Food Preservation

Learning how to home can food as well as how to dry food have become lost arts that we want to bring back as part of creating our Traditional Foods Kitchens. One of the easiest ways to get started with home canning is to learn how to water bath can. This process does not require any special equipment in the way pressure canning does. You’ll start with a large pot, a rack, some canning jars with lids and bands, and a stovetop for boiling water. That’s it. Now keep in mind, the general rule is that you can water bath can high-acid foods. These include jams, jellies and marmalades, pickles, relishes, salsas and tomatoes. 

Being able to dry or dehydrate foods is a boon to both our Working Pantry and our Prepper Pantry. Vegetables, fruits, and sourdough starter all dry beautifully. Some can be air dried, others oven dried, while some do best in an electric dehydrator. But once you begin drying foods you will find that having a plentiful supply in your pantry, will make meal time a snap! 

Frequently Asked Questions and Concerns

The Amish water bath can all types of foods, why can’t I?

Yes, you will often here that not only the Amish but other home canners will use water bath canning methods to home can both high-acid foods and low-acid foods (which are normally pressure canned). The water bath canning time is simply extended in the hope that all bacteria will be killed. The only problem with this method, at least here in the US., is that National Center for Home Food Preservation does not recommend this option. Therefore, I do not recommend it either. As a matter of food safety, it’s best to water bath can high-acid foods and pressure can low-acid foods.

Tip

As you learn how to water bath can, you will often hear the term finger-tip tight. This means that when you place the band on your jar and screw it on, you do not want to use brute force! All you simply want to do is turn the band until you feel resistance and then tighten it slightly from that point. This is finger-tip tight. The only job of the band is to keep the canning lid in place and to allow for air to escape during the canning process. This way, when the canning jar is removed from the hot water, and a vacuum seal is created by the change in temperature, the air will have escaped from the jar during the canning process and now the canned food will stay fresh and not be degraded by any air in the jar.