Category: Canning Tips

Why Mason-type Canning Jars

Apr 14, 2023 | Canning Basics, Canning Tips, Food, Preservation, Tasty Bites

The major reason we recommend Mason-type canning jars is our experience with them and their decreased rate of breakage compared to mayonnaise jars, salad dressing jars, spaghetti sauce jars, or...

Watch the Headspace

Apr 14, 2023 | Canning Basics, Canning Tips, Food, Preservation, Tasty Bites

Headspace is the unfilled space between the food in a jar and the lid of a jar. General canning headspace recommendations from the United States Department of Agriculture are as follows:  Leave ¼...

National Sweet Tea Day

Aug 18, 2022 | Freezing Basics, Tasty Bites

Iced tea has been on the menu since the 1870s. What made the iced tea novel wasn’t the tea but the ice, which was quite a luxury back then. Tea is rich in polyphenols, which are a type of...

National Ice Cream Day

Jul 5, 2022 | Food, Freezing Basics

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream! July is National Ice Cream Month, including National Ice Cream Day, which is always on the third Sunday of July. This year we’re celebrating on...

No Canning Zucchini & Summer Squash

Jun 20, 2019 | Canning Food Preservation, Canning Tips, Tasty Bites

The one thing we know, FOR SURE, about food safety is that it is always evolving. That is one of the main reasons, Food Safety Agents are always pushing for people to always reference research-based...

Storing Bacon Jam

Apr 30, 2018 | Canning Food Preservation, Canning Tips, Tasty Bites

From the recent conversation about bacon jam, we understood that the prepared product was stored at room temperature. Please do not store bacon jam at room temperature. Storing bacon jam at room temperature poses the risk of botulism, a serious foodborne illness caused by the nerve toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum, a spore forming bacteria. How could this happen? Our search identified...

Preserving Summer Squash

Apr 30, 2018 | Canning Food Preservation, Canning Tips, Tasty Bites

USDA has withdrawn recommendations for canning summer squash, including zucchini, that appeared in former editions of So Easy to Preserve or USDA bulletins. The reason for withdrawal is uncertainty about the determination of adequate processing times. Squash are low-acid vegetables; they require pressure canning for a known period of time to destroy the bacteria that cause botulism....

Preserving Spring Greens

Apr 30, 2018 | Canning Food Preservation, Canning Tips, Tasty Bites

Greens are excellent sources of vitamin A, calcium, folic acid and fiber. Preserve extra spinach, collards, kale and other spring greens by freezing, pressure canning, or drying them. Freezing Greens: Greens may be canned for long term storage; however, freezing results in a better product. Select young, tender green leaves. Wash leaves thoroughly and cut off woody stems. Water blanch collards...

Preserving Onions and Garlic

Apr 30, 2018 | Canning Food Preservation, Canning Tips, Tasty Bites

Onions and garlic are relatives; both are in the genus Allium. Both are root vegetables whose bulbs grow underground. Both garlic and onion are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Garlic is a good source of calcium, phosphorus and selenium, and a very good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6 and manganese. Onion is a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B6, folate, potassium and...

Strawberries, Strawberries, Strawberries

Apr 30, 2018 | Canning Food Preservation, Canning Tips, Tasty Bites

MAKING STRAWBERRY JAM: When strawberries are in season, make jams that you can enjoy throughout the year. Make an old-fashioned strawberry jam with just strawberries and sugar, a freezer jam using powdered pectin, or a jam with no added sugar. Choose the recipe that suits your tastes and enjoy! Old Fashioned Strawberry Jam Ingredients: 2 quarts crushed strawberries,  6 cups sugar Combine berries...

Dry or Can Those Legumes

Apr 30, 2018 | Canning Food Preservation, Canning Tips, Tasty Bites

Drying Legumes: Legumes include many beans (navy, kidney, butter, great northern, lima) lentils and soybeans. Beans are a good source of protein, fiber, calcium, potassium, and other nutrients. Dry beans by leaving pods on the vine in the garden until the beans inside rattle. When the vines and pods are dry and shriveled, pick the beans and shell them. No pretreatment is necessary. If beans are...

Canning Meats & Poultry

Apr 30, 2018 | Canning Food Preservation, Canning Tips, Tasty Bites

Meats and poultry are low acid foods (pH above 4.6) that provide a good environment for the growth of Clostridium botulinum, the cause of deadly foodborne botulism. Please remind your friends and neighbors that no safe way to use a boiling water canner for these foods exists; meats and poultry must be pressure canned for safety. Canning Meat (Strips, Cubes or Chunks of Bear, Beef, Lamb, Pork,...