Canning food doesn't have to be hard. Follow these 7 tips

Canning seems like such an old tradition, doesn't it? And it is. People have been canning since the early 1800s; well before refrigerators were a common appliance found in homes. Canning is a great way to preserve fresh fruit well into the winter months, allowing many to enjoy a fresh peach or jam that tastes like the fruit just came out of the garden after snow has been covering that same garden for months.

But canning isn't as easy as just pouring fruit into a jar and tightening a lid on it. In fact, canning is a process that includes several steps; and each one has to be done just right. If they're not, the canned goods may not make it through a couple of days let alone several months or years. And because it's dealing with jars and hot water, that glass could easily break while they're being sealed, or even after. While not all of these things can be prevented, many of them can. You just have to follow the following tips.

1. Don't can meats or vegetables
Canning fruits or jam is one thing. This can be done very safely at home. But canning meats or vegetables is different. Unless you have a pressure canner at home, which many people don't, vegetables and meat can develop botulism because the water canners used for canning are not enough to remove or protect the food from botulism. So while you can safely can fresh fruit and jam from home, do not do it with meat or vegetables.

2. Sterilize the jars
Jars used for canning can't be just clean; they have to be sterilized. If there is any bacteria in the jars, that bacteria will get onto the food when they are filled, and that will ruin all efforts of food preservation. In order to sterilize canning jars, they can be placed in boiling water for several minutes or sterilized the easier way - by simply placing them in the dishwasher. Dishwashers sterilize dishes whether they have a sterilization option or not; the hot water alone is enough to do it. So just fill your dishwasher with jars and the lids and then make sure all your fruit is ready to go near the end of the dishwasher's cycle.

Sterilizing the jars will also make them very hot before they're plunged into the water canner. That's important too, as it will protect them from breaking while in the canner, preserving the food in the jars that doesn't break because there won't be food particles to get under the other lids. Plus, you won't be left with a major mess to deal with.

3. Use an actual water bath fitted with a rack
Eager beginner canners may try to simply place jars filled with fruit or pickles into a large stockpot. And while their enthusiasm should be applauded, that will only end in disappointment when their jars break in the pot. And they will break because when glass touches the sides or bottom of the pot, they'll easily shatter. An actual water bather that's fitted with the rack that will hold the jars is a much better option. The jars will never touch each other and a water bather will be able to hold plenty of water to fully cover the pots.

4. When canning fruit, use lemon
Canning fruit typically includes pouring fruit that's been cut up into jars and then pouring simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water boiled so the sugar dissolves) over them. But that syrup won't be enough to keep the fruit from turning brown. And even if air doesn't get in there and the fruit it still perfectly safe to eat, it won't look as appetizing. So, when canning fruit such as cut peaches or blueberries, add a teaspoon of lemon juice to each jar. The extra acidity will prevent the fruit from browning and looking just as fresh as it will taste.

5. Leave headspace
It can be tempting to want to fill those jars up to the very brim. After all, the more you can fill the jars, the more you can enjoy once you open them. But it's best not to. When canning, leave about 1/4" of space above the rim. Often this will mean filling the jar just until the top starts to narrow and the ridged edges start. This will prevent the liquid from leaking out into the canning water, and will ensure that the jars are properly sealed.

6. Remove bubbles
Bubbles may not seem like a big deal when filling the jars, but they can be. If bubbles are left in the jars, they can expand and eventually make the jars burst while they are sitting in the boiling water. To remove the bubbles from the jars before placing them into the hot water, slide a butter knife or chopstick all the way down the sides of the jars and then move them completely around the jar, covering all sides. This will break any bubbles that have formed and will make it far less likely that your jars will break while in the bath.

7. Take the jars out
Somewhere along the way, people got to thinking that once the jars have been fully sealed, they need to sit in the water until everything has completely cooled. Others got to thinking that when the jars come out of the water, they need to be turned upside down in order to fully seal. In fact, neither of those things are true. After the jars have boiled for their appropriate time (it differs depending on your recipe), use a jar lifter to pull the jars out carefully. This is a special tool that will keep you from burning your hands. Place the jars - right side up - on a trivet or tea towel to give them a soft landing and then let them completely cool. Don't worry about drying them off, the heat of the jars will evaporate it as soon as it hits the cooler air. Then just leave them to completely cool. As they do, you'll hear a popping sound that will tell you that the jars have sealed and you have done your job!