Weddingbee boards

I do a lot of canning. Mostly, strawberry jam, blackberry jam, pickles, tomatoes, corn, salsa, and a few others. I suggest getting a book called Comany's Coming by Jean Pare. It is very easy to follow and a good beginner book.

If you follow the recipes canning is not hard. It is just time consuming, but well worth it in the end.

Before getting any supplies, decide what you want to make. I have several different sizes of canning pots. These each have a rack to set the jars on before you lower them into the water. You will also need jar tongs to grab the jars out of the water when they are done. The water will be extremely hot, so you don't want to touch the jars or the water with your hands. I also suggest a good blender. It will become your best friend. After you have decided what you are making, you will also need jars. I use Ball or Kerr jars. It doesn't really matter which ones you use. Just make sure you use fresh lids and seals for each jar. You will need a small pan to sterilize the lids on the stove while you are readying whatever it is you are canning. Lots of counter space is good too, so before you start, clean everything off of your counters, so you have room for what you are doing.

Wal-Mart usually had good prices on canning supplies. You might also want to check out a specialty kitchen store. Remember to check each jar for knicks, cracks, or breakage before using and you can sterilize your jars in the dishwasher prior to use.

If you get yourself a canning book, it will list a bunch of supplies you may or may not need; depending on what you are canning. Your MIL will be a very good resource to let you know what is essential and what is not essential.

You are very welcome. Yes, you can get the canning pots at Wal-Mart. I have made freezer jam and it is pretty easy, but we like the canned jam best. I just recently purchased a pressure cooker, but I am afraid to use it, so I haven't canned that way yet. These days you are supposed to use a pressure cooker for some things, but I am still old school and can the way my mom and grandma taught me.

Here is a link you the book: http://www.companyscoming.com/cookbooks/original-series/preserves/1/PR/

You may be able to find it for less somewhere, but I swear by this book. If you decide to can, you will get a lot of use out of it. I have a bunch of her cookbooks and love them all.