Canning Preparation: Canning Tips and Tools

The economy has me looking for ways to save money, and recent world events have me looking for ways to avoid processed foods. I did the math and realized that if I made my own jam this year, I could save as much as $150 (my family eats a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches). The strawberries are almost ready and I'm planning on canning 18 lbs. of strawberries into jam in a few weeks. From my research, here are the tips I'm finding and the tools I'm reading are essential.

• I picked a jam recipe because it requires no pectin. It's just pure fruit and sugar. And 1/2 the sugar can be replaced with natural honey.
• Jam requires no straining of seeds, as jelly does. (Can you tell I'm going for easy?)
• Do NOT try to double the recipe for jam. It turns out it won't cook in the same way as a smaller batch, so the jam may not jell, and then you'd be left with strawberry syrup. This means I'll be cooking my 18 lbs. of strawberries in 2 quart batches. It's going to be a long day.
• The amount of natural pectin (the stuff that makes the jam jell) is higher in fruit that is less ripe, and lower in fruit that is more ripe. Less pectin means I won't have to cook it as long. Let's hope the strawberries aren't overripe.
  
• Strawberry jam is not a low-acid food, so it does not require a pressure cooker. Just 10 minutes of boiling in a water-bath canner will create a secure lid seal. 
• Since jam has no pectin, the cooking time will vary. To gauge when it's done, I will use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature, and watch for the jam to pass a sheet test (when the jam falls off a cool spoon in a sheet rather than in drops), and a plate test (when a dab of the liquid is jam consistency after cooling on a plate to room temperature). 
• Required tools:
  
  • a food scale to ensure exact measurements (the more exact the measurements the less chance of my jam becoming syrup),
  • measuring cups and pitchers
  • a large saucepot with a thick bottom to keep the sugary-jam mixture from burning, 
  • a slotted spoon or a skimmer to remove any foam from the top of the jam before it's put it in the jars (bubbles can cause spoilage)
  • a canning funnel with a mouth sized to fit the jar you're using (pint, quart, and 1/2 pint are the traditional jar sizes).
  • a spatula (to help all the jam into the jar)
  • a lid lifter (to cleanly lift the lids onto the jars without contamination)
  • a jar lifter (to left hot jars out of the water-bath canner)
  • a water-bath canner

If you have tips you'd like to share or questions you'd like answered, please send them in and I'll address them in my next post.

--Martha Snodgrass

For more canning tips and tools check out Amazon's Canning Store.