We’re heading into canning season in the next few months! If you’re a beginner or a seasoned vet, now’s time to check and make sure that you have all the canning supplies you need. The boiling water method is a great place to start.
Make sure that you have these canning supplies:
- Canning jars with two-part lids (gasket & ring/band): These jars are specially designed for canning and come with a gasket and a ring/band that helps to seal the jar.
- A pot that is approximately 3-4 inches taller than the height of your mason jars: This pot is used to process the jars, and it should be tall enough to keep the jars completely submerged in the water.
- Wide mouth funnel: This tool makes it easy to fill the jars with food and liquids.
- Magnetic lid lifter (optional): This tool makes it easy to remove the lids from the boiling water.
- MESS Canning Labels: These labels are perfect for labeling your jars and keeping track of the contents.
- Canning rack: This rack is used to raise the jars off the bottom of the pot, and it should be the correct size to fit in the pot.
- Food Mill (optional): This tool is used to strain seeds and skin from fruits and vegetables.
- Bubble Popper (a spatula is fine): this tool is used to remove any bubbles from the liquid before sealing the jar.
- Canning Recipe Book: This book is a great resource for new canners and contains a list of beginner-friendly recipes and instructions.
Hopefully this list helped you – for your first time canning I recommend finding someone who has canned fruit, vegetables, or meat before. If they’re not available, invest in a good canning recipe book or a beginner’s canning book which contains a list of newbie canning supplies. There are a lot of elements to canning that can be a bit touchy, like the high heat, glass, and pressure – so make sure you’re following instructions closely.
One of our favorite canning recipes is for pickled carrots. They’re crunchy, salty, sweet, and pickle-y (with a little bit of spice, if you want). Here’s our favorite recipe. If you have any questions about canning, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@messbrands.com. Happy canning!
