, that can bring down your cost. Free jars and equipment - check some of your elderly friends, who no longer do home canning, for equipment (free or cheap). Make sure you check the rims of used jars for any nicks and chips before using them, or they won't seal properly.

-Budget a portion of money to cover the costs of canning - including new equipment, additional utilities, etc...

-Consider dehydrating and freezing food, as well as canning, as cost-effective food preservation methods.

3. Faster

There really isn't a way to can faster, that I can think of, other than being efficient.

There are a few tools and gadgets that can be pretty handy that can speed the process up a bit, like a cutting mandoline for slicing. Use one of those gadgets that cores and cuts the apple into wedges when you are making apple pie filling. You can quickly cut out the core, and then cut the wedges into slices. The proper equipment can speed up production - large bowls and food-grade plastic food storage containers are good to have. Multiple canners.

I recently purchased an Induction Hot Plate that heats much faster than a gas or electric stove-top and that might speed the processing up a small amount because it will heat the water faster. If you have an Induction cook-top, check with the manufacturer about canning. These are some of the recommendations I've seen:

1. Don't use the old fashioned "granite ware" water bath canner. It's enamel and can melt on to the stove top.

2. Pick a pot with a flat bottom, not ridged. It will keep the temperature constant and the stove won't turn off and on.

3. Don't go too big. Pick a pot that has a diameter of one inch or less bigger than the burner you will use it on.
 
#4 ·
I actually teach canning classes...

It sounds like you are a GREAT teacher - I learned more from reading your post than I did from several sessions of canning classes at our local community college! Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge and experience with all of us :)
 
#3 ·
I would only add the following. Always remember that cleanliness is next to Godliness. Make sure that everything is spotless.

I always keep my jars upside down on shelves ready to go. When they are needed I wash either in the dishwasher with nothing else or in the sink with hot soapy water.

We always then transfer them to the oven and put the oven on the lowest temperature to keep the jars hot. This made sealing quicker on Jams and Jellies.

As Grainlady said it is important to work as quickly as possible. When canning large runs it really handy to have two canners going at the same time. When I lived closer to Mom we would routinely borrow each others. We also traded jars around.

It is always super important to follow to the letter every step in the recipe.

A few years ago I grew pumpkins and canned them; I was soo proud of my pumpkin patch and then my canned pumpkin. Unfortunately, I ignored the part of the recipe that said I should mash up the pumpkin and instead I left it in chucks (because it would look prettier). They all spoiled.

And as Grainlady said have everything ready before you start. Before you buy the Strawberries or pick the beans, make sure you have all the jars, lids, rings, salt and sugar that you need. I always buy surejel at the end of the season in the 2 packs and keep it. I do the same on Lids. I usually buy sugar in 25lb bags at the warehouse stores when it is a good deal.

BTW, you can reuse those old one time jars for jams and jellies that don't require freezing or pressure canning. I stay away from water baths too and only use them for recipes that require them to be hot and have hot ingredients put into them. They also work well for Sauerkraut which doesn’t need to be sealed

When it is time to can, I start with getting my jars from the shelves and putting them into the dishwasher. While the dishwasher is running, I get the kitchen ready. I make sure the sink is empty and that I have plenty of room. I set up work areas to flow and make sure to include places to put the jars when complete. I put any utensils that I could possibly need in a pot of water and bring it to a boil. I get plenty of clean towels ready as well as dish cloths. I keep two bowls of hot water ready to rinse the dish cloths during production as well.
 
#6 ·
Cleanliness...

-Avoid cross contamination.

-Using a mixture of 1-quart of water + 1 t. bleach (I keep a spritz bottle handy), wipe down all kitchen surfaces before you start, and as needed during your canning session. Don't forget the refrigerator handle and the handle of the kettle you use when you need to add some hot water.

-Keep pets out of the kitchen while canning so you don't accidentally transfer bacteria from them to your hands, and then to the food. Tripping over a pet while working with hot jars and boiling water can also be a safety problem.

-Avoid eating or smoking while canning. You can spread bacteria from the hand-to-mouth contact.

-Don't forget to sterilize your funnel and bubble-remover.
 
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