Becoming Members of the “Can it Yourself” Club

After Jillian and I attended an introductory canning class, we were ready to try it ourselves and take the canning world by storm. We settled on making a few different varieties of jam, knowing that if all went well the experiment could double as Christmas presents to our friends and family. First a few tips to keep in mind before starting:

• Buy your jars ahead of time. Don’t waste precious hours running to hardware stores in search of the right jars on canning day.
• Give yourself an entire day to can on your first try. From leaving the house for the farmer’s market to the finished product it took us 7 hours (granted we had a missteps along the way and made 70 jars of jam!)
• Find the recipe you want to use ahead of time so that you have a clear vision of the project. Gather all other ingredients such as spices and sugar and make sure you have all the proper kitchen tools. Oh, and read the ingredients carefully…or you’ll end up overzealously buying 45 pounds of fruit (hey, it was our first try, we were excited!)
• Evaluate how much sugar goes into the recipe. We halved the amount of sugar and still found the jam wonderfully sweet.

Let the canning adventure begin. Note: All of the steps below apply to the Cinnamon Fig and Pluot jam we made but you can easily use other fruit/veggies for canning, the process is the same.

1. Buy Fruit: Buy unblemished, in-season fruit at the farmer’s market. You can usually get a deal when you are buying in bulk so shop around and ask growers what kind of deal they can give you.
2. Prep Fruit: Wash the fruit. Look for any blemishes or bruises and discard if necessary. Cut fruit to desired size — we quartered the figs and diced the plums.
3. Sterilize Jars: Sterilize the jars, lids, and screw tops by washing in hot, soapy water then boiling or run them through a dishwasher. Dishwasher method recommended!
4. Prepare Recipe: Measure out sugar, juice lemons (we recommend juicing the entire batch of lemons at once to minimize the juicy mess), prepare spices and combine ingredients on the stove. Use a dutch oven or cast iron pot with a thick bottom to avoid burning the jam. And be prepared to stir your jam on a regular basis to ensure an even consistency.
5. Prepare “Processing” Pot: Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
6. Fill Jars: Keep the jars in the dishwasher to stay warm until the recipe is complete. Once your jam is done it’s time to fill the jars. Line your jars up and grab a big ladle. We highly recommend investing in a wide mouth funnel. We found ours for just a few bucks at Cole’s Hardware and it makes for a clean pour. Also, make sure to leave enough head room (the space between the filling and the lid) to create a tight seal. Wipe the inside of the jar’s rim with a wet cloth or paper towel then place the lid on the jar and screw on the top.
7. “Process” Jars: This is the most important step as this is the one that ensures your jars will stay good when stored away until eating. Using tongs or a “jar lifter” (also highly recommended and a minimal investment), carefully place the sealed jar into boiling water. Don’t let the jars touch and make sure the jars are completely submerged in the water. Each recipe calls for specific “process” times.
8. Remove/Cool Jars: Once your jars are “processed” use the tongs or jar lifter and gently remove from the boiling water. You will hear your the lids pop, which indicates they are sealed. Once the jars have cooled, press down on the lid to make sure that the seal has set properly. If the lid springs back up when you touch it, the seal did not work. The jam is still good if you have any jars that didn’t seal properly, you just can’t store it for long term use. So throw it in the fridge and enjoy the fruits of your labor immediately (pun intended)!
9. Labeling/Storing: Label your jars with the date and contents and store in a cool, dark place. Use within a year.

Welcome to the “Can it Yourself” Club!

Tagged as: canning, fig, gift, In the Field, jam, pluot