Not really a mystery

I suspect that when I mention "canning" and "making pickles" or "zucchini relish" a lot of eyes glaze over.  Thoughts of "all that special equipment" or "how would I even know where to start" are, I suspect, the first things that cross your minds.

There are some specialized pieces of equipment you really do need to have but surprisingly not all that much.  With that in mind I took some pictures that I hope will help dispel the notion that canning is outside your area of expertise.  And, by the way, if you have a friend with any of the "special stuff", perhaps they would be happy to share some of it with you so you get a running start without having to buy much of anything but the jars & whatever you want to can.

So here we go - the picture quality might not be great but if you squint it helps:

Only special equipment here is the jar holder (has the yellow ends to grab the jars), the magnet on the green plastic stick and a wide mouth funnel - and , of course, the jars and lids

Nothing special here except the jar rings in the bowl and that funnel

If you take a good look at the above two pictures you will see that aside from the jars, the jar holder (to take the jars out of the boiling water bath), the magnet to get the hot lids out of the hot water without burning your fingers and that funnel, most of the equipment is utensils that you probably already have!

The other two items you really do need to have access to are the big kettle (ok, it doesn't have to be that exact kettle) and the racks to hold the jars during processing.  The one on the left is the really old rusty one that I prefer - it has dividers to keep the jars from touching each other.  I haven't been able to find another one quite like it - most of them are similar to the one on the right and I guess you just have to hope they stay in place while processing.

Let's say you choose to pickle beets, first you need the beets...

That was easy!  Next you need to wash them and cut off the tops (leaving a couple inches of the stems) and cook them just until they are barely tender.   I have found that a kettle the size of the next one pictured makes about 5 or 6 pints of finished beets.

Still not a special piece of equipment!

Cover them with water and when they are done cooking, dump them carefully into a cold water bath to stop the cooking and make it easier to get the skins off.

A dishpan full of water is definitely not special equipment

The skin will actually slip right off - cut off the tops and the roots and cut them into whatever sized pieces you want the finished product to have.

Follow the recipe (I will do a separate post of the recipe if requested) and pop them into jars, cover with the liquid, wipe the rims off and put on the covers.  They are now ready to be processed!

See how nicely that rack keeps itself stable and above the water - especially good when taking the jars out of  the water.

Once the jars have boiled for the correct processing time, take them carefully out of the water (that jar holder is really indispensable - it holds the jars securely and as hot as they are that's important).  Put them on a covered surface (wood if possible) and cover them with a towel until they have cooled.

Draft and peeking free!

Once they are cool leave them overnight - check the seals and label the contents - you only think you will remember when you made them and what they are.  Beets are pretty easy to identify but wait until you graduate to relishes and salsas!  And, by the way, if you put the label on the lid you won't have to scrape it off the jar when it is returned for a refill.  Everything but the lids is reusable but they are a one time thing.

So all in all that's all!  Part of the trick to angst free canning is to have all your materials laid out ahead of time - nothing is more anxiety producing than juggling a hot container of product while you try to figure out where that funnel is!