This post contains affiliate links to Amazon and other companies that will reward me monetarily or otherwise when you use them to make qualifying purchases. For more information please refer to my disclaimer page. Thank you for your support.

Years ago, when we first moved into this old house, I decided I wanted to learn how to can different foods. I especially wanted to learn how to can jam.  As I would meet people that knew how to do this, I would ask them about the process of canning.  And I would tell them that I’d like to learn how.  But I could never get anyone to take the time to teach me. 

In fact, they often stared at me like I had grown an extra head or possibly a third eye.  Then they’d say something like, “That’s an awful lot of hot work honey.”  I couldn’t tell if they thought I was incapable of doing it or if they just hated doing it so much themselves that they didn’t want to burden me with it.

Well, this city girl felt a bit out of place.  I wanted to learn how to can jam like the rest of the small-town ladies!

I was determined

And I was determined.  My desire to “put up” food in this way only grew.

Thing is, if I was going to learn how to do it, I wanted to make sure I did it right.  I was absolutely terrified of giving my kids botulism or something close to it.  So, I decided to listen to the advice I had hammered into my kids,” If you learn how to read well, you can learn how to do just about anything.”   I could certainly read!  So, I went to work.

Internet access brought this information pretty much to my fingertips.  I began my research!

It’s a process

In order to learn the process of canning, I spent a lot, and I mean A LOT, of time searching the internet for information on it.    There are some really informative sites out there in cyber space.  One of the best places to start, in my opinion, is the National Center for Home Food Preservation.  Go right to the source, yes?  They have all kinds of information on this page.  They walk you through the process as well as give you recipes. 

If you have never canned before and want to start, you should definitely go to this section and read at least some of it.

As I said, I spent a lot of time reading and re-reading the info here.  This is where I learned that there is a simple process to can foods.  And this process is learnable.  Hard work? Sure.  Hot?  Yes.  But one that I could do.

Step by step

It became clear that if you wanted to get the desired result, you needed to follow the process, step by step.  I wanted to learn how to can jam. So that is the process I studied.

At the time, I probably didn’t understand the importance of some of the things I learned.  Sure, it made sense to use only the best fruit.  But I had to become very picky about not using anything that was bruised or old at all.  It is very important to use ripe, but not overly ripe, fruit.

And of course, making sure everything is sterilized is super important.  I couldn’t just put the jars into the dishwasher and use them.  I had to boil those babies in the water bath canner before putting the jam into them.  And then, getting the air bubbles out and wiping the rims of the jars clean is necessary.  All of that immediately made good sense to me.  It was all very logical.

But one thing I just didn’t understand was the headspace for the recipes.  You may ask, “What is headspace?”  Easy answer:  It is the space between the surface of the food and the lid. 

I noticed that the space was different for certain recipes and different sized jars.  Finally, I looked it up here and what do you know?  That makes complete sense as well.   Every aspect of the canning process is very practical.  Being the “bottom-line” kinda person that I am, I like that.  I don’t like fluff.

The right tool for the job

You also need the right tools for the job.  There are things like a water bath canner and jars with lids and certain utensils that you really need to have in order to “put up” your fruit.  If you are cheap, some may say frugal, like me, you might think you don’t need these things.  And true, you don’t have to have special silicon gloves and a designated funnel to use.  But some of these things really are a necessity. 

To can jam you do need a water bath canner.  This is a very large, preferable flat-bottomed pot, that holds the jars that will be boiled.  It usually comes with a wire rack to put the jars on.  You will need canning jars with lids. These are jars made for canning.  Really, don’t try to reuse your mayonnaise jar! Just not a good idea.

A couple of other things I would strongly suggest you get would be a magnetic lid lifter, a jar lifter, and a bubble remover.  You can get these in a set, usually along with a funnel.  A good funnel will make it much, much easier, although it’s not a must-have item.

Grab a good recipe

Can It!

And of course, recipes.  Although I use my laptop and my phone and my kindle, I really prefer a book.  I’m pretty much a book-a-holic. I love books.  I love the smell of new books (weird, I know).  And I REALLY love recipe books. I’ve included links to some of the books that I have and some that look really good.

Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving, second revised edition

Whether or not you use a recipe online or from a book, make sure you use one.  There are certain amounts of the different types of food used that need to be in your jam or salsa or pickles to ensure that they “put up” right.   A good recipe will let you know this and make all the difference.

So, are you ready to can jam?  This spring I “put up” almost 30 jars of strawberry jam.  Some were actually strawberry lemon marmalade and others were strawberry kiwi jam. But they all will be delicious on homemade biscuits and bread.

My family loves the the jams, pickles, and salsa that I “put up”. And I enjoy providing homemade goodies for them.

And….I especially like being able to say, “I can can jam!”

I’m sure you can do it as well!