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Canning Supplies Needed for Home Canning

April 26, 2020 By Holly Hammersmith 16 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer.

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When we moved into our 1950s cape cod home, I was delighted to find a canning closet in the basement. I was even more delighted when I purchased canning supplies and began my home canning adventure.

I set out to try home canning as one of my efforts to do more homesteading. Plus, canning brings back memories of canned goods in my grandmother’s pantry. My first project was canning homemade strawberry jam after picking fresh strawberries at a local field.

Canning Supplies

Canning Supplies

What is Home Canning?

Home canning is a way to preserve foods at home. After being canned many foods can be stored and enjoyed for many months. Canning is also affordable, the supplies are not very expensive.

It allows to to control what goes into your food. Home canning recipes contain few preservatives, compared to many goods that are purchased in the store. Canning your own food is fun, and also a practice in sustainability.

Related blog posts:
• Homemade Strawberry Jam is Easy to Make
• Sourdough Starter Day by Day How it Looks
• Home Canning Gifts That are Affordable and Fun
• The Time I Accidentally Made Swiss Chard Pie

I wish I had learned home canning directly from my grandmother but I was not able to. When I decided to learn how to do home canning I taught myself. In this post I share the exact supplies and tools I use.

If you are looking for Ball canning jars. These are the national approved retailers for Ball Canning:

  • Ace Hardware
  • Kroger
  • Michaels
  • Target
  • True Value
  • Walmart

Beginner Canning Tools

Canning Supplies
Ball Canning Home Discovery Kit

If you are just starting out canning the idea of doing water bath canning may be intimidating. Personally I have found it isn’t as intimidating as I first thought. The Home Canning Discovery Kit helps make water bath canning on top of your stove very easy. I have an electric stove, which I also feared would not work well with canning – but it’s worked just fine!

The canning kit contains a list of all of the canning supplies you need to get started with water bath canning. It contains three jars, along with lids and bands. It also contains a light green plastic mesh jar holder to use for water bath canning. My kit also came with a handy recipe booklet.

Ball Utensil Set

Ball Canning Utensil Set

While the Home Canning Discovery Kit will get you started I also recommend the Ball Canning Utensil Set. These two kids, in conjunction, have provided all of the basic canning supplies I need.

The Ball Canning Utensil set comes in blue or green. I purchased green to match my home discovery kit. The utensil set comes with several items, all of which are essential canning tools.

Ball Canning

Large Pot for Canning

If you are doing water bath canning, as I do, you will need at least one large pot. You can purchase a special canning pot or you can use what you already have. I use a pot that came with our stainless steel kitchen pots set. This size allows me to comfortably fit five large jars or if I am using the smaller 4 oz kind, I can fit 10 jars at a time when I do water bath canning.

Ball Canning Jars

Ball Canning Jars

Of course no home canning project is possible without the Ball Canning Jars. When you purchase a set of canning jars they come with 1 band and 1 lid per jar. Jars and bands are reusable, but lids are not. For making gifts I really like the small 4 oz canning jars, which are compact and have a cute quilted pattern on them as well.

For my own jam I prefer the 8 oz canning jars which are close to the same size of jam jar I would purchase at the store. I have purchased the 16 oz jars as well but for jams they were a little too large unless you are wanting to use them for Mason Jar Glasses. In that case the 16 oz jars are perfect for Mason Jar Glasses.

If you want to home can whole vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes, or peaches or pears – you will probably prefer the Mason Jar Glasses. Also of note, canning jars come in wide mouth and regular mouth size.

I made the mistake early on of just buying whatever I saw, not realizing there is a difference. I prefer wide mouth for all of my canning because I can easily remove all contents from the jar.

Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving

Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving

I also purchased the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, which I had read was the standard today for learning canning techniques and canning recipes. For beginners I highly recommend this book. Not only is this book budget-friendly, it contains an incredible amount of information about canning and canning supplies.

If any of the canning recipes in this book make more canned goods than you would like, you can easily cut a recipe in half. I have done this before when I didn’t have quite enough fruit or I didn’t want 16 jars of jam.

 

Canning Supplies

Ball Low-Sugar Pectin

Another concern I had when I first tried canning was sugar content. So far all of my home canning has been jams and jellies. I prefer low or no-sugar jams. I was happy to find Ball makes a Low-Sugar Pectin which allows you to use a fraction of the amount of sugar normally required to do canning.

Sugar is integral to canning homemade jams and jellies. It acts as a preservative. Without enough sugar (or pectin) your jam will not keep for very long. Depending on the type of fruit you are canning, it also may not “firm up” or thinking properly without enough sugar or pectin. I like using the Ball Low-Sugar Pectin also because fruit is usually already sweet enough on its own.

Ball Dissolvable Labels

Ball Canning Jar Labels

Of course no home canning project is complete without canning jar labels to mark what you just created. Ball Dissolvable labels are particularly helpful in presentation if you are gifting your canned goods to family or friends. I used these labels when I made homemade peach jam to offer guests at my baby shower.

The canning jar labels come in a pack of 60. I have also used the Ball Dissolvable labels  on my own personal canned goods so that I remember what I canned. Raspberry and strawberry jams can look eerily similar once in the jar. One issue I have had with these canning jar labels is while the paper easily comes off, the sticker residue does not.

I have had to scrape at the residue or use Goo Gone to remove it. The other fix I’ve found is to simply reuse the jar and cover the glue spot with a new label. This hasn’t been a deal breaker for me, and I still think the canning jar labels are cute so I continue to use them.

Ball Canning Lids

Ball Canning Lids

Depending on how many jars you plan to can, you may need to purchase extra Ball Canning Lids. As luck has it I always run out of lids when I’m ready for a new canning project. I have been trying to keep at least one box of lids on hand at all times.

The Ball Canning Lids come with 12 in each box. I need to replenish my supply of canning lids most often as this is one component you cannot reuse when you can foods. You can reuse the jars and the rims, but not the lids. Stocking up on lids is a good idea when buying your canning gear.

Home Canner Supplies

Canning Supplies

In Summary

Outside of the canning supplies I listed above, all you will need is a little time, patience and the fruit or vegetable of your choice. You can can anytime of the year. Right now is a great time to try home canning.

Canning can help you eat healthier and save money. It’s also a great past time, and allows you to have more control over what is in your food. Additionally you can enjoy foods many months after harvested.

What questions do you have about home canning?

*This post was originally published in 2013 and has been updated and republished for accuracy and comprehensiveness.


Filed Under: FOOD, HOUSEHOLD

About Holly Hammersmith

Holly Hammersmith is an independent writer and editor. She blogs about how to keep a healthy home and lifestyle. Topics include wellness, household, saving money, gardening and more. Holly lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband, daughter and rescue dog Lulu.

Comments

  1. Katie says

    August 7, 2013 at 10:04 AM

    I have done canning off and on for years. I recently found a great resource for recipes, tips and information on FoodinJars. They even have small batch canning recipes which is perfect for me. This lets me make 2 or 3 jars of different types of jam for a good selection. She also has a cookbook called Food in Jars and will be coming out with another one soon.

    Reply
    • Holly says

      August 7, 2013 at 8:04 PM

      Hi Katie! Thanks for reading and for the tip. I will definitely check out that website. Happy canning!

      Reply
  2. Lynne says

    August 7, 2013 at 4:56 PM

    I am a somewhat experienced canner using the water bath method. Last fall I purchased a pressure cooker canner and am looking for hands on instruction.

    There used to be a canning group at Trinity, I believe, but it did not survive. I am interested in such a group to share information, recipes and product.

    Reply
    • Holly says

      August 7, 2013 at 8:04 PM

      Thanks for the input Lynne. I am going to be trying the water bath method myself.

      Reply
  3. Lynne says

    August 10, 2013 at 1:24 PM

    Holly, I have been accumulating zukes in the freezer this summer and am preparing to do a batch of bread and butter pickles next week. If you are interested I can show you how. I have a nephew and another friend who want to participate in the process.

    Reply
    • Holly says

      August 10, 2013 at 2:43 PM

      Unfortunately pickles are one of the foods I do not enjoy. I know they are very popular for canning though. Thanks for reading!

      Reply
  4. Erin says

    August 10, 2013 at 2:27 PM

    last year was my first year canning. I started with whole cherries, then to peaches….I did do tomato sauce…that ones takes so long to cook down to real sauce…and salsa and pickles. I think the easiest one was the pickles. Tomato juice is also fairly easy. One other piece of equipment you may want to get is the Victorio strainer.

    good luck!!!!

    Reply
    • Holly says

      August 10, 2013 at 2:43 PM

      All great info! Thanks Erin!

      Reply
  5. Lizette says

    August 12, 2013 at 8:24 AM

    Holly,

    Kudos! Canning is a great thing to get interested in – loads of benefits! I agree with the recommendation of the Food in Jars blog. Another good one is Local Kitchen. And besides the Ball Blue Book there is also the “Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving” and it’s a good one.

    Right now peaches are in peak season so I would suggest jamming some of those. And remember – commercial pectin is NOT necessary. You can do a 2:1 fruit to sugar ratio and use apples or lemon juice for natural pectin. It takes a bit longer and your yield is smaller but the taste is unbeatable. Tomatoes will be coming on strong soon and that is another great place to start. I roast them, put them through my food mill, and then can the sauce. Later I can turn it into pasta sauce or pizza sauce, tomato soup, a base for chili, and other things. Very versatile.

    I’m one half of Barton Farms and Gardens and we’re at the Haymaker Market every Saturday. Stop by if you’re ever at the market – I’d love to talk canning with you!

    Good luck,
    Lizette

    Reply
    • Holly says

      August 12, 2013 at 9:56 PM

      All great info Lizette! Thanks so much!

      Reply
  6. Mrs. Smith says

    January 22, 2014 at 3:15 PM

    I am a jam freak so if I love to can. I used to use pectin, then low sugar pectin, and now I prefer not using any pectin. 🙂 The taste is waaaaay better. Here is how I made triple berry jam last year. Lucky you to live near such amazing fruit picking venues!!

    Reply
    • Holly Hammersmith says

      January 23, 2014 at 8:33 AM

      Unfortunately my plans to go to an apple orchard didn’t plan out last fall. I’m hoping to finally trying canning this year. I’m more in tun with when berry season is now so I hope to get my trips scheduled better. Thanks for asking!

      Reply
  7. Alexis @FITnancials says

    January 28, 2017 at 2:31 PM

    I’ve wanted to get into making my own pickles at home. My friend makes them at home and they are amazing!

    Reply
    • Holly Hammersmith says

      January 31, 2017 at 10:26 AM

      Pickles are super easy to preserve from what I hear! They are actually one food I really can’t stomach. Such a shame being I enjoy home canning so much.

      Reply
  8. Cherished By Me says

    January 31, 2017 at 9:37 AM

    I used to make my own jams and chutneys when we had a big garden and picked all the fruit but now we live in a teeny tiny town house and I just don’t have the room to store anything, which is a shame as homemade produce is so lovely. What a lot of useful information though to get started, thanks.

    Reply
    • Holly Hammersmith says

      January 31, 2017 at 10:28 AM

      I lived in apartments for a very long time, so I was really excited when we moved into a home with a yard and I could garden again. You could always do “pick your own” produce and can it. That’s what I do with strawberries each year. There’s no way I could grow enough of my own to can even one jar!

      Reply

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