The Ultimate Water Bath Canning Guide for Newbies

Learning to can food at home is one of the best things you can do for improving food security, reducing waste, and keeping your pantry stocked with delicious, wholesome fruits, veggies, preserves, and more.

Canning is a skill that is often passed down in families from generation to generation, but if you didn’t have anyone to teach you, you might want to get started but feel intimidated. What do you need, where do you start, how do you know if you’ve worked through a recipe correctly and safely?

It’s enough to put people off the idea entirely. But listen: you don’t have to be afraid. Everybody started somewhere, and even if you’re starting at zero, I promise your canning adventure will go smoothly thanks to this guide.

Inside, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about water bath canning for newbies.

What Water Bath Canning Is

Water bath canning, sometimes known as hot water or boiling water canning, is simply a time-tested method for preserving food at home, and it’s a great way to preserve food for room-temperature storage.

Basically, the process relies on the immersion of jars, containing food, in boiling water. Done properly, the process drives oxygen out of the container, seals it against contamination, and destroys any germs that might already be lurking inside.

The result is food that is safe, delicious, and ready to eat or cook with as soon as you open it. And as mentioned, you won’t need to freeze it or do anything else to store it properly!

How Is Water Bath Canning Different From Pressure Canning?

Although both types of canning work through similar principles, the practical application is very different.

Water bath canning is best for highly acidic foods that have a pH value of 4.6 or lower. It relies only on boiling water to establish the needed temperature for processing the jars of food.

Pressure canning, on the other hand, can be used for low or high-acid foods but is best for low-acid foods. As the name suggests, the process depends on a special pressure cooker, which will produce temperatures in excess of 240° Fahrenheit (115º Celsius) during processing.

This higher temperature is needed to kill certain bacterial spores that might survive the lower temperatures of water bath canning and subsequently flourish in a low-acid environment. This can dangerously contaminate stored food and result in botulism, a potentially fatal type of food poisoning.

Both methods are easy enough to employ at home, but water bath canning is simpler, cheaper, and easier for beginners to get into, though it is comparatively limited in the types of foods you can process.

Why Bother with Home Canning at All?

It’s a good question, and one that lots of homesteaders and busy at-home cooks ask themselves in this era of mass-produced preserved foods. Whether it is canned, frozen, dehydrated, freeze-dried, or anything else, there’s no shortage of cheap preserved food out there.

So why bother with water bath canning at all? I’ve got two good reasons: self-sufficiency and stockpiling.

Self-Sufficiency

If you are anything like me, you probably feel a strong urge to take more responsibility over your day-to-day life, and a big part of that is taking responsibility for your food—not only where it comes from but what goes in it and the physical preservation of it.

At-home canning, and water bath canning particularly, is ideal for this purpose: using minimal equipment, you can preserve the produce you’ve grown yourself or purchased from other trusted sources, and then relax knowing that it will keep for at least a year and be totally free of any creepy chemicals or other weirdness.

Stockpiling

Let’s face it, the world is growing increasingly uncertain, and even if it wasn’t, life has a way of derailing everything and throwing you curveballs when you least expect it and can least afford it.

Having a well-stocked pantry or storeroom full of a variety of nutritious and delicious food on hand is a great comfort in times of trouble and uncertainty.

Getting into the habit of canning once or twice a month, or even more often, will quickly see you sitting on a stockpile of foods that you and your family love. If the trucks stop running to the grocery store and your source of income evaporates overnight, none of you will go hungry.

Foods That Work with Water Bath Canning

As I mentioned above in the comparison between water bath and pressure canning, you can only can some types of foods safely in a water bath canner.

This isn’t just my opinion: the highest, best, and brightest canning authorities in the land have established these guidelines. Regardless of wherever else you might have seen or found a recipe, you should never try to can meat in a water bath canner.

Luckily, there’s still a ton of high-acid foods and recipes you’ll have access to:

Fruits

Most fruits can be safely canned in a water bath just as they are, or with the addition of a little bit of extra acid in the form of lemon juice or citric acid powder or liquid.

You’ll be able to can apples, apricots, all kinds of things:

• berries,
• cherries,
• crab apples,
• grapes,
• lemon curd,
• mangoes,
• nectarines,
• peaches,
• pears,
• pineapple,
• plums,
• and more.

Note that some fruits are too low in acid to be canned as they are without the aforementioned addition of lemon juice or equivalent. Figs and rhubarb are two good examples, but there are others out there.

Veggies

Likewise, your water bath canner can handle all kinds of vegetables, though the typically low-acid nature of most necessitates that you pickle them or add them to something that has sufficient acid to make the process safe.

As long as you’re willing to go that route, you’ll be able to can asparagus, beans and peas, beets, carrots, corn, okra, potatoes, pumpkins and other squashes, spinach, and a lot more.

Juices

Don’t forget about juices, whether fruit- or veggie-based! Apple juice, cherry juice, various citrus fruits, grape juice, pineapple juice, tomato juice, and others are all easily canned using a water bath canning setup.

As usual, low-acid juices will need acidification for safety, but the results are still delicious, so don’t worry!

Jellies, Jams, Preserves, Sauces, Salsas, and Chutneys

Don’t think of the above fruits and veggies only in their basic form for canning; many take on an entirely new life when turned into new types of food, condiments, toppings, and so forth.

From tasty pickled peppers to delectable salsas and a virtually unlimited amount of jellies, jams, and preserves, this is where a water bath canner truly shines.

Water

It might sound a little silly, but you can use your canner to store safe drinking water yourself. It’s not as convenient as buying the stuff in plastic bottles at the store, but those containers are getting cheaper and cheaper all the time and are highly prone to leaking in storage after just a couple of months.

You won’t have to worry about that if you process your own in sturdy glass jars.

The Golden Rule: Always Use Proven, Safe Canning Recipes!

There are lots of rules of thumb, must-do’s, and shall-nots to remember when it comes to canning at home.

Naturally, all of these rules have exceptions that you will uncover as you go down the path of mastery. But, there is one rule, a golden rule, that is absolutely inviolable and one you must never forget!

Simply: only use proven, safe canning recipes.

Don’t come up with your own, don’t innovate, and don’t try anything that isn’t provably from an actual authority on the matter.

That’s because canning is more science than art. Changing ingredients or even ratios of ingredients, processing time, prep, and any other factor might result in an unsafe procedure. Read that as bacterial contamination that could kill you and your family!

At best, you’ll only have to deal with wasted time and spoiled food, but at worst it could become tainted with undetectable bacterial toxins like those secreted by the dreaded Clostridium botulinum, the nasty little bugger responsible for causing botulism!

You don’t need to be afraid, but you do need to be responsible.

Canning Tools of the Trade

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The great thing about water bath canning is, as mentioned, just how simple and straightforward it is. You only need a few specialized pieces of gear, and besides that, everything else you need will be waiting in your kitchen right this moment.

Water Bath Canner

A water bath canner itself is little more than a large pot with a lid that has a specialized rack for holding the jars inside during the boiling process. Typically, these are set right on a stovetop burner for heating. Some models are electric and can be set on the countertop and plugged in.

Whichever route you go, the outcome is the same.

Jars

You can’t can your own food without a good supply of jars! If you didn’t know what mason jars were actually used for, now you do.

The most famous and popular are made by Ball, but there are many others, and they come in all kinds of sizes. The most common sizes are pint and quart, but half-pint and half-gallon sizes are also fairly common.

These jars typically use removable, disposable two-piece lids, but jars made by other manufacturers might use reusable lids that have heavy rubber gaskets and are typically attached by a wire bail…

Jar Lids and Bands

The typical canning jar lid is a two-piece unit consisting of a thin metal lid with a ring of compound on it that establishes an airtight seal. These are held in place and secured by a screw-on band that cinches it down tight.

You must never reuse one of these disposable lids, but the bands can be reused as long as they are in good shape. Consider the purchase of new lids an ongoing expense for your canning endeavor.

Jar Funnel

This is a specialized funnel that will help you pour your food into the jars during the packing step without making a mess and, most importantly, without getting anything on the rim of the jar.

Ladle

You can use a common ladle for filling the jars, but a specialized canning ladle, sometimes called a canning spoon, works better and is more ergonomic.

Jar Lifter

A specialized set of tongs that will securely but gently grip a jar by the neck so you can place it in and lift it out of the canner without burning yourself. Since jars have to be preheated prior to filling, you don’t want to be handling them bare-handed or with an oven mitt. That’s a recipe for disaster!

Debubbler

This simple plastic tool does exactly what it says. It helps you agitate the contents of a jar you just filled to release air bubbles. Trapped air bubbles might cause problems and subsequent spoilage during processing, so a quick swish with this tool eliminates them.

Note that if you don’t have one, you can improvise with the handle of a plastic utensil, a chopstick, or something similar.

Timer

Remember how I said canning is predominantly a science? It’s all about proper procedure, and a big part of it is timing preheating, cooking, and processing steps. You can use any kind of timer you want here, including your phone, but it must be accurate and easy to use.

Thermometer

Not always needed, but some recipes call for precise measurement of temperature for good results. A canning or general-purpose kitchen thermometer with a long probe and, preferably, instant-read display is handy to have.

Basic Kitchen Tools

You’ll need an assortment of cutting boards, knives, cooking spoons, kitchen towels, paper towels, and other supplies for prepping food, cleaning up, and a variety of other cooking tasks.

Basic Canning Procedures

As intricate as it might look, most canning recipes are quite similar from beginning to end and consist of the same basic operations. We’ll go over these operations below so you know what to expect.

Choosing and Preparing Food

You should only try to can fruits and veggies that are at the peak of ripeness and in perfect shape. Produce that is deformed, defective, or bad in any way will increase the likelihood of failure.

Whatever you are canning, you’ll need to prep it by washing it and cutting away stems and greenery, and sometimes peeling or splitting it.

Prepping Equipment

Before starting the process, you want to inspect all of your jars, the canner, and other equipment for functionality. Look for cracks, chips, dings, dents, and other damage that could cause a dangerous condition – or just cause the process to fail.

Jars and all of your kitchen tools should be sterilized before you get started. Running them through the dishwasher or giving them a good hand wash in hot, soapy water is sufficient.

Packing

This is the phase where you actually fill your jars with the food. There are several variations on this that will be called for in different recipes:

Hot Pack: Food is fully or partially cooked prior to going into the jars and is then subsequently covered with hot liquid.

Raw Pack: Your food will be placed in the jar and then liquid will be poured over it. The liquid is typically piping hot, but the food itself is uncooked prior to processing.

Juice, Syrup, or Water: Depending on your tastes and the recipe, you might cover food with a liquid.

Syrup is just simple syrup, and you can make it yourself with water and white granulated sugar in different ratios. Most recipes will tell you which liquid is best and, if using syrup, which type is best—very light, light, medium, or heavy.

Headspace

Once the jars are packed with food and the food is covered with liquid, you’ve got to dial in the headspace. Headspace is a funny term for the amount of air left between the top of the liquid and the lid of the jar.

This varies a little bit from recipe to recipe, but it’s typically between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. You might need to add a little extra liquid to get it just right, or even remove a little bit with your canning spoon.

Process Jars

Once the jars are packed, you’ll put on a lid and secure it with a band or latch the lid closed in the case of a reusable one. Then the jars are loaded into the rack and placed in the canner.

The water in the canner completely covers the jars, and once it is brought to the boiling point, you’ll start the timer for processing.

Cool and Check

Once processing is completed, you’ll rest the jars briefly inside the canner, then remove them and set them aside to cool down completely, a process that usually takes between 12 and 24 hours. Once they are completely cool, the lids are checked for a proper seal.

Store and Done!

If the lids check out okay, your canned food is ready to store. Stash it in a cool, dry, dark place. That’s all there is to it! Your canned food will last at least a year if kept cool, around 50° F.

Canning Authorities You Should Know About

There’s tons of info out there on the web about water bath canning, but if you’re just getting started, there are a few outfits you’ll definitely want to familiarize yourself with.

Each is a gold mine of information, recipes, and scientifically tested and proven procedures.

NCHFP

The National Center for Home Food Preservation. They cover a lot more than just canning, but they are considered the go-to authority in the United States for safety, proper procedure, and everything else concerning canning.

Ball

You’ve probably heard of or seen Ball products, even if you don’t know a thing about canning. They’re the biggest, most prolific, and one of the most respected makers of canning jars and other equipment, and they also publish a huge guidebook of canning recipes and procedures. They are totally trustworthy!

University Extensions

Many major and community universities have extensions with dedicated canning experts and programs. Utah State University, linked here, has a great one.

Most of them collaborate with the NCHFP, and all of them are wonderful repositories of tested canning recipes and other know-how. You can often find answers to questions and troubleshooting assistance online with a simple search.