Homemade Canning

Homemade Canning is the best ways of preserving food for a longer period of time. Canning starts with first processing the food and is then sealed in an airtight container in order to prevent any microorganisms from entering and spoiling the food making it unhealthy. The process of Canning was designed and discovered by Nicolas Appert in the French Army. Nicolas Appert popularly known as ‘father of canning’ was a confectioner at Paris during 1784 to 1795. He experimented and designed the ways for preserving the foodstuff for the French army during the years of Napoleonic wars. About 50 years later Louis Pasture found the role of the microbes in spoiling the food.

Initially the food was canned in glass bottles however this technique proved to be risky as handling was to be carried out in careful manner during transportation and therefore was later replaced by cylindrical tin or wrought iron canisters. However the glass jars remains to be the best and most popular for high value products and home canning.

In recent times homemade canning is again gaining popularity and the reasons behind modern day canning are many. For many it is the best way of processing food to extend its shelf life. Modern day canning allows the food to be available and edible for a long time after being processed thereby making your life more comfortable and free. A study found that canned fruits and vegetables have the same amount of dietary fibre, vitamins and proteins as the fresh food.

Homemade canning makes the food readily available in good condition at all times helping you in case of being stuck in any emergency conditions. Canning also makes the products available during off season, making them cheap and helping you save money. Homemade canning will save you from running around places looking for a particular fruit, vegetable and other products.

Homemade canning and processing of food is done in different ways depending upon the type of fruit, vegetable, dish being canned. You should know which fruits can be canned at home and which should be avoided. There are two main ways for processing the food first – boiling water bath method and second pressure canner method. The boiling water method is best suitable for canning tomato sauce, canning green beans, canning beans, canning applesauce, canning jam, canning jelly and other fruits and pickles. Here the jar of food is covered with boiling water, heated and cooked for a specified amount of time.

The pressure canning technique is suitable for preserving vegetables, meats, poultry, dairy products and seafood. Here the jars of food are placed in special pressure cookers having 2 to 3 inches of water and then heated to a certain temperature. This pressure canning method is used for killing microorganisms which have the ability to form spores which can withstand high temperatures and are very harmful for heath.

You can prevent the food from being spoilt by heating, boiling, pasteurization, refrigeration, freezing, drying, vacuum treatment and use of certain antimicrobial agents for their secure canning. There are different methods for homemade canning of fruits, vegetables, meat and dishes. Using the right method and technique will help preserve the food for longer period of time.

You can find many online sites talking about the various methods and canning recipes to help learn homemade canning. Homemade canning can be a time consuming task but it is worth making the efforts as the results can be great. You can find expert people from the industry to help and advice you with the correct information on storing your favourite food.