Home Water Bath Canning Essentials

For the past 25+ years I’ve been doing home canning. Luckily for me…I’ve had 2 great teachers in my life…my grandmother and my father-in-law who both taught me the basics & then I took that knowledge and expanded it by attending some local classes and reading books on home canning. Over the years, I’ve greatly improved on my skills.

Many people think that it’s expensive to get into home canning and/or difficult to learn. I’m here to tell you that yes…there is an initial financial investment in buying the kitchen equipment and supplies that you need but they pay for themselves pretty quickly. Furthermore, once you have learned the basics you can quickly expand upon them.

For those who are looking for a great resource I highly recommend the Ball Blue Book – Guide to Preserving. It’s my home canning bible! It includes a list of supplies and equipment that you need, step-by-step instructions with photos on how to get started and tons & tons of recipes to help you along the way.

When it comes to water bath canning…here is a list of the things you will need:

* Boiling Water Canner (also called a Water Bath Canner)
* Glass Mason Jars for Canning
* Jar Seals and Bands
* Jar Funnel
* Jar Lifter (special tongs made for lifting jars out of water)
* Bubble Remover
* Lid Lifter
* Colander
* Large Mixing Bowls
* Old Kitchen Hand Towels
* Ladle, Serving Spoon and Slotted Spoon
* Hot Pads & Oven Mitts
* Kitchen Timer
* Labels for the Jars & Black Sharpie Markers

Everything listed above is what I keep in my home canning storage box. I found it best to go out and buy a Rubbermaid tote to house it all (except for the jars). Once you have made your initial investment, the ONLY thing you will need to buy from season-to-season is new jar seals. Your mason jars and bands are reusable.

Before you start any home canning session you need to inspect all of your supplies and make sure they are in good working order before using them. That includes making sure everything is extremely clean!

You can find all kinds of great tutorials online for home canning along with various canned food recipes.

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