Taking a canning class!!

[On Our own]

I signed up for a canning class at the extension office at the local university. I am really looking forward to it.

Any tips or advice on what to expect or look for??

I only canned jelly for the first time last year so I am a rank novice at this.

 

[love blrw]

You can read up on Ball's website under Preserver Club for ideas. If it is a good teacher you will be able to hear her/him explain similar things you have read on the Ball forum.
Wear older clothes and shoes and have fun!

 

[freemotion]

You'll be an expert in no time flat! Don't get overwhelmed, just have fun, and know that it will become second-nature, like everything else you are good at.

I like the widemouth jars, and got a bunch of those. My canner holds more of the regular mouth jars, and that is what I mostly choose to use now, since I want to get as many in there while I have to babysit it for a couple hours.....but it is a pressure canner. And the regular lids are cheaper. Wish I'd stuck with the regular jars exclusively.

 

[On Our own]

So help me pick a canner!!

 

[love blrw]

I water bath, I don't have a pressure canner. I only do high acid foods, pickles and jams and jelly and preserves.

 

[freemotion]

As for pressure canners, if I had a gas stove, I'd probably have an All American. They are more expensive, but look like they would last for generations!

I have a ceramic-top stove, so the biggest canner I can safely use without risking cracking my stove top is the Presto 23-quart, which holds 23 quarts of water, not jars. It holds 7 quart jars, or twenty regular mouth pints, in two layers.

I am waiting the arrival of my second one. I got the first one in August. The addiction/obsession progressed pretty rapidly for me!

I will be using the pot with my big stock pot to set up a double-boiler for when I make cheese this week, my first three-gallon batch. So it will do double-duty.

It can also be used for boiling-water bath canning, and as a gigantic stock pot.

It was $98 at Walmart, I ordered it online and had it shipped to the store to avoid paying for the shipping. Ace hardware will do the same thing.

 

[modern_pioneer]

Free I have a couple canning questions.....

Double stack the pint jars, is there a special rack?

On jams and jellys, can I just double the recipe in order to fill enough jars to double stack?

TIA

 

[me&thegals]

I'm really enjoying my steam canners. They use about 6 cups water, hold 7 quarts at a time and can WAY faster, which is really nice when you have about 50 quarts of salsa to get canned and actually want to get to bed before 2 a.m.

 

[On Our own]

Yeah, I looked into steam canners, aren't they limited as to what you can use them to can???

I have a ceramic top stove too. Thanks for giving me a heads up that this could be an issue!

 

[TanksHill]

Free I have a couple canning questions.....

Double stack the pint jars, is there a special rack?

On jams and jellys, can I just double the recipe in order to fill enough jars to double stack?

TIA

I think most jam recipies do not recomend doubling. They say the jam may not set. I have never tried it though.