Store It Foods

Probably the single most important (and costly) item that you will buy for home canning is a pressure canner. A good pressure canner will probably cost more than all other canning supplies combined. The good thing about a quality pressure canner is that you only have to buy it once. With proper care they can last for a very long time. I own an aluminum canner that belonged to my Great-Grandmother, and is probably 80+ years old. I still use it every year, with great success.

Choosing the right size pressure canner can be a balancing act. You don’t want to get one too small or you will be canning small batches one after another. At the same time, you don’t necessarily want to get one too big, or you will have empty space inside the canner.

Personally, I suggest you consider getting one larger than you think you will need. Once you get started, you will want to can more and more. For example, my new canner holds 18 wide mouth pints at a time (or 20 regular), because I can stack them two levels high. My old canner will only hold 8 wide mouth pints at a time. That makes a huge difference in the amount of time with canning supplies.