Getting Ready for the Canning Season

Once June rolls around, my mind immediately starts thinking about canning and preserving all the many fruits and vegetables that will soon be available across West Michigan.

My stockpile is running pretty low {the picture above is from last summer} so I’ll most likely be doing a good amount of canning this summer and fall — don’t worry, I’ll share my progress and the delicious recipes!

However, right now, I want to focus on gearing up and getting ready for the canning season — because as you probably know, canning and preserving does take a some organization. It’s not difficult or complicated, I guarantee you can do it, but planning ahead will make is SO much easier and more enjoyable.

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1. Decide what you want to preserve:

Do you love bread and butter pickles? Have you always wanted to preserve cherries, salsa, tomatoes, or a certain type of jam?  If so, then put those things at the top of your list.

I like to make my list from the most important to the least important. For example, I only have a few jars of applesauce left so I will definitely need to put that at the top of my list. I’m also running low on salsa, tomatoes, and raspberry jam. I would love to can cherries and apricots, but those are at the bottom of my list but we don’t “need them” this year.

NOTE: If you’ve never done any canning before, I would suggest starting with jam. It’s one of the easiest and cheapest foods to can… especially if you can get free berries!

Here are a few of my favorite jam recipes — and here’s a microwave jam recipe that you can make in just about 30 minutes!

 

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2. Figure out when the produce is available:

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you exactly when the produce in your area will be available because so much depends on the weather, the natural climate for your area, and even the actual farms.

One good suggestion is to look in your local paper’s Classified Ads because there is usually a “Food” section. Once you start seeing specific fruits and veggie popping up in the Classified Ads, you know it’s available!

Another idea is to search for local orchards or farms in your area and simply ask them when the produce will be available.

One reason it’s important to know when the produce is available is because some of the growing seasons are very short. Last year, the strawberry season in Michigan was only a few weeks, but I could get fresh apples well into the fall and winter months. So I made sure to do strawberries right away and saved apples for when I was less busy.

 

3. Research where you will get your produce:

Will you grow your own, buy from a farmer’s market, get it directly from the farm, or purchase it from the store?

Obviously, the cheapest option is growing your own and the most expensive option is purchasing it from a grocery store, but any form of produce will work.

Yesterday, I talked about all sorts of free summer activities for kids — and if you’re looking for one more, why not find a local U-Pick farm and head out for the morning to pick your own fruit. This is a very economical way to acquire mass amounts of produce and it really doesn’t take as long as you might think. Visit PickYourOwn.org to find U-Pick farms in your area.

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4. Make a date:

Once you know WHAT you want to preserve, WHEN that produce is available, and WHERE you will get it from; then you need to decide on a specific date…and make sure to set that date aside.

For example, I’ll be picking strawberries from a local U-pick farm in a few weeks and the plan is to come right home and start washing and mashing that same day! By the end of the day, I’ll have several of jars of fresh strawberry and strawberry-rhubarb jam.

One thing I really want to stress, is you want to preserve the fruit as soon as possible after you pick it — this locks in more flavor and nutrients.

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5. Enlist some help:

At first, the whole canning process can be a bit overwhelming — but I promise it’s a lot easier with some help.

When I first got married and started canning “on my own” I asked my mom to help me the first few times. Now, a few years later, I can easily do it by myself, but it’s still really nice to have  a little help. So thankfully between my mom, mother-in-law, my grandma, and even Dave {sometimes} I almost always have an extra set of hand to peel, stir, chop, fill jars, or whatever else I need.

 

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6. Gather your supplies:

If you’ve been canning for a while, you probably have everything you need {except the fruit}. If you’re just starting out, you might have to purchase a few things up front; but don’t worry, you’ll be able to reuse them over and over again.

Here’s a very basic list to get you started {and you might be able to find some of these things at garage sales}

• Canning Jars — there are so many different sizes to choose from
• Rings & Lids
• A Canner
• A few handy tools like a funnel, tongs, etc — I like this 7-piece kit
• Large pans, bowls, spoons, spatulas, strainers, etc
• Lots of towels and rags to clean up!

You may also want to ask a friend or relative if you can borrow some of their equipment before you make a large investment.

7. Be realistic:

Even if you are a seasoned “canner” it’s still wise to be realistic with the amount of time and resources you have available. Canning is definitely NOT as difficult or as time consuming as most people think, but it still requires a chunk of focused time — or many chunks of focused time, depending on how many different foods you want to preserve.

Every year I make my list of foods I want to preserve and every year, there are always a few things that I don’t follow through with. Life happens, we get busy, we go on vacation, or something else comes up and then it’s too late. Oh well, there’s always next year… right?

 

Here are some of the recipes and resource I’ve posted already:

• Apricots  – 9/27/2010
• Apple Butter — 9/27/2010
• Berry Jams {6 varieties}– 9/27/2010
• Jam {The Basics} – 7/1/2010
• Peaches & Pears — 9/27/2010
• Simple, Microwave Jam — 3/12/2011
• Tomatoes — 9/11/2010

• Herb Reference Sheet – A list of common herbs, how to preserve them, and how to use them in your cooking.
• Vegetable Freezing Chart — How to freeze and preserve a variety of vegetables from A to Z.
• Recommended Processing Times — A handy list of processing times for canning fruits and veggies.

I’ll hopefully be adding several more to this list over the next few months!

Will you do any canning this year? What items are on your list?

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