The Domestic Wildflower

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Jenny Gomes

Can You Use An Instant Pot for Canning?

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This post will explain whether or not you can use an instant pot for canning, and why, using scientific information you can trust from the USDA. Read on for the scoop on using an instant pot for canning!

Can you use an instant pot for canning?

Instant pots are the modernized version of a pressure cooker. My Gram used to use a pressure cooker to cook inexpensive (read: tough) cuts of meat that were inexpensive till they were tender.

Instant pots can be used preparing all kinds of things- (easy chicken and corn chowder, berry cobbler, or carnitas, for example!)

But can you use an instant pot for canning?

Watch the video version of this blog post here!

Water bath canning works because the inside of the jar reaches over 212 degrees fahrenheit. The USDA tests recipes to ensure that the inside of your salsa, or raspberry jam gets to this temperature, which is hot enough to kill spoilers in a high acid environment.

Canning jar filling with juice ready to be canned in a steam canner, the fastest way to can.

Instant pots are not tested for canning- we have no idea how hot, for how long it is inside your tomato sauce if you tried to can it in an instant pot. Therefore, we’d have no idea for how long to process any particular recipe to kill spoilers.

If you’re a dyed in the wool rule breaker, consider this. An instant pot is designed to do a very different job than canning. It doesn’t create steady heat- it builds pressure very, very quickly, and it is designed to cook foods with pressure, as fast as possible. That’s a very different job than what a steam canner or water bath canner does.

If you’ve tried it and your jar sealed let me tell you that it takes very little heat to seal a jar. Jars that have sat around a hot store shelf for long enough seal. The seal is only ONE part of the very important trifecta of elements that works to ensure water bath canning is safe.

Canning works by putting a high acid recipe (strawberry jam, tomato sauce, pickled pearl onions) in a jar and submerging the jar in heat. The heat kills the spoilers present in the jar and forces the oxygen OUT of the jar, creating a vacuum which causes the lid to suck inward and seal. A sealed lid alone is NOT enough to create a safe canning situation.

You can read more about acid and canning in this post– there’s even a free pH chart of all the foods you may can that you can download for free!

The bottom line is you cannot use an instant pot for canning.

If you wanted to use an instant pot for canning, you surely wanted to in order to save time. The FASTEST way to can is to use a steam canner– they save 25 minutes per batch, every batch. Read this post about them!

The Absolute Best Way to Start Canning

Want to learn more about canning in general? Sign up for the Free Canning Basics Course and get a few easy, STEP BY STEP lessons right in your inbox that will help you master the basics!

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The Best Canning Jars

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This post will share the best, most versatile canning jars for a new or experienced canner, that will double as food and drink containers in your home, and will help simplify your pantry and your canning process. Read on for the best canning jars!

The Best Canning Jars

This post contains affiliate links.

If you’re a new canner, you probably have no idea which jars would be the best and if you’re experienced, you know there’s so many to choose from and that it’s hard to know what really is the best canning jar. I’m here to share what works best for me, and what I’d do if I were you, and why.

I’m always thinking about how easy things are to clean. If it is hard to clean, I’m probably not interested. That’s why the jars I’ll list below are all WIDE MOUTH jars. These are so much easier for your hand or the dishwasher to wash no matter if the jar held canned tomato jam or ground coffee.

Watch the video version of this post below!

Furthermore, a WIDE MOUTH JAR stacks easily, while a regular mouth jar does not. I want to be able to create a tower of jars if I want to, and wide-mouth jars allow for easy stacking.

It is true that a regular mouth pint or quart IS nice for pouring liquid- it offers a tiny bit more control of the liquid pouring out- but that benefit is so small and the advantages of a wide mouth are so much greater than if I had to start all over, I’d never buy any regular mouth jars except for a few exceptions I’ll list below.

The Best Canning Jars

The wide mouth pint jar holds 2 cups and doubles as a drinking glass. They are sturdy, stackable, and 2 cups are not too much applesauce, not too much jam, and is a perfect amount of tomato sauce for a pasta supper. If I had to choose just one canning jar to use forever and ever, it would be this one. Truly, I use them to drink from, and they are the most versatile overall. Pickles like Dilly beans and carrot pickles fit nicely, shoulder to shoulder in them, and it is easy to get air bubbles from a wide mouth pint jar.

Beautiful drinks Tower of canning jars from the Best Canning Jars post

The second jar I’ll recommend in this Best Canning Jars post is the wide mouth half-pint. I can serve sizes of applesauce, fruit cups, pickles, and more. Yes, you’ll can more batches but think about how many food products you buy or think about buying that is a convenience or serving size packaged? The usefulness of not having to scoop out the applesauce and wash a separate bowl after cannot be understated. If you’re feeling like it will take longer to can in smaller servings, you need to use a steam canner– they are ready to can in 5 minutes and save 25 minutes every batch. Read more about steam canning in this post.

Wide mouth half pints hold one cup of food, are small enough that a kindergartener can likely manage to unscrew the ring (though I would open the lid before sending the jar to school until probably Christmas time for my daughter, just until she got the hang of it at home). I love having a wide mouth half pints to grab when we are headed out the door- they are the ultimate fast health food.

6 jars of raspberry jam Tower of canning jars from the Best Canning Jars post

My mother canned primarily in quart jars. I find this to be problematic for several reasons. Leftovers are liable to go to waste, despite my best efforts. Having half a jar of preserve left-over in the fridge takes up refrigerator space for something that very well may go bad. When I do use up the second half, it may not be as delicious as when the jar was first opened. A quart jar can’t be stacked, and the opening is harder to get a scrub brush into. Processing times are longer, too, for quart jars. They are not my preference.

What about specialty jars?

The tiny 4-ounce regular mouth jar is really a delightful little jar. It has no shoulder, no difficult space to clean, so it is like a wide mouth half-pint but half the size. They are the perfect jar if you want to share your preserves. They are a single serving size of jam (1-2 pieces of toast), a single serving of salsa, or a 2 person serving of hot sauce. They are what I’ll can one batch (perhaps 12 jars) of applesauce for when my kids want a snack, but it’s close to suppertime or they just aren’t that hungry. I canned more fruit sauces in this size when my kids were very small.

Two jars of jam Tower of canning jars from the Best Canning Jars post

The 4-ounce jar is what I’d use if I were pressure canning plain veggie puree for baby food or plain fruit sauce like applesauce.

This jar is also what I’d use for canning for a party- bridal or baby shower favors are a thoughtful treat and a manageable project in this size.

Read the post about canning for a party here!

Tower of canning jars from the Best Canning Jars post

Other specialty jars are just that- you can use them to be adorable when that’s a priority but they are an investment. They might be affordable, but they are not disposable. They will be around, on your shelf or someone else’s indefinitely, so imagine what other preserve or other use you’ll have for the jar in the future.

Other Jars I Love

I use the wide mouth pint and a halfs (3 cups in one jar) for coffee, and all manner of beverages. They’d be ideal for canning a tall pickle like asparagus, garlic scapes, or some other long, languid veggie. I love that they are easy to clean and fit into a car cup holder.

Half gallon mason jars are something that every household should use if not for canning but for dry goods storage. They are so inexpensive, relatively speaking, sturdy, BPA free, like all of these jars, and can be used to store things like flour, sugar, coffee, cereal, oatmeal, crackers, tea bags, and more. They cannot be used for canning in a steam canner (too tall) but can be used for canning in a very large water bath canner. I’d can with these jars if I had a glut of cider, for example.

These are the best canning jars, Wildflowers. If you’re inspired now to learn how to can, join my Free Canning Basics Course to put these jar recommendations to good use and preserve healthy, delicious foods in jars! It’s just a few lessons right in your inbox to get you started the easy way!

Canning Curious

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Are you canning curious? This post will help demystify the process of preserving food in jars, clarify what you need in the kitchen to can, whether or not you need to simmer your canning lids as Grandma used to, if you need to sterilize your jars (the answer will surprise you!), what the deal is with pickling salt, how you can preserve way faster with modern technology, and more. There’s even a free Canning Basics Course you can jump into at the end of the post. Read on if you’re Canning Curious!

Canning Curious? It is easier than you think!

Best Home Canning Equipment For A Beginner

Have a beginning canner you are shopping for? Want to get the best canning supplies for the beginning canner in your life? This post will share exactly the Best Home Canning Equipment For A Beginner, even if they are just canning curious and want to to start canning, or if they have canned a few times before. Read on for the complete list of canning supplies for a beginner!

The Best Canning Equipment for a Beginner - Get this must have home canning kit list for beginners if you are shopping for gifts or for yourself, this lists the gear you need, and tells you how to skip that giant pot!

The first item that everyone thinks of when they think of canning is the big, speckled canning pot. My favorite tips for beginners is that they DON’T need that pot! What?! That’s right. You don’t need it.

Do You Need to Use Pickling Salt?

Many canning recipes call for pickling salt, and curious canners want to know: Do you need to use pickling salt? I’ll explain what pickling salt is when you should use it when it is okay to skip, and you’ll want to dive into canning immediately because salt is salt, Wildflowers.

Do you need to use pickling salt? Read this post to find out when to use it and when you can skip it!

Pickling salt is regular salt that has NO anti-caking agent nor any iodine. Salt that you and I buy typically has a few additives in it that make for a cloudy brine.

Do You Have To Simmer Your Canning Lids?

Do you have to simmer your canning lids? This post will explain whether or not you have to simmer your canning lids before putting them on your canning jars. Read on to get the scoop!

 

Should You Be Sterilizing Canning Jars?

Do you need to sterilize your jars first when canning? This post explains how sterilizing canning jars can be a huge waste of time and why. Read on to find out when you need to spend time sterilizing canning jars!

One of the factors that makes canning “work” is heat. Water bath canning brings the inside of the jars (and thus the food) to over 212 degrees, which kills spoilers (microorganisms) in the high acid environment.

What Is A Steam Canner

This post will explain what a steam canner is, the pieces that come with it, how it saves time, the types of recipes that maximize a steam canner’s efficiency, how much water they use (hardly any!) who a steam canner is best for, and why you’ll want to try one yourself!

Steam canners have been around a while, that’s completely true. They only recently have been approved by the USDA, National Center For Home Food Preservation and studies were done by both Utah and Wisconsin Universities tested and proved that they are safe for water bath canning. They are safe for exactly the same recipes as used in “regular” or water bath canning and you can learn to use them if you’re a beginner- as in never boiled a pot of water in your life- Or if you are an experienced canner.

This post contains affiliate links.

What Happens if You Forget The Lemon Juice?

What Happens if You Forget the Lemon Juice? In many canning recipes, it is required that you add an acidifying ingredient like bottled lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar. What happens if you forget? This post will explain. Spoiler alert: it ain’t pretty.

Canning works and is an effective means of food preservation because of several elements. One element is the inside of the jar is sufficiently acid. That is to say, it is too acidic for spoilers (bugs that would make us sick and decay our food) to grow.

Canning Curious? It is easier than you think!

Learn MORE:

If you want to learn more, I have a FREE Canning Basics Course that I invite you to try- you’ll learn more about canning, how it works, and how it is the way to enjoy delicious salsa all year round 🙂 Sign up here!

Free Canning Basics Course

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Customizable Strawberry Jam Canning Recipe

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This customizable, make it your way, strawberry jam canning recipe is fast and easy, and so fun to make with a group. Select your add-in flavors, and follow the easy recipe below.

Customizable Strawberry Jam Canning Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links.

Strawberry jam is a fast and fun recipe that a beginner can make and this recipe explains how you can round up a selection (or just a few) of optional add ins to add just before canning to customize your jam and make it your own.

One way to tell which jar is which is to use these fun, colored lids. You’ll know that the balsamic flavored jam has the red lid, and the one with minced jalapeño has a green lid.

If you came to this post for a recipe, and now you’re not so sure because this is a canning recipe, don’t worry! You can sign up for the Free Canning Basics Course and get a few easy lessons in your inbox!

Canning Basics Course

This customizable strawberry jam is easy to make especially in wide mouth half pint jars. You’ll have a perfect serving of specially flavored jam to give or keep and the wide mouth makes the addition of the flavoring easy.

This would be a fun recipe to make with a group (see this post for a recipe for canning for a party!)

Customizable Strawberry Jam Canning Recipe

Customizable Strawberry Jam Canning Recipe

Download and print the Customizable Strawberry Jam Canning Recipe for free here!

You will need 
10 cups strawberries, washed and chopped
7 cups of sugar
2 lemons, squeezed
2 boxes  liquid pectin
Customize with an optional add in- 1 teaspoon each per 1 cup/half pint jar
–vanilla paste or extract
–rose water
–orange flower water
-finely minced jalapeno, seeds removed
–dried or fresh lavender
-lemon or orange zest
-teaspoon balsamic vinegar 

1. Prepare your water bath canning pot or your steam canner. Fill the water bath canning pot with water, add 7-8 half pint jars, and bring to a boil OR fill the steam canner to fill line and turn on low with the half pint jars nearby on a towel-covered countertop. 

2. Combine strawberries and lemon juice. Simmer together in a preserving pan (a heavy bottomed, wide pan) and stir occasionally for 15 minutes. 

Customizable Strawberry Jam Canning Recipe

3. Optional: Remove from heat and ladle into a food mill. Process jam through for a super smooth jam.

4.Return strawberries to a boil, add sugar, and whisk in pectin quickly.

5.Ladle into jars one at a time, adding 1 teaspoon of your optional add-in flavoring. Stir with a toothpick or spoon to quickly incorporate.

Customizable Strawberry Jam Canning Recipe

6. Apply lids and rings, and either submerge into the boiling water of the boiling water bath with a jar lifter  OR set gently on the rack of the steam canner. 

7.Process for 10 minutes PLUS 5 minutes for every 1000 ft above sea level. Remove from heat, rest jars carefully on towel covered countertop. Label cooled jars and store for up to 1 year. Yields 10 half pint jars.

Love strawberries? You can get my best strawberry canning recipes in one ebook. Check it out here!

Canning Strawberries Recipe Book Cover

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Absolute Best Way To Get Started Canning

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If you want to know the absolute best way to get started canning, this post will tell you the fastest, easiest, and best way. Read on for the tools, tips, and tricks from a busy mom who understands what it is like to not have enough hours in the day.

The Absolute Best Way to Start Canning

This post contains affiliate links.

Most people think of canning and imagine a few specific things. They imagine the huge, speckled black pot with steam rolling from the top, and they imagine it taking hours and hours.

Truly, those are THE biggest obstacles to YOU starting canning, aren’t they? You don’t want to clutter your kitchen up with a ton of gear (didn’t your grandma have an attic full of stuff?) and you don’t have hours and hours to devote to a new hobby.

BUT you are reading this because the idea of canning is intriguing to you. You want to can the recipes that your mom or grandma made, or you want to gut out allergens for your family, or you want to make more food yourself, and the cooked-in-advance part of canning sounds amazing…you want to learn how, but it has to fit into your busy life and stuffed kitchen.

Steam canning is the answer to all of the above and more.

It is the FASTEST way to can. It cuts 25 minutes off each batch. 25 minutes saved is great, but you really  save time with each subsequent batch. Suddenly you aren’t canning all afternoon. You’ve canned several batches in 90 minutes, or just one in under 30.

Read this post for more detailed info on steam canning here.

I’m pretty darn good at a few things.

I don’t do anything slowly.

I am great at making friends.

I’ve made friends (truly, this is not a paid sponsorship) with Amy of Victorio Kitchen Products, the maker of the pot that allows for the fastest canning possible. She and I are birds of the same feather. We were on the phone and I said to Amy, in an offhand way,

“It would be awesome if your funnel and jar lifter came in the same box as the steam canner because then a beginner wouldn’t have to get anything else to start…”

And then in a few days, Amy emailed me the link to Victorio’s Steam Canner Bundle.

I’m a squeal with excitement girl, and let me tell you…I definitely squealed with excitement.

Amy at Victorio (a husband and wife team in Orem, Utah) put together in ONE box the absolute best way for you to get started with canning. They are so passionate about helping newbies get started, (ahem, just like me!) that they are making the very affordable Victorio Steam Canner Bundle available exclusively for you readers.

Did I mention it is cheaper than getting it on Amazon?!

You get free shipping, too.

You’ll need NO other tools to get started. Rustle up your jars and you’re all set!

Steam Canner Bundle

Other than squeal with excitement, here’s what I’m offering.

For purchasers of the Victorio Steam Canner Bundle, if you email me a screenshot or forward of your purchase confirmation, I’ll email you the Steam Canning For Beginners Ebook for free.

Steam Canning for Beginners this post explains steam canning for beginners and shares the ebook that will explain step by step how to use the fastest tool in canning!

To celebrate our new friendship and the launch of the Bundle, Amy at Victorio and I have put together a Giveaway. It’s a fun one because there’s tons of opportunity to increase your chances of winning by sharing (Do it! It’s a single click- so simple!)

The lucky winner of the Giveaway will win:

The Steam Canner Bundle – a steam canner, funnel and jar lifter– everything you’d need!

The Steam Canning Workshop (my video course that teaches a beginner how to use and maximize their steam canner, STEP BY STEP)

The Steam Canning for Beginners Ebook to read while you’re on the treadmill or in bed at night

Enter to win this amazing prize here!

The Absolute Best Way to Start Canning

If you want to see me unbox this amazing bundle, watch here!

If you want to check out this steam canning stuff, but you’re not ready to dive in just yet, check out the Steam Canning for Beginners Ebook. Its affordable & low-commitment; it’s like taking steam canning out for coffee. You’re just getting to know it a little bit better!

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