Complete Guide to Home Canning

Key points:

• Meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables must be pressure canned. Processing them in a boiling-water canner carries a real risk of botulism.
• Acidity decides the method. Low-acid foods (pH above 4.6) go in a pressure canner; fruits, pickles, jams and jellies can go in a boiling-water canner. Tomatoes and figs need added lemon juice or citric acid first.
• At 1,000 feet or more, sea-level times may let food spoil. Use the time or pressure given for your altitude.
• Use up-to-date tested process times for the food, the way it is packed and the jar size, and follow them exactly.
• Check a dial gauge for accuracy every year, and replace it if it reads more than 2 pounds off.
• Open-kettle canning, and processing jars in an oven, microwave or dishwasher, are not recommended.

Who it's for: anyone canning at home for the first time, or checking an old family recipe against tested times.

How to use it: start with Guide 1, Principles of Home Canning, which explains why some foods need a pressure canner and others can go in a boiling-water bath. Then find your food in the Index of Foods, check your altitude first, and follow its steps and processing time exactly. “Do Your Canned Foods Pass This Test?” is a quick check for jars already on the shelf.

What to know: the processing times apply to the jar sizes and methods given; change the recipe or the jar and the time no longer applies. For altitude, the guide points to the Soil Conservation Service, which no longer exists under that name; ask your county Extension office.