Canning Season Is Here

I have been so busy canning all things cucumber related.

It has been the perfect summer for a good crop of cucumbers and they seem to have taken over the field my father and brother share.

The other day they dumped 90 gallons of cucumbers on my back step. I feel a little insane at this point looking at cucumbers but my freezer is near full so I am spending my afternoons canning this bountiful crop. Sometimes you just have to take your blessings and store them for a later date. Right now that is my case.

Not all of you have the time or knowledge to can excess produce so I thought I would share some good beginner resources for those of you wanting to learn.

The Ball Home Canning Kit is a must have for the woman who has no canning supplies. It includes a boiling water bath canner, jar lifter, canning funnel, lid lifter, Ball Blue Book, and some jars with flats and rings. This is everything you need except all recipe ingredients to do your first batch of canning. It is important to know that in order to reuse your jars you will need new flats but not new rings.

If you have some of the basic equipment but lack a book to use as a resource you will definitely want to pick up the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving commonly nicknamed the canning bible in many online canning communities. Other resources might include Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round and Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving.

If you want to get into some more advanced canning you will need to look into a pressure canner. I have a Mirro 22-Quart Aluminum Pressure Canner. I love the ease of use of this canner and highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in canning.

If you are still unsure about canning and would like to read how to get start check out Canning 101 and Simply Canning. Good luck in preserving the bounty!