Canning Supplies

Be prepared for the upcoming canning season! Not only do you need equipment but you also need spices and other items that may not be available if you wait too long.  During COVID canning lids and jars were very hard to come by and items like dill weed and vinegar often sell out when everyone's cucumbers are ripening.

So now is the time to stock up on items so all you have to do is harvest and can without lots of trips to the grocery store.

Canning Specific ingredients or items:

•  Liquid Pectin
• Powdered Pectin
• Low Sugar Pectin
• Pickle Crisp
• Pickling Salt
• Fruit Fresh or Citric Acid
• White Vinegar 5% acidity
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Lemon juice
• Sugar
• Distilled Water (for pickles)
• Freezer Bags
• Freezer Containers
• Jelly Strainer
• Jelly Bags
• Sauce maker
• Food mill
• Vacuum sealer for canning jars

Spices: 

These are ones I use a lot and buy in larger amounts and may be hard to come by when canning season begins.

• Basil
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Chili Powder
• Cumin
• Salt
• Canning Salt (no anti caking additives)
• Pepper
• Dill Seed
• Dill Weed
• Bay Leaf
• Mustard Seed
• Celery Seed
• Garlic Powder

Jars: 

Stock up on the size jars you use. You can reuse jars but check for chips. I listed items and recommended jar sizes but recipes may differ.  Narrow mouth works best for pourable foods and wide for whole foods. I recommend Ball and Kerr jars over off brand.

Please note that narrow mouth pint and quart jars are not freezer safe and can break in the freezer.

Wide mouth quart jars are also not freezer safe. 

Canning jars can be used to store your leftovers, dried pasta and beans also.

Freezer Safe as well as used in canning

• Jelly Jars 4oz ( Jams Jellies, Mustards, dipping sauces, flavored vinegars ketchups, butters)
• Jelly Jars 8oz (Jams, Jellies, Conserves, Preserves, Syrups)
• Jelly Jars 12 oz (Jams , jellies, conserves, marmalades)
• Regular Mouth Half Pint 8oz (fruit syrups, chutneys, pizza sauces)

Not Freezer Safe but safe for canning

• Regular Mouth Pint 16 oz (Slsas, sauces, pickles, relishes, and pie fillings)
• Regular Mouth Quart 32 oz (Sliced fruits, vegetables, pickles, tomatoes based juices and sauces)

Freezer Safe:

•  Wide Mouth Pint 16 oz (salsas, sauces, relishes, pickles, butters)
• Wide Mouth Pint & Half 24 oz (asparagus, Pickles, soups, stews)

Not Freezer Safe:

• Wide MouthQuart 32 oz (pickles, tomatoes, whole or halved fruits, vegetables)
• Half Gallon 64 oz (Apple and Grape juices)

Quart and half gallon sizes are also great to store dehydrated and freeze dried items.

Lids:

Do not reuse your lids! It's better to store canned goods without the rings.  So usually rings do not need to be purchased.  Throw away rusty rings. I once again recommend Ball or Kerr lids.

• Narrow Mouth Lids
• Narrow Mouth Lids & rings
• Wide Mouth Lids
• Wide Mouth lids & rings

Canning Equipment:

• Water Bath Canner
• Rack to hold jars off the bottom
• Jar Lifter
• Jar Funnel
• Timer
• Nonreactive sauce pans, enameled or stainless steel-clad not aluminum
• Stainless steel ladles, spoons, slotted spoons.  (Stainless steel does not react with brines and other acidic mixtures that can cause a metallic taste)
• Liquid and dry measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Sharpie markers to label or labels
• Bubble Remover & Headspace measure
• Paper towels to wipe rims
• Pressure Canner
• Cutting boards
• Rimmed sheet cake pan (if you put your cutting board in this it keeps juices from running all over your counter.  Very useful when working with tomatoes)
• Good variety of sharp knives
• Cherry pitter
• Vegetable cutter, dicer, slicer
• Apple corer slicer
• Kitchen scale
• Thermometer