Congrats! Pickled garlic was my first canned item.

I like half-pints and 4-oz jars for jam, and even then a jar lasts me a long time. The smaller the jar, the less likely it is to spoil after opening (because it gets used up faster). Also, then you can give some away and it represents a smaller percentage of your stash. :-)

The BWB version of Annie's salsa (with 1 cup of acid - vinegar, bottled lemon juice, bottled lime juice, or a combination) is safe and delicious, if you'd like to try that.

Melissa

Good for you! Such a treat to look at what you've put up and say "Wow, I really did ALL that!"

As far as jar sizes, for jam/jelly/marmalade type stuff, I like the small 4 oz. jars (great for Christmas and as Melissa said, less of your stash goes away!) and occasionally, upon special request, I do half-pints.

And do try Annie's salsa. It's wonderful and hot water canning or BWB is perfectly fine. No worries there!

Another vote for the small jelly and jam jars. Pints just spoil too quickly after opening and you'll find that most of the jelly/jam recipes call for 1/2 pints or smaller jars. Be sure to also check out all the approved recipes at NCHFP>

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Jellies and Jams

Well, I can't keep jam in the house - a jar is opened and before you know it, it's gone! But I think I will go with the smaller jars, that way maybe the kids won't eat it by the spoonful! I might have an opportunity to get a boatload of peaches free, so I want to be ready to make jam if the person comes thru!

I will definitely check out the salsa recipe. I love making my own salsa and I was disappointed to find out I needed a pressure canner to can it. I always froze it before and that does work fine, but the freezer does tend to fill up quick so being able to can it would save me freezer space. I, personally, really like vinegary things so adding vinegar to make it safe is no problem taste-wise in my mind.

Thanks for the link as well!

Lisa

There are many safe salsa recipes sufficiently acidified for a boiling water bath. Check out the link for recipes on the NCHFP site.

And if you search this forum you'll see lots of threads about Annie's salsa, which is very popular.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Canning Salsa

Also keep in mind that while you can always safely use smaller jars than the recipe calls for, you can't safely move up to larger jars than called for in the recipe. Doing so would void the processing time and creates potential density issues.

This is less of a safety issue with jams and jellies then with other foods since jams are almost all high acid, but it is still best to stick with the size jars in the recipe.

Dave

A couple of things. If your planning on making jam or jelly, be sure to use fresh pectin that has a current 'use by' date. If its bought and is sitting around after the exp. date it may not set up. I used to make small batches of jam in 8 ounce jars, but because I use the Pomona pectin and make very large batches, I moved up to mostly pint jars now. I also have to limit sugar, and Pomona can set without any sugar added. Until you have successfully made a few batches of pectin based jelly that as set up, its not a good idea to start with a recipe that just calls for just the fruit and sugar and relies on the natural pectin to set in most fruits. Tomatoes are quite easy to can, and even less of an issue than pickles. To make a tomato sauce, all you need is a good strainer (Roma) and you can seperate the pulp and juice from te seeds and skins. Added lemon juice is OK, provided its bottled type, but I prefer to make them with citric acic that is added at the time I fill the jars. At that point , I also add the salt to each jar. I figured if I added salt and citric while its still boiling, it may drive off to much of the tomato liquid and make the citric and salt too strong. The salt and citric acid don't boil out like the tomatoes do.

Lisazone6, we make lots of jam, and we eat it, too! The very small 4oz jars and the 8oz jars (half-pints) are too small for us. Well, at least the 4oz jars are. I usually make the 16oz (pints) and decide that "that's the flavor we'll eat right now" so that it doesn't sit around too long. We also refrigerate the jam once it's opened because my husband's worried about spoiling.

If you're purchasing new jars you'll see that there's very little difference in price from the smallest to the largest jars. That might be another factor.

If you're gifting some of your home canned products (which many of us do) you'll notice that most people don't return the jars ... although it would be wonderful if they did. So, if you'd like to make some gifts of jam you might want to use the smallest jars for some of the batch, and fill up the larger jars for your own use.

Jam making is so much fun. It doesn't take a huge amount of fruit or time or equipment. And it always tastes wonderful! Oh, and when you "skim the foam off the top of the jam" before you bottle it, don't throw that foam away. It's delicious. Keep a little bowl handy to fill with the extra jam that won't fill a jar ... and that will be your reward. Freshly made jam on a spoon, a piece of toast, or a bowl of ice cream!

And yes, I understand exactly how excited and proud you are. I don't think you'll outgrow that feeling either. It's that feeling that will keep you canning in triple-digit heat, standing over a boiling water bath, and cleaning up the jars and mess (and being too tired to make dinner) that will keep you doing it year after year!

Lisa, you should feel proud and elated! It is amazing and exciting! Just wait till you give away some of your goods! People will be amazed! YOU MADE THIS???? Wow!!!
You've got the bug now!! You are hooked!

The "Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving" by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard is a good book. I heard about it a lot on this forum and finally got one used off of Amazon. It has a lot of great jams and other recipes in it. The chunky basil pasta sauce that is so popular here, came from this book. Besides the Ball Blue Book and the NCHFP site this too, comes with approval from this site. It is all so rewarding!! I also picked up "Putting Food By" regarding different types of preserving.
Good luck and let us know what you continue to make!!

Careful with recipes from 'Putting Foods By', as it contains some questionable recipes that may be unsafe by todays standards. My old copy still as mentions of pickling lime and some dense things that should not be canned at home.

Pickling lime is still approved for use, though calcium chloride may be a more convenient substitute.

Carol