Once you are familiar with the complete canning procedures, you can fill out, print and tape these canning cheats sheets to the front of your canning binder or wherever you keep your canning recipes. I find them very handy to remind myself of all the little details that vary between different canning methods and to remember the numbers and quantities specific to my setup, such as ideal knob positions and how many jars can fit in my canner. 

Steam canner cheat sheet

• One load is ___ half pints ___ pints or ____ quarts
• 3 quarts of water in canner
• Bring to temperature
• Lower stove knob to _____
• Process
• 5 minutes cool down (off heat / lid on)

 
Waterbath canner cheat sheet

• One load is ___ half pints ___ pints or ____ quarts
• Bring to a boil
• Lower stove knob to _____
• Process
• 5 minutes cool down (off heat / lid off)
• Partial lid off

 
Pressure canner cheat sheet

• One load is ___ half pints ___ pints or ____ quarts
• 3 quarts of water in canner
• Check vent pipe
• Heat, wait for 10 minutes steam vent (steady moderate flow of steam)
• Max heat, add regulator (weight is ______ lbs)
• When regulator moves, lower stove knob to _____
• Process
• Cool down (off heat / lid on / regulator on)

• When plug drops, remove weight, wait 10 minutes

High acid foods can be canned safely using either water bath canning, or steam bath canning.  Water bath canning can be accomplished with household items. Steam canning requires a specialized steam canner, but it is faster and uses less water and energy.

In this blog post, I summarize what you need to can high acid foods with either of these methods, and what procedure to use. Along the way, I give extra tips and dispel some common misconceptions or outdated methods. To learn more about safe canning as an overall topic, have a look here. 

Ahead of time, make sure you have the following:

• Commonly bought as part of a “canning kit” (but household alternatives exist for all of these):
  • A pot with lid, big enough to contain all your jars in one layer and cover the jars with at least 2 inches of water, or a steam canner
  • A rack to put at the bottom of you pot (bought or improvised), or towel
  • Jar lifter (or other tongues / silicone mitts)
  • Headspace measurer/bubble remover (or ruler)
  • Canning funnel (optional)
• Stove or standalone burner that is compatible with canning (some glasstop stoves aren’t).
• Clean canning jars and rings (can be reused) (Ball, Bernardin or Golden harvest)
• New lids (Ball, Bernardin or Golden harvest). It is not recommended to reuse lids (may affect longevity of the seal).
• A safety tested recipe and what is needed to complete it (where to find safe recipes)
• A ladle
• A timer (or phone, watch etc)
• A dishtowel to put the hot jars on
• My canning cheat sheets (optional but useful!) 

Before processing

1. Prepare your canner
   1. Waterbath: Fill the pot with water (enough to cover the jars plus at least one inch (two to be safe). Add a splash of vinegar (to avoid deposits). Bring to a simmer (can take a long time).
   2. Steam canner: Add 3 quarts of water to the bottom of the pot, slightly below the rack. Add a splash of vinegar (to avoid deposits). Bring to a simmer (can be done just before packing jars, it won’t take long).
2.  Wash jars, making sure that the rims in particular are completely clean of any residue (reflect light on them to check). Prepare some extra jars just in case. This can be done by hand or machine (sanitizing or boiling them is not necessary if your recipe later calls for 10 minutes or more water bath, which most recipes do).
3. Prepare your food based on a safety tested recipe.
4. Fill each jar with food using a ladle and funnel. Pay close attention to:
   1. “Headspace” – the amount of empty space between the top of your food and the top of the jar. Dictated by the recipe.
   2. The temperature of the food. Most recipes ask for the food to be hot in the jars. If you had to take a break or make batches, make sure the food is hot when packing your jars, and still hot when you start your waterbath.
   3. If your recipe calls to pack solids first and then add liquid, make sure that the solids are packed tightly. Otherwise, you might run out of liquid later.
5. Remove any bubbles or air pockets trapped in the jar, using a bubble remover, spoon, butter knife or chopstick. Check the headspace again and top up if needed.
6. Wipe the jar rim with a wet paper towel. Reflect light on it to make absolutely sure there is no residue. Do NOT use vinegar to wipe as this may affect the lids.
7. Put on the lids (do NOT boil them first. This applied to old lids only).
8. Tighten the rings: Finger tight plus a little more. They should take a little force to open.
9. Use the jar lifter and rack, put the jars into your canner (the food should still be hot. The temperature of the jars and the water should be similar / simmering). Consider packing empty spaces with water filled jars (for waterbath only).
10. Replace the pot lid.

Processing

Option 1: Water bath process:

• Bring water to a roiling boil
• Start timer.
• Watch to ensure water keeps boiling and that top of jars stay covered. If the water level drops, top up with already-boiling water from a kettle. If the water stops boiling at any time, start your time back at zero.
• When the time is complete, shut off the heat, remove the lid, and let it cool for 5 minutes. Do NOT let it sit significantly longer (such as overnight).

Option 2: Steam bath process:

• Turn up heat to max, until the needle reaches its marked maximum.
• Once up to temperature, if a lot of stream is escaping out the sides of the lid, you may turn down the heat as long as the maximum needle position is maintained (make a note of what knob position that is). Keeping the heat too high may cause you to lose too much water – keep an eye on the water level. If the needle drops, start your time back at zero.
• When the time is complete, remove from heat, let it cool for 5 minutes WITH THE LID ON. Do NOT let it sit significantly longer (such as overnight).
• Open the lid partially for a few more minutes.

 
After processing

1. Remove the jars with the jar lifter, and set them on a dishtowel, with a little bit of space in between. Leave them undisturbed for at least 12h.
2. Remove rings (jars should NOT be stored with rings on).
3. Check that all lids have popped down (no clicking noise when you press the middle, and lids cannot be lifted off with casual force (with a properly sealed jar, I need to “pry” it off).
4. Any jars that didn’t seal properly should go in the fridge and treated as open jars, or frozen (risk of breakage – consider putting in a different container or wide mouth / straight walled jar). In some cases you can also choose to re-process the food.
5. Any jars that are sealed properly are shelf stable and should be stored WITHOUT the rings. Preferably a cool, dry, dark place. Make sure your shelves are sturdy. Stack up to 2 layers with a cardboard piece in between.