Small Batch Canning Guide

My desire to preserve food was the next step in my journey towards more sustainable eating.  After several seasons of CSA membership and farmer's market patronship, I wanted to find a way to capture the summer's flavors for the dark days of winter.  The summer of 2010 I canned my first pickle.  I then moved on to whole tomatoes, peach sauce and preserves and then apple sauce in the fall.
I wasn't ready to invest in the canning setup that pros like Jane @ Thy Hand use to churn out family sustaining batches of canned goods.  Instead, I searched for a way to dip my toe into the waters of home preserving.  Marisa @ Food in Jars has a post about how to can using minimal equipment. I followed her lead.   Here I'll show you my setup for an easy and frugal entry into canning at home.  At the end of the post, I'll list my most referenced step-by-step canning tutorials.


The pot: a $25 ChefMate stockpot from Target.

The tools:
wide mouth jars
wide mouth rings (reuseable)
wide mouth lids (one time use only)
jar lifter/tongs
citric acid (for canning tomatoes)


All of these were purchased at Fisher Hardware in Springfield but I have seen a well stocked canning section in the garden department Lowes in Alexandria. One 12-pack of wide mouth pint jars with lids and rings is about $11. Instead of buying a rack I arrange 5 spare rings on the bottom of the pot (a la this).  I chose to go all wide mouth, for simplicity and flexibility.  The wide mouths are easier to fill without the need for a funnel and they can go in the freezer.  The only items that you will need to restock are jars and lids.

You can Can! It's a productive hobby whose rewards you will reap all year.

Canning How To Resources:
Food in Jars Canning 101 Posts (browse the rest of the site too it's my fav canning resource)
National Center for Food Preservation (the mother of all things perserving at home)
Pick Your Own.org (also a great resource for, you guessed it, finding pick-your-own farms)
Thy Hand Hath Provided (she's a homesteader who relies on her canned food to feed a family of 5)

What does your DIY canning setup look like?  Is canning something you plan on trying?  If so, applesauce is the best virgin canner's project.  Lucky you apple season is upon us!