November doesn’t just bring cooler weather and shorter days; it also brings bountiful harvests of various produce, many of which are suitable for canning. Canned foods are a convenient and affordable way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet and can be just as nutritious as fresh and frozen foods because canning preserves many nutrients. Some other benefits of canning include:

• The amount of minerals, fat-soluble vitamins, protein, fat and carbohydrates remain relatively unchanged by the canning process – although the high heat can mean less water-soluble vitamins such as Vitamins C and B. Adding fresh citrus fruit and other foods high in these vitamins – for example, strawberries, broccoli, avocados, and meats like fish and chicken – to your meals will help replace these vitamins in your diet.
• Many vegetables suitable for canning are also ideal for diabetics or pre-diabetics, such as green beans, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers.
• A long shelf life of at least one to five years is particularly beneficial if you find yourself often throwing away spoiled produce – and you’ll always have food during a power outage.
• The heating process involved in canning can increase antioxidant content, such as the amount of lycopene in tomatoes, a powerful antioxidant which, like other antioxidants, can protect against cell damage. Lycopene is also beneficial to heart health and may slow the progression of some types of cancer.
• The heating process also destroys harmful microorganisms and deactivates enzymes that can spoil the food.

Interested in Canning Your Own Foods?

You should always use a research-backed canning method to properly preserve your canned foods and prevent food-borne illnesses such as botulism. There are three safe canning methods to choose from, depending on what you’re canning, and the equipment you have or are willing to purchase.

1. Boiling Water Bath. With this method your jars of food are completely covered in boiling water. It is commonly used to can preserves such as jams and jellies, as well as for canning fruits, tomatoes and pickles.
2. Pressure Canning. Low-acid foods with a pH of more than 4.6 – vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood – must be canned using the pressure canning method to reach the proper temperature of at least 240 °F. Your jars are placed in 2-3 inches of water inside the pressure canner and then heated. Note that a pressure canner is not the same as the commonly used pressure cooker. Pressure cookers are smaller in size which means the heat-up and cool-down times are shorter than with pressure canners which could lead to under-processed foods and a higher risk that botulism spores will survive. Pressure canners also have a mechanism to measure the amount of pressure applied to the jars during the process. If your pressure cooker manufacturer indicates the cooker is safe for canning, be sure to follow the manufacturing instructions precisely for proper processing recommendations.
3. Atmospheric Steam Canning. Like the boiling bath method, a steam canner can be used for foods with a pH of less than or equal to 4.6, like fruits, preserves and pickled vegetables. The prepared jars of food are placed on a rack above a water reservoir. The water is heated to boiling and the resulting steam provides the heat treatment. The method reaches the necessary processing temperature more quickly than other methods while using less water and energy, but proper use of the steam canner is important to guarantee food safety.

Getting Started

The USDA offers a complete guide to canning at no cost so you can safely learn canning basics. Canning can be a fun and empowering way to preserve nutrient-rich foods while saving money. And, unlike buying canned goods at the supermarket, you know exactly what goes into every jar you can. Whether it’s produce from your garden, or non-GMO or organic fruits and vegetables you purchase, you control this part of your food supply.

You can do it!