Water Bath Canning / Pressure Canning - What Happened To The Supplies - Quarantine 2020

Well, I kind of knew earlier on this year that come August 2020 there would likely be a canning revolution afoot. I was not prepared enough for the lack of basic canning supplies because I assumed, logically, that the canning suppliers would know it as well. They did not. The prices have skyrocketed for all things canning. I feel like a pirate on the high seas, staring out into the vast internet seas for the treasures needed for my canning. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. 

I have been blessed with enough lids and jars for what I normally can in a season, I found a sale at my local market for wide mouth lids at $2.00 a box, normally now $4.50 a box. I only took enough to equate to the number of jars I will can. I did not take the whole flat, there are others who are looking as well. Leave some for your canning sisters and brothers. 

Mason jars will cost $9.99 for 12 pints up to $16.00 for quarts depending on size at a local hardware. I am debating about buying more. I am seeing terrible gouging online for jars and my friends south of the border who are regular (not new) canners are having a terrible time finding affordable jars. 

Now I wish I could afford this Lehmans Amish-made stovetop water bath canner, link below. Lehmans also has/had bulk lids, again not there now for months. 

Fortune favored the prepared is so true. I am fortunate that lids and jars are still fairly easy to acquire here in Ontario, Canada. However, you must be on the hunt for them. I do not keep a pantry that would justify a canner this big, but who knows what the years ahead will bring.

https://www.lehmans.com/product/amish-made-stovetop-water-bath-canner/

There has also been a complete depletion of pressure canners. A pressure canner is a must for canning low-acid food. I have a 23-quart Presto canner that I have had for years. I, however, was hoping to upgrade to an All American pressure canner this year. Basically don't learn to drive driving a Porche, you may not want to drive or need to drive so don't spend all your money on a luxury model. I know how to pressure can and the cost, therefore, is worth the investment. If you are not going to use it, do not buy it I say. 

While I am discussing equipment with you it behooves me to also say that there are very few reliable sources for food preserving information, especially canning that you should be using. There is Ball Preserving, Bernardin Preserving, and NCFHP. Do not go on the internet and ask a complete stranger how to can, it is not worth it. Follow approved and tested recipes by approved and tested sites and books. If you are in the United States, go to your local extension office and ask for lessons. I re-ordered my Bernardin book and printed the free NCFHP booklet this year because safety needs current scientific studies so revised current books are needed. 

I think it is also wise to only can what your family eats. The first year I was canning I did NOT listen to my mentor Anita Broenink and canned everything in sight. Anita told me only can what you eat. I did not listen. I wasted far too much produce because no one in my family wanted to eat it. We do not eat a lot of pickles, for example, so I had to empty those jars the following year uneaten. Anita also told me to can basic things and make something from one ingredient, don't can chili, make the components for chili so you can use them in other meals. She was right, she always is.

Anita's rules also suggest you buy regular mouth jars and forgo fancy jars since you are more likely to find lids in bulk. I found an abundance at the dollar store earlier this year. She was right....again. When you have enough regular mouth jars, go ahead and start collecting wide mouths. I like wide mouth because I can fill them easier and clean them easier. With my arthritis, it makes sense. However, I bought regular mouth jars this year....because I found lids, on sale.....

So this year I am canning tomatoes, just tomatoes halved and skinned. I will only can about 14 quarts (about a bushel of Roma tomatoes) because I don't want to waste money or time or jars. This year I will pressure can beans, just beans. We eat a lot of chickpeas so that is what I will make. I am also going to can meat. If I can find some reasonably priced. If not it is freezer cleaning time soon so there is bound to be some meat in there I need to process in my pressure canner. I have pressure canned chicken in the past and various broths, I am not sure if I will make broth this year. 

Suffice to say, there are many things to consider when you join the ranks of canners and preservers. Study and follow safety protocols. Never make up the rules as you go or it will end badly. 

Stay Safe, Stay Home, Help Where You Can.

~ Cookin Mum 

...Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me...we pillage, we plunder, we don't give a hoot, drink up me 'earties, yo ho...