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If you garden, or have access to fresh veggies in season, canning food is something you may want to do. There is something so satisfying about those pretty jars full of delicious food on your shelves, not to mention the delicious tastes from last summer’s produce in mid-winter. With the locavore movement – that is, buying as much of your food as possible from relatively local farms and gardens – I would imagine that possibly more people will want to can summer goodies for year-round eating.

Boiling-water bath canners are simply large enamel pots that come with rack that fits inside. You can get them at hardware stores and box stores, and of course you’ll need some canning jars of various sizes.

I have done boiling-water bath canning  quite a lot. This is suitable only for fruits, jams, chutneys, and preserves.

All other foods – vegetables, beans, meat, poultry, fish, soups, stews, etc.-must be processed in a pressure canner. This is because the temperature must reach 240 degrees, and stay there for a specified amount of time, in order to eliminate the danger of botulism. The only way to do this is with a pressure canner.

Like pressure cookers, pressure canners have evolved in recent decades. There are weighted gauge canners, which don’t require checkups for accuracy, and dial gauge canners, which are more precise about the pressure inside them but must be watched closely to be sure the pressure is maintained. In addition, the gauge should be tested every year or so for accuracy.

If you’re interested in pressure canning, there is an abundance of information from extension services and on the internet. Directions must be followed exactly to avoid the risk of botulism.