Some thoughts on canning:

* Make sure all your jars are sterilized, and your lids and rings are clean.

* If you are using metal lids, make sure they are new ones. Reused ones often won’t seal properly and then you have wasted a lot of time and energy trying to preserve something and then have to throw it out 😦

* I’ve been using the reusable Tattler lids this year for the first time. Out of each canner that I have done using those lids, I’ve had one jar that didn’t seal. I don’t know if it has to do with the ring or what. I would think if I was doing something improperly, then they all wouldn’t seal. But so far it has been one jar per cannerful. weird.

* I tried Le Parfait jars for the first time this year and really liked them. However, I have one that I have tried to use twice and neither time did the jar seal 😦 So I will be looking into replacement gaskets for those jars. The gasket is quite a bit thicker than the Weck or Tattler gaskets. Also, condensation formed on the lid during canning. But it did dissipate after a few days. I think maybe it is because the lid is so tight fitting that it doesn’t really vent during processing, but I don’t know. There may be condensation on the disposable metal lids when they come out of the canner as well, but I can’t see through them to check, like I can with the clear glass lids.

* Canning does take a lot of time. But in January and February, it will be worth it 🙂

* Low acid foods such as meat and green beans need to be canned in a pressure cooker, rather than a water bath canner.

* In the heat of the summer, sometimes I will freeze berries. Later in the year, when it’s cooler, I will turn those berries into jams and jellies. Then I don’t mind the extra heat in the house:)

* Items made with cornstarch in them don’t can well. I don’t have a good explanation for you – just a note of experience.

* If you are new to canning, start out with basic things such as jams and jellies. Then expand your horizons and try new and fun things 🙂

* Garlic should be pickled, unless you have a very high pressure cooker.

* When using a water bath canner, after processing the jars, remove the canner from the heat source and then remove the lid. Allow the canner to set for five minutes before removing the jars.

* When using a pressure cooker, after the allotted time has passed for pressure cooking, remove from heat and allow the pressure to drop to zero and the air vent to fall, before removing the lid.

* Don’t be afraid to try canning 🙂 I learned basics of how to can from reading the Ball Canning Book, and then branched out.

* Weck jars: very cool and easy to use. They have a wide top, so super easy to fill. The gasket is thinner than Le Parfait, but thicker than Tattler. The first time that I used them, I didn’t realize that the wide tops on them would be too much for the canner, so I couldn’t do a full canner at one time. They fit on the rack when it was elevated, but when I dropped the rack down into the water, the canner is more narrow towards the bottom, so the jars were too crowded. I found that by alternating Weck jars with regular wide mouth jars in the canner rack, that I can still do a full canner of jars at one time. Also, the Weck jars only come with two clips. I lost a lot of syrup during the venting process. But I had one jar that didn’t seal properly, so when I used it for a different batch, I put on three clips. I lost very little, if any, syrup during venting when using three clips.

* To remove Le Parfait and Weck lids, you’re supposed to be able to just pull on the tab of the gasket, which will break the seal. This is way easier said than done. I was about to grab a pair of pliers when the seal finally broke. I guess on the upside, they do make a good seal 🙂

* To remove Tattler lids, use a wooden spatula or dull knife with a thin end on it. Wedge it between the gasket and the lid.

* Sometimes, when doing a large amount of canning at once, I will heat up some water in a large crock pot turned on low. Then I can heat my jars in the crock pot, rather than in the sink. That way I don’t have to draw more hot water for each canner.