Home canning is a great technique for long-term food preservation. If you haven’t already checked out our previous article on how to perform home canning, we recommend doing so. That said, home canning does require care to avoid the development of dangerous botulism toxin.
Modern Survival Blog has a great list of 12 canning tips that you should keep in mind for home canning. These items will ensure you don’t make mistakes that could turn your preserved food into poison.
- Don’t use jars larger than a quart. Home canning technology cannot guarantee that larger quantities will be sufficiently heated through for enough time. Rather, the food on the outside will overcook, while that on the inside won’t get hot enough for food safety.
- A water-bath canner may only be used for high acid foods such as tomatoes, fruits, rhubarb, sauerkraut, pickles, and jams/jellies. A pressure canner MUST be used for low acid foods including vegetables, meats, and stews.
- Use only modern canning recipes from reliable sources (especially when first starting out).
- Never reuse jar lids. Used lids aren’t reliable for sealing correctly. If a screw-on band is rusty or bent, it won’t work right and should be discarded and replaced. That said, you might consider purpose-designed reusable Tattler lids.
- Don’t use antique or ‘French’ -type canning jars. They aren’t as safe as the modern, regular ‘Ball, Kerr’ type.
To view 7 more tips and learn more about home canning, visit The Modern Survival Blog.
