Canning Tips: Eight Helpful Tips and Tricks for Home Canning.

Let's face it,  no matter how much you enjoy canning it can sometimes feel like work and we can always use some advice and tricks to make things easier!

So I have compiled a collection of eight handy tips to make things go more smoothly. You know? Less like work and more like a fun pass time!

1. Line your workspace with foil, wax paper or even old newspapers for easy clean ups...

 2. DIY water bath set up: using a large stock pot and a homemade rack that you create by tying jar rings together with string...

3. Can in smaller batches and lighten your harvest workload by freezing part of it until you are ready to can it.

4.You can use store bought frozen fruits for jams and jellies.

5. Have all your ingredients and equipment gathered and prepped ahead of time

6. If you don't use a divided wire rack for your jars, you can wrap a large rubber band around the middle of each jar to keep them from bumping together and breaking in the boiling water bath.

7. When your jars are completely cool test the lids for a good seal by pushing down in the center. There should be no movement. If you feel movement store them in the refrigerator for use within the week or transfer the contents to a freezer container and freeze for longer storage.

8. To be sure you got a good seal, remove the rings from jars before storing. Leaving the rings on can hide the fact that a lid did not get a proper seal. With the rings removed, any jar that didn't seal properly will pop loose.

Bonus tip: When opening your jars, listen for the sound of the vacuum seal breaking. It sounds kind of like a sucking noise with a pop.  If you don't hear that, don't eat it.

Check out this cool grape jam jar label from my shop that you can customize! 

Buy it HERE