Thursday, June 7, 2007

Canning Instructions


If you are interested in preserving the strawberry lemonade concentrate from the recipe given in my last post, here are the instructions. You will need a water bath canner, quart jars, new lids and rims. Other optional equipment that might make your canning experience go a little more smoothly is a wide mouth funnel and a jar lifter.

After the lemon juice, strawberry puree and sugar mixture has reached 190 degrees, skim off the foam and ladle hot concentrate into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rim of the jar. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

2 comments:

Catherine said...

I remember my mom doing this with peaches and applesauce and all sorts of stuff. Can you buy canning supplies anywhere? Does the dishwasher count as sterilization?

Afton said...

You should be able to pick up canning supplies at a store like Fred Meyer or Walmart. Jars and lids are usually sold at grocery stores in the baking aisle near the pectin. I usually use the dishwasher for sterilization. I try to time the wash cycle so the jars are in the drying phase and nice and hot when it's time to fill them.