This week I canned my own food for the first time. You know what? it was easier than I thought it would be. I know happily have 11 canned jars sitting in my food pantry. Have you ever tried canning your own food? Here is what I learned.
First of all I needed something to can. For my experience, I didn’t specifically set out to can, but I realized that it was the best option for my apple butter. (You can check out the recipe here.) The first batch I made went directly into the refrigerator and to friends, so there was no worry there. The apple butter could keep for a while in the refrigerator, but over time the flavor would change, so I didn’t want to keep too much on hand.
I needed to create another batch of apple butter, because I still had quite a few organic apples left over. And although apple butter is yummy, there is only so much of it that could be eaten at one time. Plus, I wanted the family to be able to enjoy it over the winter and spring too.
One thing I learned about canning is that you need new lids each time you do it, in order to make sure that the seal is perfect and no bacteria gets into your food. Luckily jars with their lids and rings were on sale, so I picked up a dozen. I used Bell jars, the premium name in canning and an American made product.
Next came washing everything in hot soapy water and rinsing well. This is important and shouldn’t be skipped, even if the jars were washed another time and put away. You don’t want any dust or bacteria hanging around.
Now the real work began. Check back tomorrow to see what my next steps were.