Prepare to Preserve the Summer’s Bounty

Soon it will be time to preserve this year’s bounty from the garden. Maybe it is from your backyard garden, from the green thumb gardens of friends or purchased from local growers. Foods can be preserved by one of three basic methods: canning, freezing or drying. Different equipment is needed for each of these methods. Safety and quality are the main factors to consider when deciding which method to use.

Freezing Foods

Freezing is a method that can be used safely for all foods. Foods with a high water content will not be good quality when frozen. Some foods need special treatment before freezing for the highest quality.

Drying Foods

Drying, one of the oldest methods of food preservation, has renewed popularity in the past few years. For the best quality you will need a dehydrator to dry foods.

Canning Foods

Canning foods requires special equipment and reliable instructions. There are two safe ways of canning foods. The boiling water method is safe for fruits, tomatoes, pickles, jams, jellies and other preserves. Pressure canning is the only safe method for canning such low acid foods as vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood. It is important to use current and updated food preservation information. If you have old recipes that list times for preserving low-acid foods in the water bath canner, do not use them.

Canning Guides

The best instructions, which are written based on the latest research, are available from your family and consumer educator at the Cooperative Extension center in your county. Instructions from the United States Department of Agriculture and from current Ball Blue Books are also recommended.

Check your canning equipment before the season starts.

• Have your pressure canner dial gauge tested for accuracy. Your local Cooperative Extension center may check gauges. Call for dates and times. Pressure canners with the weighted gauges do not need to be checked.
• Check your canning jars for cracks and chips. Use only standard canning jars, sometimes called Mason jars. Other glass jars are not meant to be used for canning and may not seal properly or may break in the pressure canner.
• Purchase new, two-piece lids. These lids can be used only once because the sealing compound becomes indented when used. Screw bands can be reused as long as they are not bent or rusty.

You may find some of the following items helpful as you preserve foods.

• A jar lifter is necessary in order to easily remove hot jars from the canner.
• A jar filler or funnel is helpful in putting foods into the jars.
• A bubble freer is useful for removing air bubbles. You can purchase this tool or you can use a plastic knife or spatula. Do not use metal knives or other metal objects because they may damage the jar.
• The lid wand is one of the newer gadgets and is a very useful one. It has a magnet on the end of a small wand and is used to retrieve lids from hot water.
• Clean cloths are always needed for cleaning jar rims and general cleaning.
• A timer or clock is a tool that will be used over and over if you preserve foods. The timer is also useful for many other food preparation tasks.