Intro to My FIRST Canning Experience...

Canning turned out to be really fun, and the best part was how rewarding it was, and how accomplished I felt after doing this ALL BY myself! I want to quote Jane from Thy Hand Hath Provided...my #1 source for all of my canning knowledge (thank you Jane if you're reading this):

"1) Canning is not hard.

2) You do not need tons of special stuff.

3) I'm going to show you exactly how to do it."

I'm not going to try and explain canning here, because I will just give you the link to where I learned it from....which is here. Follow the steps exactly! I also spoke to one of my Mom's friends (Thank you Rosa & Tony!). The steps he gave me were exactly the same as the tutorial. The one thing I was worried about, was not having a "canner"....both of my sources told me that it was completely unnecessary. I will trust Tony & Rosa's advice. Rosa said that they used to buy 1000 pounds (you read that right, ONE THOUSAND POUNDS) of tomatoes, and spend 3 days making and canning sauce from them. Wowza!

One thing I will explain, is what you'll need to can, and how much I spent on it...So you can see that it's really not that much, and it doesn't cost very much to get started either.

1. Canning Jars (with rings, and NEW lids)-- If you are buying these brand new, you can use the lids that come with them. I bought a case (1 dozen) for about $8 at Target. The cheapest place I've found them. 
2. A large pot, or canner if you want to get fancy. I used my 8 quart pot, because I only canned 2 jars this time. But I also have a 32 quart pot that I bought at Target for $21.19 when we made Tamales last year for Julian's birthday. 
3. Jar lifter and Funnel<-- required. Headspace tool and magnetic lid lifter <---optional. I just bought this kit because I couldn't find the funnel or jar lifter on their own (other than online). It took me a few stores to find this, partially because it's not "canning season", but I eventually found it at Albertson's for $12.99. Albertson's also had the best selection (more variety of sizes) of canning jars and lids that I've found so far-- only slightly more expensive than Target.

Continue reading Veggie-Tomato Sauce and My FIRST Canning Experience

Only after, I drank a yummy can of Young Coconut Juice with Pulp, did I realize that it had 40grams of sugar. Oops! I'm usually pretty good at reading the ingredients before hand.....