A vinegar solution is also excellent for cleaning the outside of the filled jars after processing and removing the rings, helping to remove mineral and food debris and deactivate biogrowth on the outside of the filled jars.
I've been canning for a couple of seasons now. Mostly making tomato salsa, sauce, whole tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, and stewed tomatoes. I have also done up lots of pears (Kieffer variety) into pear pickles, sauce, butter, mincemeat, jelly and jam, and even some pear wine. I've had quite a bit of success with mint jelly as well. For anyone really interested in all things canning is it okay to recommend another channel? The Rose Red Homestead and MakeitMake channels have great education on canning. The Ball book of canning is also like a Bible for me. Here in the States you can also find resources through your county extension office and state department of agriculture. Here in the US, water bath canning is NOT officially endorsed by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) for canning any low acid foods, such as many vegetables and meat/fish/poultry. However, water bath canning is still the method most used by the Amish. The main difference is that water bath processing time for low acid foods is much longer than pressure canning processing times. So it is an option for anyone willing to do their homework on the process. The videos at Rose Red Homestead are great education and the woman who runs that channel does an excellent job of explaining the science behind the two methods. Of course, you need to have a pressure canner to do the later, and this piece of equipment isn't cheap (I just purchased one and it was $300). A lot of people are a little skittish of pressure cookers and canners, and rightly so, but they are great tools in the kitchen once one gets used to using them. I also employ freezing my produce and thanks for the information on blanching times! I used to buy broccoli when it was on sale (single mom, looking for ways to reduce the grocery bill) but can't say I knew the times for the others you mentioned. I find that the quality of frozen (provided you escape freezer burn) to be the closest to fresh. But, I have recently become more interested in methods that create something shelf stable -- something that doesn't require any energy to maintain, like freezing does. I have experimented with fermenting, dehydrating, and salting. I just today finished getting my 'kitchen garden' crops planted: tomatoes, sweet peppers, and potatoes (trying sweet potatoes this year for the first time) as these are the staples of most every kitchen. I also have two varieties of eggplant and summer and zucchini squash seeds going in later this week. I love your channel and your direct, get to the point method!
I’m just revisiting this post after about a year and want to point people to the Amish method of water bath canning EVERYTHING! Now it’s not USDA approved but then Europe has survived World Wars and famines long before our lovely cousins across the pond began to manufacture and sell Pressure Canners, indeed the people of Eastern Europe can show you how to water bath anything from meat/ chicken and tomatoes in a water bath. Good hygiene and following rules should keep you safe as will your eyes and nose in opening the jars ( always remove rings and never stack on top of each other). Temperatures for reheating are available online should you be still afraid of botulism or it’s spores. Never before have most of us needed to learn how to grow preserve And store good food for leaner times, don’t let Big Tech or Corporate frighten you off from doing things our grandparents did as a matter of course. Supermarkets won’t always be there with groaning shelves this Winter. For anyone curious about the Amish and Mennonite methods of canning low acid produce may I suggest a channel called Makeitmake where an Amish lady explains her water bath canning of everything. I survived the “lurgy” of the last two years on food I cooked and canned myself which I stored in a spare wardrobe and an old bookcase . Best of luck and happy canning ❤
I don’t know how to canning but will try ur process cuz I get so intimidated about this 😔👩🌾thanks Ben ur videos are quick and easy and helpful 👍👍⭐️⭐️👩🌾♥️
To safely preserve green beans by the water bath method requires them to be pickled in a vinegar solution (ie: "dilly beans") and precooking or blanching is not needed. To safely preserve plain green beans without pickling requires pressure canning.
Hi, Ben! I am so glad to see more people learning to water bath and pressure can! I have a 3500 ft garden and try to can enough to last until the next harvest. Of course, that means getting creative with storage if you don't have a basement that stays temperate. But know that even if you live in an apartment with no balcony, you can still can! BTW - after letting your canning sit for 12 to 24 hrs after processing, be sure to thoroughly wash the jars. Sometimes some of the contents syphons out of the jars before the seal is achieved, and any food residue will attract bugs and mold. The resulting "stink" is not pleasant. After checking the seals, I actually put the filled jars into a sink full of soapy water and give them a scrub. I also have hard water here, so I add a splash of vinegar to the hot rinse water, too. Dry, label and date your jars before putting them in your pantry. Now - Let's pressure can low acid foods! In these trying times you can save so much money on groceries by taking advantage of bulk-buying and sales. If you don't have a garden, grocery store produce and meats will can up just fine. Buy produce in season, and buy meats when they are reduced in price for quick sale. Process these items the same or the next day to ensure the best quality.
Watched this video 3 times it's the best. You get to the point, all natural, not like a recite from a book, big thanks as you solved my waterbath canning questions. Big thanks and keep up your awesome work.
I've watched canning videos before but none were as good as this one, thank you so so much! Also I could use a jam video, mine never set and I have tons of grapes
Hi, if you can add some apples to your jam that will help it set, apples have pectin in them. That’s what sets the jam. You can also get ‘jam setter’ or ‘jam setting sugar’ these have pectin in them but I prefer the apples.
Thank you for this video. I do not have a pressure cooker so wondering what else I can do with a pot and water. Do you recommend a book or do you have more videos on other veggies. Thank you in advance.
I water bath everything. If it’s meat I cook it first then can . This is the way it’s always been done long before Ball and the makers of pressure canners told us we can’t can without it. Just use your nose and your common sense ❤
It’s not very expensive to buy a big pot, jars, lids, rings. The utensils & salt aren’t very much either. In the long run, you’ll get your money back by not having to buy as much food.
When water bath processing, make sure the jars are not sitting directly on the bottom of the pot; the glass in direct contact will get hotter than the rest of the jar and will crack. Racks, spacers or other devices in the bottom of the pot will prevent this. nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/using_bw_canners.html
Buy cheaply from a shop selling used goods. I've found many many things this way when wanting to undertake a new project, for a much cheaper overall cost. You also end up having the equipment on hand for many years, for many situations. It sucks laying out the money for a bunch of new equipment for a new interest & then finding out you don't enjoy it as much as you expected. If you wind up loving your new interest, then that's the time to start considering if you need additional new equipment, if any. Very often you'll find that your cheaply bought bits & pieces are more than sufficient, and often even superior to newly bought items which are manufactured specifically to break quickly, making it necessary to replace everything on a regular basis. Enjoy your canning 😊
@@Bear-cm1vl this was mentioned in the video. I've used towels before, even for infusing herbal oils in canning jars. A towel works perfectly for this.
Love canning, just done a load of beetroot, potatoes and pork chunks all in an all American pressure canner. Apples, carrots and chicken to follow later in the week.
Thank you so much seeing your video makes me feel so calm I thought I had to waste 500 on canning equipment but this video change my life and not only me but my kids life also
Thank you so much for your simple, yet detailed demonstration! I now have confidence to actually do this! Now to find a family owned store to purchase canning jars!
Yet again a great video, and... Brilliantly timed! I recently started pressure canning, but was thinking today, that I could do with learning more about water bath canning too. Thanks very much.
I've recently started pickling peppers, red onions, and eggs, and I learned that boiling the brine first pickles the items to be pickled much faster. I used some canning jars I found at the dollar tree when looking for jars to use for pickling and after I added the boiling brine into the jars of peppers/onions and put on the lid, I later realised the central lid was pulled tight against the mouth of the jar, which is to say I think I accidently canned my pickles. 😅
Hej I am an Ex Pat. I found you on here. I have WB some jars of food in a large pot i have but it uses alot of electricity for 3 hrs. I have bought a small 7Lt pressure cooker that will take 3 or 4 small jars up to 15cm high. Can this way of canning work ? I know this vid is just about WB in an open pot but i would love your advice and opinions please. I need guidence from someone from the uk who knows what they are doing. Can you find the time to reply to me please as many do not. Thanx.
Water bath canning is the more accessible way to can, but pressure canning opens up what you can do enormously, enabling you to can so much more. So yes, using a pressure canner would definitely work. :-)
What do you think about reusing jars that have been sanitized with the pop up type lids? Is it doable? Or just resort to the classic ball jars with the bands?
In the UK we do reuse a lot of these pop-up style lids - for things like jams. But I think the official advice in the USA is not to. Really for complete safety, I would use the Ball jars and bands.
I just used tap water. I can't see why using it would be a problem - I imagine there are just as many minerals etc in bottled water, so no real difference. I think Thames water is among the very best!
I need some help with something. I make homemade salsa that my family looks. I want to experiment with preserving it with water bath canning. I do not cook my salsa I will put the recipe in a minute is there a way to water bath the salsa without having to cook it first? Here’s what I do. In a Cuisinart or blender with a pulse function I take the tomatoes from a can of whole tomatoes - not whole Italian plum, tomatoes, whole regular tomatoes I take the head of cilantro and chop it up put it in the blender I take a fresh jalapeño chopped it up (I test the heat of it first to see how much it go in.) and chop it into circles not too much Then onion, chop it into chunks put it in the blender Add salt I pulse it until it reaches the consistency my family likes, and then we’re done So if I were to want to preserve this in a pint jar, how would I do it?
I think that in order to can salsa using the water bath method in this video, you'd really need to make it a touch more acidic, otherwise the salsa could spoil sooner. My concern is that your recipe isn't acidic enough, so may only be suitable for pressure canning. This article offers a good outline for canning salsa via the water bath method: www.laurafuentes.com/how-to-can-salsa/
Can you recommend a good book? Have looked on Amazon a lot are about making chutneys and preserves and I've lots of books on that but would really like to be able to preserve some of my veg from the allotment as I've run out of space in my freezers and I've already dried loads, so water bathing seems a good next step. Thanks
I don't have many books on preserving actually - I just tend to research online or catch snippets from various gardening books. I have this book and quite enjoy it, but I'm sure there are other equally or even more comprehensive books out there. www.amazon.com/Put-em-Sherri-Brooks-Vinton/dp/1603425462
I drew my hubby a pattern of a smaller pot I can 5 pints at a time. He took chicken wire and cut it, all trimmed to fit. It's just enough to keep jars stationary and off the bottom of the pot.
Thank you for such a great, concise, detailed video. I’m a total newbie who’s about to start canning. I don’t think I’ve ever even eaten canned vegetables. QUESTION: does the required vinegar cause the water bathed vegetables to taste vinegary/pickled? Seems like the answer would be an obvious ‘yes’, but maybe the boiling neutralizes the taste…?
@@GrowVeg - Thank you for your reply! That’s good to know. Makes me wonder how the vinegary twang will affect the taste of my recipes, but I’ll figure it out. :-)
For produce that isn't pickled or high acid like fruits, you can pressure can instead of water bath canning. Then you don't need the vinegar/acid component.
Because this is 50% pickled are they going to taste strongly of vinegar as my kids won't touch it then. I usually water bath everything for 3 hrs without vinegar but would love to bath for a shorter period.
Yes, what we essentially have here is pickled beans, so there is a taste of vinegar. It does become a lot mellower over time, but still obviously pickle tasting.
Thank you for your video because I wanted to try canning because I have so many tomatoes and I needed to know the proper way to can safely. I saved your video. Thank you for your video again from the United States Sincerely Patricia Ann Griggs 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍐🍐🍐🍐🍐🍐🍐👧
@@GrowVeg Thank for your comment. I subscribe to your channel and find all of your gardening tips so very useful. I live in the United States in Michigan and are planting season is only from sometimes March and April but mostly from May after Mother Day because of the frost. January, February, October, November and December starts to get very cold Winter and Snow. And gets dark by 5 o'clock in November. Thank you again. 🍅🥔🥕🌽🥒🍎🌰🍊🍐🍋🍆🌶🍍🍏🍄🍉🍇🍊🍒🍈🍓🍑🥑🥜
Thank you! I am brand new to canning and this has FINALLY been the only one to teach the no-ring method/process to store without the ring! Not many actually show that part! Thank you!!
I keep reading the vegetables should not be water bath canned. If I do my green beans the way you showed me are they going to taste like vinegar when I serve them? Please advise
Essentially I've made pickled beans, so they will have a lingering vinegar taste, somewhat tempered by the garlic and chilli. You need the vinegar if water bath canning beans in order to make the whole process safe.
I would stick to the mason jars, which will give a proper airtight seal and ensure everything lasts much longer. Although you could use old sauce bottles if you were going to use the contents up fairly promptly.
I've not tried this myself, but as the idea is to acidify the canning brine, then I imagine this would work. But I would seek out a specific recipe using either of these, as I'm not sure of the quantities you'd need to straight swop-out the vinegar.
The purpose-sold jars are meant to be better because they fit the lids. The jars can be reused many times over, but you're meant to replace the lids on each use.
HI Missy. It's my understanding that non-acidic foods are best pressure canned, for complete safety. Hopefully you'll find another video to offer advice on this. :-)
I think you may need to start again to be safe. Or at least use up that jar first. Make sure you have proper-fitting lids appropriate to the jar, and screw on the bands properly so they are held in place.
There are two methods of canning - pressure canning and this method, water bath canning. So no, you don't need a pressure canner for all types of canning - just when canning non-acidic foods.
Anything that doesn’t have a naturally higher acid content you will need to pressure can, but most fruits and fruit juices would be fine water bath canned.
Love this recipe for beans! My favorite is making fruit jams and butters, but tried salsa and Mariana sauce this year for the first time and loving the results! 🍅🌶🫑🧄🧅
Water bath canning is best for naturally acidic foods (or where an acid is added). For beef stew I would think you need to use the pressure canning process to be safe.
Yes you can, but again you'd need a vinegar solution to give the acidity. There are many recipes online, e.g. valuablekitchen.com/how-to-can-carrots-without-a-pressure-canner/
@@GrowVeg thank u I bought all the jars off the shelf in Walmart today. I’m canning those carrots after work. Do I need a pressure canner for potatoes? Can’t find that on line to water bath can them🥴
I'm canning Black Boy Peaches atm, I'm using glass yars wuth a rubber lined spring lid, while boiling there is bubbles coming up from under the lid. Is that normal?
If for whatever reason you are unable to pop down to the local supermarket to pick up salt for pickling your vegetables, you can always go for a jolly old stroll down to your local ocean and boil some saltwater to make your own sea salt. Though if you happen to live in the middle of a large country, crying onto a jar and letting it dehydrate might be quicker.
Hi from Australia! Very clear explanatio, quick and simple. I’ve been water bath canning since late last year, but my partner Craig canned with me for the first time last Wednesday, so I will show him this to make sure he understands the process! Thank you!
thanks for the video!! i have some questions as a first-timer: - for one of my batches, i didn't bring my brine to a simmer, i just poured it in very hot. is that bad? - for the water bath portion, is it best to bring the water to a boil and then put the jars in? i put them in and waited for the water to come to a boil, which added about ~10 min - do the veggies inside actually 'cook' due to the water bath?
- is it normal for the veggies to have floated up in the water bath when taking them out? will they 'settle'? - is it normal for the veggies to reduce in volume a lot after the water bath? i packed a jar pretty full (leaving headroom), but the veggies appear to have decreased in size by about 40% in the process
It's probably best to have the brine to a simmer, but pouring it in very hot would be fine I'm sure. When placing into the water, it's best to wait until the water has come to a boil. However, if you put them in early, brought things to a boil, and then counted time from that point then you should be fine. The veggies don't so much cook as the microbial life gets killed off, so it stays safer for longer. Though, I guess, there is some cooking involved given the heat of everything. Veggies may float up a bit but I'm sure they'll settle eventually. I haven't noticed veggies reducing in volume before, but I guess this can happy and, so long as the produce was nice and fresh, I don't think this is something to worry about.
Thank you so much for this as a person who has never done canning but very interested to try it and I'm glad I found your video very helpful. New Subscriber ❤❤❤
Yes, if you can vegetables with vinegar solution then you are essentially creating pickles. Still lovely though - especially after they have matured over a few months.
In the video I can beans by pickling them. You could can them without pickling, but you would need to pressure can them to be safe, as they have a low acid content.
Thank you for the video. Other videos say to boil the jars for 2 hours. That's a big difference! Is it because you added the garlic, cloves and vinegar, that you only need to boil the jars for 10 minutes? Thank you for the information.
Different recipes give different lengths of time. You really only need to raise the temperature for long enough to kill off any microbes - and the recipe reckoned 10 minutes, probably because of the vinegar solution, which makes it all a lot safer. But be guided by individual recipes.
Great video! I read that the new jar lids should not be boiled or heated and that they just need to be cleaned as the rubber seal is not as durable or as hard as they used to be.
I looked into this in some detail. The lids I am using are from Kilner, a UK-based company. They ask that the lids be sterilised (not just cleaned), hence putting them in very hot (but not boiling water). But I understand official advice in the US is that they just be cleaned. I think just cleaning them would be fine, as obviously the lid will be raised to a hot temperature anyhow when it goes into the water bath after filling.
@@GrowVeg From the US, thank you for this information! I have been boiling my lids, and it appears I may not have to, just clean them (new lids = quick wash with soap & hot water). Also, I won't re-use a lid, ever. I don't trust the sealing integrity. Rings are forever :)
Apparently there is a greater chance of Kilner lids not sealing if you don't heat them up before use. From experience I think this has to be true - I was beginning to despair as out of every batch I had at least a couple despite having cleaned the rims & checked for cracks & chips. Having to reprocess jars is an inconvenience I can do without!
Does by adding the vinegar does this pickle them I don’t like pickled foods I just would like regular vegetables, so learning I need all the help and patience as possible haaa♥️😊
Hi April. Yes, adding the vinegar creates a sort of pickle - quite acid to start with. If you don't like pickles, I would look at pressure canning instead.
I'm not sure about that. It could possibly work, but I'd seek out specific recipes for the vegetables you wish to can. You want to increase the general acidity of the environment so the produce will store safely.
I've been canning dandelion jelly and lilac jelly. Apparently the kettle canning that my mother did with jams and jellies, is no longer the recommended way to can. I will have to reheat my product and do it in a pot as you have shown.
