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Easy Canning Recipes for Noobs Who Want to Save Their Food

easy canning recipes

Have you ever wanted to preserve food with some easy canning recipes? Perhaps you are a keen gardener, and you would like to save some of that fabulous produce you have worked so hard to grow.

Maybe baking is your thing, and you would like to make your own jams and preserves to use with your cakes.

Canning represents the age-old art of preserving ingredients for future use and dates back to the Napoleonic wars of 1809. However, don’t feel intimidated because anyone may learn some simple canning techniques, and you may feel surprised by the variety of ingredients you can use.

Plus, once you master some easy canning recipes, you may find yourself trying out more advanced projects.

Easy Canning Recipes

You don’t need to be an expert to try out some easy canning recipes, and you may soon find your confidence growing once you attempt some easy recipes.

Start with some simple ingredients and techniques to discover a world of delicious canned foods that make fantastic gifts to give to friends and family. There is nothing more personal than giving the gift of a handmade product made with love and shared with joy.

Easy canning recipes include baked beans, strawberry jam, and simple garden vegetable recipes. Why not try canning tomatoes as the mainstay of your ingredient cupboard? Or you may soon find yourself canning jalapenos and making your own spaghetti sauce like a pro.

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What Is Canning?

Canning is the time-honored tradition of preserving food from spoilage by storing it in hermetically sealed containers. The technique requires heat to sterilize the contents adequately.

The canning technique came about from the need to send food to the front lines in the Napoleonic wars. Napoleon offered a reward for anyone who could come up with a method of providing food for his army that would not spoil or rot.

Consequently, a talented chef named Nicolas Appert developed the canning technique in 1809, and this method of preserving food remains with us to this day.

Continued popularity

Canning is something done at home by using water baths and glass jars with tight-fitting lids. In fact, if you have ever made jam or pickles, then you have experienced the art of canning.

While many of us find ourselves at home for extended periods, canning has never proved so popular during these strange circumstances. Additionally, many suppliers claim that canning supplies have dwindled dramatically because of the demand.

If you want to have a go at preserving, then we have some fantastic easy canning recipes for you to follow. However, before you start, you will need some equipment to prepare.

Recommended Read: How To Store Food In Buckets And Other Food Storage Questions

Essential Canning Equipment

Once you have the basics of starting your canning adventure, you may find yourself addicted to the technique. The prospect of opening a jar of homemade jam feels too tempting to resist. However, you will need some equipment to get started.

Mason jars

Mason jars form the essential requirement when you start canning. Wide mouth mason jars offer the most accessible vessel in which to store your produce, particularly for larger food items. However, if you intend to make some delicious sauces to preserve, regular mouth mason jars may be a perfect choice.

The jars should have a two-part lid comprised of a flexible metal top and a tightly fitting screw cap that keeps the metal top in place.

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A handy tip to remember

If you intend to freeze the fruits of your labor, then remember to leave a bit of headroom inside the jar. The contents will expand when frozen, and you don’t want to risk the jar breaking.

Water bath canner

A No products found. canner is a large container designed explicitly for the canning process. The large pot comes with a canning rack, which stabilizes your cans during the cooking process.

Also, because the canning rack prevents the glass jars from sitting on the bottom of the water bath, it prevents them from cracking.

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A bubble popper

You use a bubble popper before you seal the cans. To prevent bacterial infection within the jar, you must ensure the removal of any air bubbles that may lurk around the ingredients. You use the bubble popper to complete this process.

However, you may also use a cocktail stick or a wooden skewer to remove any trapped air.

The can lifter

The jars inside the water bath reach an extremely high temperature, and the last thing you want to do is touch them with your bare hands. Therefore, you will need a can lifter to remove the jars from the water bath.

The can lifter consists of rubber-coated tongs that allow you to gently remove the jars from the water bath in complete safety.

A wide-mouth funnel

When you experiment with easy canning recipes, you may find yourself dealing with hot sauces and syrups. A wide-mouth funnel allows for the safe and effortless transfer of hot liquids into the jars.

A stainless steel wide-mouth funnel will accommodate many sizes of ingredients and make life a lot easier when canning.

Use a large stockpot

Some recipes require the reduction of the water content within the ingredients. Easy canning recipes, such as strawberry jam, need cooking before you may can them. A large stockpot is invaluable for this process.

Keep in mind that the initial cooking process of particularly wet recipes profoundly affects the canned product’s shelf life.

Invest in a kitchen timer

A No products found. may be one of the most useful gadgets to use when canning. You don’t want to set everything to cook and then forget about it! So, use a kitchen timer because the alarm will alert you to the readiness of your canning.

Also, when preparing easy canning recipes such as jam and spaghetti sauce, the kitchen timer is invaluable.

Get yourself a magnetic lid lifter

The canning process involves the handling of hot objects. Therefore, safety should remain a key factor when you start. A magnetic lid lifter may allow you to place lids onto your hot jars safely.

And because you need to keep the process as sterile as possible, the lid lifter may make your job a lot easier. Cross-contamination and bacterial infection may result from your handling of the lids. So, a magnetic lid lifter is worth its weight in gold.

The Method Behind Our Madness

To present you with as many easy canning recipes as possible, we provide videos to give you visual inspiration.

If we listed all the ingredients and methods, then the list may only comprise one or two recipes. By presenting our recipes in video format, we can show you much more.

Also, videos form an especially useful learning tool, and you may find them more accessible to follow than an endless list of written instructions.

It really is easy

Don’t feel intimidated or nervous about having a go. Follow the easy instructions within each video to perfect your technique. With some handy hints and tips at your disposal, you may find yourself exploring some advanced recipes as you progress.

Let’s Explore Some Easy Canning Recipes for Beginners

Now that we have our equipment ready, it’s time to explore some easy canning recipes. We have deliberately chosen easy to follow, simple recipes for newbies to give you confidence and inspiration.

Easy recipe for canning jalapenos

Who doesn’t love that glorious fruity hit of a peppery jalapeno? Fantastic to use on homemade pizzas or in delicious chili beef, jalapenos form a mainstay of our store cupboards. By canning jalapenos, you may ensure a constant supply of these versatile and scrummy ingredients.

Canning tomatoes is a must

For everyone trying this method for the first time, canning tomatoes remains a priority. Many recipes rely on canned tomatoes, and making your own provides a great deal of satisfaction.

The classic canned baked beans

We all love baked beans. Why not have a go at making this family favorite yourself? Canning recipes for beginners may not feel complete without a baked bean recipe. Try experimenting with a few spices to give your baked beans a kick.

Strawberry jam classic

The thought of homemade strawberry jam sitting inside a homemade cake feels too delicious to resist. If you find yourself lucky enough to have a bunch of strawberries from your garden, then this recipe is perfect for you.

Easy and apple jelly

Apple in jelly is a match made in heaven. Use this easy canning recipe to make a fabulous accompaniment for roasted and cold meats. Just a touch of apple jelly served with a fresh caramelized onion tart may change your taste buds forever!

Canning dill pickles

Like canning jalapenos, canned dill pickles remain an essential canning recipe for beginners. Not only does the result taste fabulous, but canned dill pickles also form a versatile ingredient for so many dishes and salads.

Preserving garden vegetables

The recipe for canned garden vegetables may appeal to all those gardeners out there. What better way to extend your harvest than canning them for future use?

There is something deeply satisfying about growing your own vegetables and then canning them. You have had a hand in growing the produce and taken the trouble to preserve them. And your home-grown vegetables may taste all the better for it.

Canned spaghetti sauce

Homemade spaghetti sauce is a thing of pure joy. It forms the basics for many family favorites because it remains such a versatile ingredient. When you explore easy canning recipes for beginners, please give this a go because you will not regret it.

Try canned corn

Corn remains an essential element to our diets, and it’s delicious. Perhaps you grow corn on your homestead, and you find yourself with an abundance of this delightful ingredient. Canning corn proves an excellent and easy way to preserve your harvest for future use.

Sweet canned pickles

The delicious crunch of a sweet pickle offers a tasty treat that we may enjoy at any time of the year. With a few simple ingredients and an easy recipe, you may experience the joy of making your own sweet pickles.

Avoid Mistakes

Ensure you reach the correct temperature and meet the proper cooking times to avoid bacterial infections in your canned goods, like botulism. Hot water bath canning eliminates the spores when you hit the correct temperatures, so it remains essential to precisely follow the guidelines.

Do not use old lids for new batches of canned goods. While the rings remain useable after sterilizing, the old metal lids may have buckled and may not form a tight seal. So, experts recommend that you use new tops with every new batch of canned goods.

Recommended Read: The Best Emergency Food to Have in Your Storage

Exploring Easy Canning Recipes for Beginners

Canning is an age-old method for preserving food and remains as popular today as ever. With many of us dealing with tight budgets, home canning offers a technique to stretch the pennies while stocking up on some of your favorite ingredients.

Canning is easy when you follow some basic rules and simple recipes. Canning jalapenos will provide you with a bounty of useful ingredients for your cooking. Plus, by canning tomatoes, you may save money and bask in the satisfaction of making your own.

It is worth investing in some essential items of equipment to get yourself started. A good-quality water bath canner will see you through many recipes, and buying a good quantity of mason jars with the appropriate lids will spur you on to create no end of delicious goods.

Recipes such as canned spaghetti sauce and homemade baked beans may provide you with a great sense of achievement. And by exploring some easy canning recipes, you may find yourself inspired to explore more adventurous projects.

Do you have any canning recipes you would like to share? Why not comment in the space below and share your ideas with us?


Sean Kerr lives in Cardiff, Wales, and is a published author with over 10 novels to his name so far and still counting. As well as writing his next bestseller, Sean also runs a successful jewelry making business and sells his creations online. You’ll find more of Sean’s helpful home and garden articles at Simple Family Preparedness and Bee Keep Buzz.

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Katy Willis is a writer, lifelong homesteader, and master herbalist, master gardener, and canine nutritionist. Katy is a preparedness expert and modern homesteader practicing everyday preparedness, sustainability, and a holistic lifestyle.

She knows how important it is to be prepared for whatever life throws at you, because you just never know what's coming. And preparedness helps you give your family the best chance to thrive in any situation.

Katy is passionate about living naturally, growing food, keeping livestock, foraging, and making and using herbal remedies. Katy is an experienced herbalist and a member of the CMA (Complementary Medical Association).

Her preparedness skills go beyond just being "ready", she's ready to survive the initial disaster, and thrive afterward, too. She grows 100% organic food on roughly 15 acres and raises goats, chickens, and ducks. She also lovingly tends her orchard, where she grows many different fruit trees. And, because she likes to know exactly what she's feeding her family, she's a seasoned from-scratch cook and gluten-free baker.

Katy teaches foraging and environmental education classes, too, including self-sufficient living, modern homesteading, seed saving, and organic vegetable gardening.

Katy helps others learn forgotten skills, including basic survival skills and self-reliance.

She's been published on sites such as MSN, Angi, Home Advisor, Family Handyman, Wealth of Geeks, Readers Digest, and more.

Last update on 2024-03-29 at 01:14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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