Can you use a regular pot for canning?

Making sauces, jams, jellies, pickles, and other foods using the traditional food preservation method of water bath canning can be intimidating, but when done correctly, it’s completely safe.

You can do water bath canning in any pot large enough to hold your jars, a rack, and an inch of water (and some extra space for boiling or you’ll have a mess on your hands! Unlike pressure canning, which requires a special pot!

If you’re going to be concentrating on smaller jars like half-pints, you can get away with using a deep pasta pot instead of my enormous water bath canning pot, which occupies residence on the back burner for the majority of the summer.

If you want to delve a little deeper into food preservation, Small Batch Canning might be for you.

The pantry shelf in my basement is noticeably more empty.

It’s time to fill it back up!

I’m feeling the urge to stock up and store food even more than usual, like so many of you do. There are so many things in this crazy world that I have no control over, but I DO have control over how I feed my family.

And oddly enough, that does indeed makes me feel better.

I think it’s wonderful that there is currently a surge in interest in food preservation (jars are completely sold out everywhere!).

If you are a canning newbie, I just revamped my Canning Made Easy course and it’s ready for YOU! I’ll walk you through each step of the process (safety is my #1 priority!), so you can finally learn to can confidently, without the stress. CLICK HERE to have a look at the course and ALL the bonuses that come with it.

I have some good news for those of you who are prepared to experiment with home canning food but are hesitant to spend a lot of money on canning supplies:

Almost everything you need to begin canning is already in your kitchen.

There is a misconception that you need a whole closet’s worth of specialized canning equipment before you can begin.

And while that is undoubtedly the case if you intend to pressure can, if you intend to can food using a water bath, you can get away with using regular kitchen tools and equipment instead.

With the help of these suggestions, you can begin your foray into the world of canning and preservation without spending a fortune on supplies.

How to Use a Large Stock Pot for Canning

To do this, you’ll need two things:

a large stock pot, deep enough to fully submerge your jars with an extra inch of water covering them,

and a couple of kitchen towels or some extra canning rings.

The wire canning rack that goes in the bottom of a typical water bath canner is replaced with kitchen towels or canning rings. When the water is boiling, you don’t want your jars in direct contact with the pot because they could break.

The procedure is essentially the same as canning in a large water bath canner.

You’ll put water in your stockpot halfway and cover it with a lid. Allow the water to come to a simmer while you clean the jars, complete your recipe, and fill the jars with your labor of love.

When you’re ready to start processing the jars after they’re filled and lidded, carefully add them to the pot. You might need to use a jar lifter to lower the jars into the water so you don’t burn yourself with the hot water.

In most large stock pots, 3 or 4 small canning jars can fit. By small, I mean pint-sized or smaller. Most large stockpots will probably be too big for quart jars.

However, if you have a large family, as we do, you probably have some enormous soup kettles lying around your house!

Then, follow the same steps as you would for any other canning recipe. Water should be added to the pot until it is completely full, at least an inch above the jar lids. Turn up the heat, cover your pot with a fitted lid, and start boiling!

And if you’re not sure how long to boil your jars, you’ll want to do just a bit of reading before you dive in. Some foods aren’t safe for water bath canning and all recipes require specific boiling times. You can learn more with the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

When you remove your jars from the water, be careful not to grab a corner or edge of the towel if you place one at the bottom of your stockpot. If you do, no real harm is done. Trying to fish out sideways jars in a pot of extremely hot water will only annoy you.

I was so relieved to recall this tip the other night when I was making a lot of salsa. It greatly increased efficiency throughout the process and allowed me to go to bed earlier.

Who knew a big stockpot had so much to offer? Delicious salsa with fresh ingredients prepared in half the time I anticipated.

Acid Is the Key to Knowing Which Foods Are Safe for Each Technique

There are two different kinds of canning. One involves immersing the canning jars in a sizable pot of boiling water and requires no additional equipment besides the canning jars. The other is pressure canning, which calls for a pressure canner (which is not the same as a pressure cooker), a very specialized piece of equipment.

Which method is safe to use will depend on the amount of acidity in the food you are canning. You can safely and happily preserve jars of delectable food for your pantry if you use the right canning technique for the type of food you want to preserve. However, things could become dangerous (contemplate botulism) if the food and the canning method are incompatible. Fortunately, getting this right and starting canning completely safely and without worry is very simple.

How to Start Canning with No Special Equipment | Canning Tool Hacks