Walla Walla Gleaners

Home canning is often intimidating to those who don’t have any experience with it.  The best way to learn about canning is by helping a friend or relative who cans.

There are also many good resources for learning to preserve food.  The USDA has published and revised great information on home food preservation for many years.  Their USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2009 Revision is available in PDF format free online at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html or can be purchased in hard copy at http://www.extension.purdue.edu/store/.  Much of the same information can also be found at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_home.html in a more convenient format for on-line viewing, but without the illustrations.

The Ball Blue Book guide to preserving is also an excellent reference for canning.  It has many excellent photographs and illustrations, and a wide variety of recipes.  The Ball Blue Book can be found in many book stores and where canning supplies are sold.

In addition to canning, consider other methods of food preservation.  Freezing, dehydrating, and fermenting are also great ways to put up your harvest for use throughout the year.