100+ Canning Recipes

David Trammel's picture

I want to try canning this Summer. This looks like a good resource to bookmark.

https://practicalselfreliance.com/canning-recipes/?

I've got quite a few books on preserving food, now I just need to get the equipment. Might be hard to get though, with so many people at home and gardening.

Blueberry's picture

Some foods can be canned using a boiling bath . Pressure canners are like gold at this time. David I do not see the place to send you a private email. Please send me a private message and I will respond.

mountainmoma's picture

What types of foods do you want to can ? Can you buy the ball blue book ? This is a good place to start for recipes. I also like to use Pomonas pectin to can jams and such that need thickening, I buy it in bulk as it keeps forever, it comes with a sheet of instructions, that way I have lower sugar jams.

Here you go, get one of the slightly older, used Ball blue books here at Abes Books https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?cm_sp=SearchF-_-TopNavISS...

You dont want to go ancient, but these 2013 aged books will be good

You can use any large pot to water bath can in if you have a rack, like this, to keep the glass jars not touching the bottom of the bot, and the pot has to be tall enough to have the water 2 inches over the top of the jars

https://pleasanthillgrain.com/canning-rack

The following type will last longer than a "granny ware" type canning pot, if you have the money. We bought my dd one like this as a wedding present https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Multi-Use-Temperature-Indicator-VKP1130...

But, your local hardware store may have something too

mountainmoma's picture

I did not know that the All AMerican site sold other canning supplies. But they do, so there is a kit that would be the cheapest starter kit, get at least the 21 quart grannyware, canning tools, ball blue book for $55. A grannyware canning pot will last for many years if you dont ding it up and dry it all off after use. The racks will rust first, the pots will rust where the enamel gets dinged, but can still be used with small dings, so in all you do get many years, but not forever like the all american pressure canners. In stock. https://www.allamericancanner.com/wbkits.htm

mountainmoma's picture

I have an all american, a rather tall one that can do 2 layers of quarts, not that I do anything larger than 2 layers of pint jars. It is very safe, I have canned chicken, broth, and various vegetarian soups and carrots. The first recipes I used to pressure can were the recipes that cam with the all american canner, it comes with thourough instructions, and also there are a few recipes in my Ball Blue Book. I still use a light weight steam canner ( I know, the USDA does not recomend steam canning) for all my water bath canning, and only pull out the heavy All American when I need to pressure can. I like that the All American will never break and needs no gaskets. https://www.allamericancanner.com/All-American-Pressure-Canners.htm

All AMerican has canners in stock, and that Amazon link in my last post was in stock also

If you are going to get an All American, just get the "kit" comes with both the All American book and the latest Ball Blue book, plus the tools to make dealing with the jars easier, and these tools you realy do want. https://www.allamericancanner.com/15-Quart-Pressure-Canning-Kit.htm

I have a 930, you might want to at least get a 925 if you ever think you would can fish. Where my dd lives, the women can fish. It is easy, like canning chicken is easy.

Good use of the gubmint check.....

ClareBroommaker's picture

Another good source for canning (and other means of food preservation) information is the US Department of Agriculture. The preservation methods (with emphasis on food safety) they have arrived at over the decades is published online by the University of Georgia. Their canning info is at https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html. There is a lot of info there.

You can also buy all that exact info published as a book, Complete Guide to Home Canning . My mate and I always can together. He prefers to use to the charts and directions online; I prefer the book. If the university sponsor of the online publication goes down, he will be glad I have it on paper. The paper publication can be bought at Purdue University https://edustore.purdue.edu

So this and the Ball Blue Book are my go-to's. The Ball book is sold every spring-summer at grocery stores and I see it at Target every year, right next to the canning supplies.

I agree with mountainmoma about the All American pressure canners. I really like never having to buy a seal for it in my life.

mountainmoma's picture

There is a new ball canning book, with "fancy" recipes, and some general charts too. A recipe that is in it that we like alo,t and give as gifts, that only needs water bath canning is carrot habanero butter. Funny name, great taste. Also a good way to can carrots. This recipe can be water bath canned because it has vinegar and lime juice which makes it acidic, like when you make pickles. When vegetables have the right amount of acid added, you can water bath can safely and do not need to pressure can. Normally all vegetables (not tomatoes, which are realy a fruit) need to be pressure canned. SO, carrot hababero butter is used somewhat like salsa, I used some tonight on my black bean tacos. Carrots are the carrier, and it is orange, and a paste, very well flavored with lime juice, cilantro and a small amount of habanero, cooked and blended together before being canned to be shelf stable. I can this in little 1/2 cup, 4 oz, jars so that if there were refrigeration problems it could be used up quickly, maybe in a meal with 4 people. Normally used over a couple meals for just me, but doesnt go bad or sit forever in the fridge.

Other nice condiment recipes to preserve vegetables with a water bath canner are pickles, pickle relish, I do pickle relish in 4 oz jars too. I also like chow chow, corn relish and mexican style pickled vegetables. Chow chow is sliced cabbage, cauliflower, onion, bell pepper, pickling spices, etc.... corn relish is mostly corn kernels with some onion pepper spices, mexican pickled vegetables for us is sliced carrots, onion, pepper slices . These other condiments I do in 1 cup, 8 oz jars as my family is grown, others might do a quart at once.

Besides preserving the harvest, this can jazz up otherwise boring meals.

mountainmoma's picture

I just used up the last jar of chocolate cherry jam the other week, this was a gift from my other dd. Turns out it is fantastic on homemade goat yogurt. Just a spoonful. It is also great with buttered toast with afternoon tea. Easy to make. cherries and cocoa powder, realy make simple foods into a treat. That recipe was also from teh new ball canning book.

I have used many recipes from food in jars, a few canning, and also just other gift ideas ( like browned butter walnut toffee for christmas gifts) https://foodinjars.com/

I would recommend any of her canning recipes

Ball also gives out some of its recipes for free on their web site, here is a recipe from their site for a jalepeno heavy mexicna pickle recipe https://www.freshpreserving.com/blog/home-style-pickled-jalapenos

I do not just use random recipes off line for pcikles or other canning where I need the ratios to be correct ot be safe, these two places have safe recipes. But, you can double check new recipes by comparing to known sources to make sure the ratio of acid ( like vinegar) to vegetable matter is correct spicing changes are fine

Does anyone here can on a glass-top electric stove?

That's what I have and I can't afford to replace it anytime soon. The glass-top also doubles the usable counter space in my kitchen from 4 square feet to about 8 square feet.

I've been afraid to put all that weight on the glass cooktop.

Any suggestions?

Blueberry's picture

Please do not try. 2 families in my area tried to can on a glass-top stove. The repair bill was like you need a new stove. Sorry for the bad news. A standard electric stove the burner life will be very short like the second time canning. We set a 2 burner gas cook top on the back porch for canning. This one https://www.agrisupply.com/carolina-cooker-double-burner-cast-iron-stove...

ClareBroommaker's picture

This reminds me: I think I read in All American directions the come with the canner that there is one type gas or liquid fuel that should not be used with the product. Something that burns so hot that it warps the pot, or something like that. I don't think I saved those directions or I'd look it up. It must have been an uncommon fuel, though, because I've never seen it mentioned on the internet. But those directions All American packs in a shipment appear to have been written in the 1940s, so maybe that fuel was more common 70 & 80 years ago.

mountainmoma's picture

The new versions of the maual must have taken that out, as I looked all through my All American book, and can find nothing that refers to type of stove or fuel, or any warnings of a particular type. I do not know what that could have been, I cannot think of any fuel that would be used in a cook stove that would do that as many normal cooking pans are also made of aluminum. Some unusual fuel.

Propane, natural gas, heating oil( diesel) , kersosene, denatured alcohol would all be operating at temp below warping or melting of aluminum ?

mountainmoma's picture

Canning on standard electric burners is fine and does not kill the burners. I have been canning, including pressure canning, on regular resistance, coil type electric burners for over 20 years. It does not lower the lifespan any more than any other cooking.

mountainmoma's picture

I dont think I would use a full pressure canner though. The problem is weight, or moving the weight and hitting hte stove top. If you cook a realy large pot of pasta, that would be the same risk as a water bath canner. But, the canning pot she has is multi-purpose, like that Amazon link I did above, the stainless steel pot is used by her for regular cooking ( like steaming christmas tamales) large batch for the chili cook-off, and for canning. It can be used to water bath can or to steam can, by turning the rack over, since it has a built in temperature gauge on top. I usually steam can at home, too, even though I do not have a glass top stove, just due to my problem carrying heavy objects. I have never had a problem steam canning vs. water bath canning, and I have friends who steam can also. Remember that anything that can be water bath canned cannot grow botulism, it is impossible. So there is no health risk to steam canning. So she cans jams, pickles, corn relish, cranberry sauce ( that is a major crop where she lives) mexican style pickled vegetables, etc... every year on the glass top stove in her rental house.

This brand, and this style is the exact one my dd owns and uses, stainless steel, multi-use, victorio brand https://www.harvestessentials.com/victorio-stainless-steel-multi-use-can...

SOme people I know around here, even though they have a regular electric stove, like me, can outside. It is just so hot here during peak harvest time, and we do not have air conditioning, most of us. So, they have one of those heavy duty 2 burner propane portable set ups, their has short legs and they use on a table outside, I have canned with them. This propane burner set up, stored easily in the garage when not in use, is also their back-up cooking source for power outages, since they have an all electic house, like I do. We get power outages routinely, usually they happen in winter, when we can heat up food on our wood stoves that we use for space heating. But, sometimes now they are turning off our power when it is hot. Then we need a way to cook outside, like a solar oven or burners like theirs ( I have a small rocket stove burner that burns sticks off the ground, and my solar oven to cook outside if it is hot)

Sweet Tatorman's picture

Here is what the All American Pressure Canner folks say about it: "All American Pressure Canners are not recommended for use on glass top/ flat ranges without first checking with your stove manufacturer because their weight may cause the glass/ceramic to break. The diameter of the canners are larger than most burners and may cause heat to transfer outward and damage the surrounding surface." I have several of these including the largest model which holds up to 19 quart jars and weighs 33 lbs empty. A filled 1 quart mason jar weighs 3 lbs so this canner filled with 19 quarts would weigh in at 90 lbs before adding the water. I don't think I have ever filled mine to capacity but have used it for years on a conventional exposed coil stove and have replaced the most commonly used coil once in 15 years.

I've been canning on a glass-top electric stove for 20 years and haven't had any problems with the weight of a standard boiling-bath canner. The only problem I had was in making jelly one year. I let it boil over and the syrup was hot enough to damage the glass. The damage was only cosmetic, though, and didn't effect the operation of the burner. You have to be careful when setting the canner on the stove or taking it off and be sure not to drop it or slide it very much.

I Guess I won't take the risk.

My glass-top stove must be 25 years old (it came with the house when we moved in July of 2001).

If and when we replace it, I'll have to look into something else, although having that extra bit of counter space is very, very useful.

Whoever redesigned my kitchen back in 1985 was a moron who didn't understand the need for contiguous, usable counter space.