To Can or Not to Can? You May Have Few Questions.

When I was younger I remember canning summer harvests with my grandmother.  I remember tons of tomatoes, pecks of peaches, spicy salsa, gallons of green beans... You get it. A lot of produce went into beautiful Mason Jars and then we got to chow down on it all year long.

Returning from the trip down memory lane. I don't really remember recipes or cautionary tales of Clostridium Botulinum more lovingly known as BOTULISM! Oh yeah! The big B! But seriously botulism is terrible and has horrendous side effects and isn't a hard thing to can if you don't follow tested recipes, instructions, and safety guides to the letter. So enter "The National Center for Home Food Preservation!!! This nifty site allows you to look up the stringent safety guidelines for canning at a very basic level. I purchased my first canning book "The Ball Blue Book Guide to Home Food Preserving" I feel like it's a solid foundational canning book with many tested and confirmed recipes.

              **Be sure to follow tested recipes only and follow all of the instructions to the letter**

Equipment List:

~A large pot or water bath canner with lid

~A jar rack

~A jar funnel

~A jar lifter

~A non-metal utensil for "bubbling"

~The correct jars/lids/rings for the job

~A large pot or water bath canner and lid. This vessel needs to be large enough to hold the jars and have water 1-inch above the top of the jars and 2 additional inches to prevent boil over.

~A rack to hold jars off the bottom and keep said jars from tipping over

~A jar funnel(while I'm sure this apparatus isn't mandatory it will be highly convenient).
~A jar lifter(I chose the metal jar lifter over the plastic one because it seemed more durable)

Additionally(not pictured)

~A Non-metal utensil for bubbling(you want non-metal to avoid micro scratches on the inside of your jars which can weaken the jars).

~The correct jars, rings, and lids for your specific task.

Next we might actually can something!