CANNING

CANNING AT ALTITUDE

• Sterilize jars, cover with boiling water and bring to a boil
• Boil for 10 minutes
• Turn off heat add rings and lids let sit in hot water
• Hot jars, hot mixture into jars

PECTIN

• Pectin is the naturally accruing thicken agent found in fruits
• Pectin comes in liquid, powdered and no sugar added powdered forms
• The powdered pectin needs to be mixed with a little sugar and added a the very end of the preserve making process
• When added whisk into boiling mixture bring back to a boil and boil without stirring for two minutes

JELLY, JAMS & PRESERVES

• Jelly in fruit juice cooked with sugar and thickened with pectin
• Jam is essentially jelly with 25% cooked fruit pieces
• Preserves is essentially jelly with 50% cooked fruit pieces

FILLING CANNING JARS

• Remove clean jars and invert onto a clean rack, keep warm
• Carefully fill jars leaving a 1/4" gap at the top. This is called headspace
• A large mouthed canning funnel work best for this
• Thoroughly clean especially the threads and lip of the jar!
• Carefully place lid on, gloved hands are best for this

FILLING JARS

• Screw down metal ring onto the jar
• Place in the pot with hot water
• There needs to be 1" of water covering the jars
• Bring to a full boil and boil as per the manufactures directions for the size of jar used
• Add 10 minutes to this time for canning at this altitude

COOLING JARS

• Keep an eye on water level during boiling process
• Add more hot water if needed to keep that 1" coverage
• When boiling is done remove from water and place on cutting board to cool
• Allow even spacing for even cooling
• You may hear popping noises as the cool, this is the vacuum you created

CORRECTLY?

• When they cool you will be able to press down on the lid and it won't bounce back
• If they do, either repeat the entire boiling process or store in the refrigerator
• Jams, jellies and preserves will keep at room temperature unopened for one year
• Pickled items will need one month to mellow before using them
• All canned items should be refrigerated after opening