Home canning

Home canning, also known colloquially as putting up or processing, is the process of preserving foods, in particular, fruits, vegetables, and meats, by packing them into glass jars and then heating the jars to kill the organisms that would create spoilage.

Home canning is usually done in Mason jars, which are more resistant to heat and breakage than ordinary glass jars. Unless the food to be preserved has a high acid content, such as pickles, the filled jars are also processed under pressure in a canner, a type of pressure cooker. Canners often incorporate racks to hold Mason jars, and pressure canners are capable of achieving the elevated temperatures needed to prevent spoilage.

While it is possible to safely preserve many kinds of foodstuffs, home canning can expose consumers to botulism and other kinds of food poisoning if done incorrectly. Because of the high risk of illness or death associated with improper canning techniques, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) considers it critical that consumers who intend to can at home obtain proper and current information from a reliable source.

See also

• Canning
• Pickling
• Food preservation
• Pressure cooker

External links

• USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning
• Home canning equipment
• National Center for Home Food Preservation
• Richard Roller Papers, documents the history of glass manufacturing, with an emphasis on fruit and vegetable canning jars at the Ball State University Archives and Special Collections Research Center

References