Canning Calculator

In planning the canning process, you must take into consideration the fact that the weight of the raw produce are not necessarily the same than the weight of the produce that will end up in the jars. The ratio of the raw weight of the food to the weight of that food when it is jammed into the jars is referred to as a yield of that raw food. For instance, tomatoes will yield four cups of food per kilogram of tomatoes when chopped and settle into a container, but berries will yield only three and a half cups per kilogram of berries due to the fact that the berries tend to nestle together within the container.

In accounting for this ratio for each type of produce that you plan to preserve in jars, you can ensure that you have the proper amount of food relative to the number of jars that you will use. The density of the food will impact this ratio; firm green bean will have more higher density than loose broccoli florets, for instance. In addition to considering the yield of the raw food, you must also take into consideration how many serving each jar of food will provide.

How to Plan Home Canning

For example, if you are planning to feed eight individuals at your residence and each individual will eat one cup of corn per meal, you will need to account for eight cups of cooked corn prior to factoring in the headspace for the jars. The headspace is the amount of space that will be left within the jar that contain the food; headspaces are necessary to allow for the food to expand as it cooks. Typically, headspaces account for ten to eighteen percent of the total volume of the jars; headspaces that are too small may prevent the jars from properly seal.

In addition to accounting for headspaces, you must also account for trim waste; trim waste is the portion of the food that is discard before canning, such as the peels of potatoes or the ends of vegetables. Trim waste accounts for two to twelve percent of the total weight of the food. Both trim waste and headspace must be accounted for in your calculations.

In addition to calculating the amount of food that will go into each jar, it is necessary to determine the amount of liquid that should be used in the canning process. For instance, fruits that you will preserve in light syrup will require more liquid than vegetables that you will preserve in brine. The amount of liquid that you will use in the jars is typically one quarter of the weight of the food that will be pack into the jars.

For example, if you are preserving peaches, you may need to use more sugar to balance the tartness of the peaches; for green beans, you might use less salt. If the amount of liquid is not correctly calculated, the food may float within the jars or not be covered by the liquid. The size of the pieces of food that will go into the jars will impact both the density of the food that goes into the jars and the amount of liquid that is used.

For instance, if you are cutting the food into quarters instead of halves, the quarters will pack differently within the jars than if the food were halved. In these situations, it is a good idea to test the flavor and consistency of the food by putting a single jar of the prepared food into the jars; by tasting the brine prior to adding the remainder of the batch into the jars, you can ensure that the flavor and consistency meets your expectations. Finally, the sizes of the jars that are used should account for how the jars will be used.

Eight ounce half-pint jars are typically used for snacks, while quarts are used for meals. The space for the food within the jars will decrease due to the inclusion of headspaces. Common mistakes during the canning process include improper units of measurement, improper batch sizes, improper jar sizes, improper headspaces, improper blanching of the produce, improper cooling of the jars after they have been filled with food, and improper calculations of each of the variable mentioned above.

For instance, you should be careful when switching from imperial measurements to metric or vice versa. Additionally, ensure that all of the jars that you will use is the same size and that they each includes the same amount of headspace. Blanch the produce prior to canning to even out the color of the produce and to kill the enzymes within the produce.

Finally, ensure that the jars are allowed to cool to room temperature prior to labeling the jars. By calculating each of these variables, you will be able to successfully fill your pantry with homemade canned food.