with
Stacy Farrell

This year we wanted to give you practical help This year we wanted to give you practical help for creating a more sustainable and self-sufficient lifestyle. A way to be a little lessdependent on circumstances and a little more dependent on Him.
It’s time for us all to get back to basics!

f you’ve ever marveled at rows of beautiful jars in your grandmother’s pantry or yearned to savor the taste of sun-ripened tomatoes long after the season has passed, it may be time to learn how to can.
Today, my goal is to walk you through the essential steps, equip you with the right tools, and impart the knowledge you need to water bath can with confidence.
The first thing you need to know: not all foods can be water bathed. Some foods require pressure canning. What’s the dividing line? Acidity.
Simply put—harmful bacteria can’t survive in acid.
We gauge acidity using the pH scale—a familiar, even if distant, concept from high school science class.
The critical “magic number” that distinguishes low-acid from high-acid foods is 4.6.

You can dip the strip into your food and get a near-instant reading of its acidity level.
Here’s a list of the most common foods that are water bath canned:
- Fruits and fruit juices
- Tomatoes and tomato products (with added vinegar or lemon juice)
- Salsas
- Relishes
- Jams and jellies
- Pickled vegetables
- Fruit preserves
- Fruit pie fillings
If your recipe requires a five-minute processing time, be sure to sterilize the jars first by submerging them in boiling water for ten minutes. Or you can simply extend the processing time from five minutes to ten minutes.
It’s okay to process jars for longer than necessary, but not shorter.

Supplies You’ll Need to Get Started
Here’s what you’ll need to ensure safe and successful water bath canning:
Jars: Use proper canning jars, like Ball or Kerr Mason jars, designed to withstand the high heat necessary for canning.
Lids: Use new canning lids for each session to guarantee a proper seal.
Water Bath Canner: Use any heavy-bottomed stock pot deep enough to submerge your jars under two inches of boiling water.
Rack: Glass jars can’t sit directly on the bottom of the canner as they risk breaking. You can find canning racks online or canning baskets with handles for easy jar removal.
Jar Lifter: You’ll need this tool to lift boiling hot jars out of the canner without touching them.
Funnel: Funnels designed for canning have large openings that fit inside a pint or quart jar. They make the job much easier (and less messy).
Canning Kit: A few other items that are useful but not absolutely necessary include a de-bubble tool and headspace measurement tool.
Safe Recipes: Source safe canning recipes from reputable sources such as the National Center for Home Food Preservation or the Ball canning books available online. We also have dozens of canning recipes and tutorials on our website, FoodPrepGuide.com.
You will find a list of our canning tool recommendations here.


For approximately 16 pints of pickles, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- 3 quarts of vinegar
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1 cup canning salt
- 4 quarts of water
Whisk all together, and bring to a boil.
Step 3: Prepare the Cucumbers
While the brine is heating up, slice up your cucumbers into spears, cutting off both ends to prevent bitterness. For crispy pickles, you have three options:
- Use “pickle crisp”—a powdered product from the store. (Follow the package instructions.)
- Place your cucumbers in an ice water bath overnight.
- Can them immediately after picking.
- 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon of mustard seed
- A tablespoon of dill
Ladle the hot brine into each jar to half an inch of headspace. (Alternatively, you can transfer the brine into a tea kettle for easy pouring.) Headspace is measured from the top of the jar to the top of the ingredients, so you want to add brine until it reaches a half-inch below the top of the jar.
De-bubble to eliminate trapped air. To de-bubble, use a wooden utensil, butter knife, or de-bubble tool to run along the sides of the jar, moving up and down.
Fingertip tight means securing the ring using only your fingertips and stopping when you feel resistance. You don’t want to overtighten them as air needs to be able to escape during the canning process.
Bring the canner to a hard, rolling boil, place a lid on the canner, and then start the processing time—in this case, ten minutes.
After twelve to twenty-four hours, check to ensure each jar is sealed. The lid should be depressed in the center so that it doesn’t pop when you press down on it. If any jars didn’t seal, place them in the refrigerator and enjoy the contents within a few days.
If you would like to watch this process step by step, here is our Canning Dill Pickles Video Tutorial.
Happy Canning!


tacy Farrell, was surprised by Jesus when she went from being an unmarried, childless, 30-something career woman to a Christ-following wife of 30+ years with two sons she homeschooled K-12. She’s the author of 20+ books—including the award-winning Philosophy Adventure, and Food Prep Guide: A Plan for Money-Saving, Self-Sustaining Abundance in Hard Times.
You’ll find helpful food preservation, pantry storage & gardening tutorials on the Food Prep Guide YouTube channel she produces with her amazing assistant Jordan, and food prep and homeschool resources at HomeschoolAdventure.com and FoodPrepGuide.com.