This Article written by a hubpages.com Expert Writer.

The old school tradition of home food canning is an easy thing to do, and come Winter, or any other later time you want to, you can enjoy the canned foods again. Canning foods is a good method of preserving fruits, vegetables, and meats by packing them into glass jars, and heating the jars to kill organisms that cause spoilage.

Mason jars with thicker walls than singular commercial glass jars are usually preferred for canning food. Unless the preserved food is high in acid or sugar content, such as pickles or jellies, the filled jars are also pressurized in a canner, which is a special type of pressure cooker.

Incorrectly done home canning can expose people to botulism and other food poisonings, therefore, it is critical that people who can at home obtain proper and current information from reliable sources. Always follow the recipe for what you are canning.

13 STEPS TO HOME CANNING

Clean jars and closures should be washed well in hot, soapy, water. This includes the canning jars, lids, and screw bands. Rinse them well and drain.

Heat jars and lids in stock pot. For 1/2-pint jars, fill stockpot with enough water to reach the jar tops. For 1-pint jars fill stockpot 2/3 full and add enough water to pot to reach that level. Cover pot, heat water to 180 degrees. Place lids in saucepan, cover with water, bring to simmer, and keep hot.

Make the recipe.

Fill jars using the jar lifter and pour the hot water from the jars back into the pot. Place jars on a wooden cutting board. Insert canning funnel in the mouth of the jar and ladle food in.

Check the headspace, which is the empty space between the top of the food and the top of the jar. Leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace when filling jars.

Release the air bubbles that can prevent jars from sealing and affect the color of the food canned. Sliding a spatula, or plastic chopstick, between the food and the inside of the jar, eliminates bubbles.

Clean filled jars, rims, and threads with a damp cloth because food left there could affect the seal from sealing properly.

Place lid on jar using the magnetic lid lifter to remove lid from hot water to the jar, be sure to center the lid on the jar so sealing compound on the underside of the lid adheres to the jar.

Add the screw band by twisting it onto the jar finger-tip tight to prevent liquid from escaping the jar. Too tightly put on bands may prevent jar venting and affect the seal.

Process the jars by placing them into hot-water-filled stockpot and ensure water covers the jars by at least one inch. Cover and bring to rapid boil over high heat then set timer according to recipe and allow water to boil rapidly the entire time of processing jars.

Remove hot jars from the pot at end of processing time and turn off the heat. Remove the lid from the pot and cool jars in water for 5 minutes. Using the jar lifter remove jars from pot of water but do not tilt the jars. Place jars on wooden cutting board and allow to cool for 24 hours.

Check the seal by removing the screw band and looking at the lid from the side. Lid should be concave. Test lid by placing a finger on it, if the lid springs back jar is not properly sealed so reprocessing or refrigerating jar necessary.

Store the jars after wiping off the lids, jar threads, and outside of jars. Wash and dry screw bands then loosely screw them on to the jars. Label and store canned jars in a cool, dark, non-humid, place for up to one year.

7 ESSENTIAL PIECES OF EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR WATER BATH CANNING

Pint, or 1/2 pint, canning jars with closures. Ball and Kerr are the two largest manufacturers, however, avoid antique canning jars and jars with glass lids and rubber gaskets.

Round cooling rack, or pasta insert for a stockpot, which keeps the jars from touching the bottom of the pot.

Canning funnel with wide opening that sits inside the mouth of the jar. Used to retrieve hot fruits and vegetables from the pan into jar easily.

Magnetic lid lifter for transferring hot canning lids from the pot to the jar. Tongs also work well for this, but this item eliminates the risk of burns from dripping water.

Jar lifters, which are large tongs coated in heat-resistent rubber. Used to haul the red-hot jars from the boiling water.

Narrow long-handled silicone spatula, or a plastic chopstick, to remove air bubbles from canned goods. Avoid using metal utensils that can easily damage glass jars.

Large stockpot for jar processing. Because jars must be submerged in boiling water the pot needs to be at least three inches taller than the jars are.

STEPS NEEDED FOR PRESSURE CANNING

Pressure canning is necessary for meats and most vegetables because they do not contain enough acid in them to preserve the food. Peaches and tomatoes can be processed in less time by pressure canning them compared to water bath canning. Low acid foods need to be processed at higher pressure to kill the bacteria in them. Typically, the temperature for pressure canners should be 240 degrees.

Arrange the jars in the pressure canner.

Check gasket each year before pressure canning. It must be able to form a seal. Gaskets usually need replacing every year or two.

Place the lid on the pressure cooker and twist it firmly closed.

Remove the rocker from the lid of the pressure canner.

Bring pressure canner to boil

Follow recipe.