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Canned Tomato Sauce Recipe (+ Water-bath & Pressure Canning)

by 107 Comments

Home-canned tomato sauce from vine-ripened tomatoes may as well be an entirely new product as there is no comparison to store-bought. It's incredibly easy to make and you can water bath or pressure can it for long-term food storage.

Jars of home canned tomato sauce on counter with ripe paste tomatoes and wicker basket

Follow this easy step-by-step tutorial for my favorite canned tomato sauce recipe and enjoy it spiced up as pizza or spaghetti sauce, use it in chili, for tomato soup, barbecue sauce, cabbage rolls, and so much more.

Why I Love This Recipe

Learning how to can tomato sauce is life-changing. No, seriously, with a single jar you can create pretty much anything your heart desires with tomato sauce as the base.

Using my principles for growing a year's worth of tomatoes (and then saving the seeds for the following year's garden), I am able to can our entire year's worth of tomato sauce. Never having to purchase tomato, pizza, or spaghetti sauce from the store is pretty amazing. In fact, I dare say this may be the most versatile item in my home food storage.

And let me tell ya, if you've never had homemade tomato sauce before made from vine-ripened tomatoes, then you've never had tomato sauce before. All else is an imitation, my friend.

If you're struggling to grow enough tomatoes to put up for sauce, you can always buy them from the farmer's market. But you may also be interested in how to prune tomatoes for a better harvest, or even my 10 tomato growing tips for a disease-free harvest.

Be sure to also check out these 129+ canning recipes to put up this year!

How Do You Can Tomato Sauce?

The best part about canning homemade tomato sauce is that you've got options! (A girl can never have too many options for canning recipes, right?)

You can use both water bath and pressure canning methods for this canned tomato sauce recipe, unfortunately, you can't use a steam canner as it only holds enough water for recipes that require 30 minutes or less processing time. Keep reading below to see which option best suits your needs.

If you feel like you could use a bit more hand-holding for canning tomato sauce, you may be interested in my Tomato Canning eCourse! (It's only $19 and includes how to can salsa and other sauces as well!)

Tomatoes growing on the vine.

What Tomatoes Make the Best Sauce?

First off, you can use any tomato, but truly, paste tomatoes are the best for making sauces.

Why, you ask? (I love it when you ask questions, I truly do!)

Paste tomatoes have less water inside and are fleshier. This results in a thicker sauce without so much reduction time. And I'm all about saving time in the kitchen!

Some good paste tomato options are Roma tomatoes and, of course, the mother of all paste tomatoes (and quite possibly the best paste tomato of the bunch) is the heirloom San Marzano Lungo No. 2. I grow them every.single.year.

This also happens to be the variety that frequently ripens first, so it's a double win in my book. We liked the flavor diced and tossed onto pizza, but it really shines in sauces and pastes.

A white colander filled with fresh tomatoes.

How Many Tomatoes Do I Need To Make Tomato Sauce?

You need a lot of tomatoes at once to make tomato sauce. This may be difficult if you don't have a large number of tomato plants and your tomatoes are ripening over a long span of time.

To allow for this without needing to make small batches of sauce, you can freeze your tomatoes whole in gallon ziplock bags until you have enough to move forward with this recipe.

The bonus of freezing tomatoes is that, as they defrost, you're actually able to peel the skins off, eliminating the step of having to roast them in the oven in batches (watch the video above to see how to do this if you're working with fresh tomatoes).

If you didn't grow enough tomatoes in your garden for sauce, you can buy a flat or two at the local farmer's market or barter with a friend. It's up to you how you source them, but for this canned tomato sauce recipe, you'll want at least 20 pounds of tomatoes to make about 7 pints of sauce.

Sliced tomatoes on a blue cutting board with a knife.

Ingredients

  • Tomatoes (about 20 pounds makes 7 pints of sauce), I recommend San Marzano, Roma and Amish Paste, or another paste tomato, but remember, any tomato will do!
  • Bottled lemon juice (1 Tablespoon per pint jar and 2 Tablespoons per quart jar) it's important to use bottled juice from concentrate as fresh lemons vary in their acidity.
  • Salt (1/4 teaspoon per pint jar and 1/2 teaspoon per quart jar) I like to use Redmond Real Salt, but any sea salt will do as long as it doesn't contain iodine or anti-caking agents.
  • Dried Basil (1/2 teaspoon per pint jar and 1 teaspoon per quart jar) I don't like adding dried herbs to my jars anymore because I feel like they lose flavor during the canning process, instead, now I add my herbs after opening my jars of canned sauce for whatever recipe I'm using it for.
  • Canning jars, lids, and bands
  • Either a water bath or pressure canner
Tomatoes on the bottom of a large stockpot and a potato masher mashing the tomatoes.

Making This Tomato Sauce Recipe

1. The first step, pick yourself some tomatoes! I didn't bother weighing out my haul, it was approximately 90 ripe tomatoes which I'm guessing came close to about 20 pounds of tomatoes. It yielded three one-quart jars plus a one-pint jar in the end.

2. Slice the tomatoes in half and remove the inner seeds and white membrane.

3. Lay the tomatoes, skin side up, on a cookie sheet and place in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes, or until the skins begin to come loose from the flesh.

4. Remove skins and reserve in a bowl (I like to either dehydrate or freeze dry my seeds and skins to then pulse into a powder and use to thicken soups!). If you want to skip this step of removing the skins, I used to simply chop my tomatoes and add them to the stockpot, cook them down, mash them, and then put the sauce through a food mill to remove the skins. But I've since decided that roasting and removing the skins first saves time in the end.

5. Place the remaining tomatoes into a food processor or high-powered blender and give it a quick pulse to liquefy the contents. If you don't have a blender or food processor, you can mash the tomatoes (as shown in the photo above).

NOTE: Keep track of how much liquid you end up with, this amount will be necessary to know how many jars to prepare for canning.

A stockpot filled with boiling tomato sauce.

6. Pour all tomato sauce into a large stockpot and bring up to a simmer and allow to reduce until the sauce is as thick as you like it. For my paste tomatoes, this usually means reducing it for about 40 minutes which allows about 1 inch of the liquid to evaporate. But my sauce is already pretty thick right from the start. This is purely preferential and will vary based on tomato varieties.

7. Meanwhile, prepare your jars, gather your lids, and either your water bath canner or your pressure canner.

8. To each jar, add a small amount of tomato sauce, then bottled lemon juice, salt, and optional herbs (see ingredients above for amounts).

NOTE: Lemon juice (or citric acid), salt, and herbs should be added to each individual jar, not the pot of tomato sauce. And you must add the bottled lemon juice for safe shelf stability.

Canning jars and measuring spoons with lemon juice and salt in them.
Jar of tomato sauce with a head space measuring tool in the top.

9. Fill jars with tomato sauce up to a 1/2-inch headspace for water bath canning and 1-inch headspace for pressure canning. I typically like to pressure can because it takes less time.

10. Run a spatula around the jar circumference to remove air bubbles. Add more tomato sauce if needed to keep 1/2-inch or 1-inch headspace depending upon your method of canning.

11. With a damp clean cloth, wipe the rim of the jar clean. Place on lids and screw down the bands until resistance is met, then to fingertip tight.

Waterbath canner with jars covered with water.

Water Bath Canning Instructions

1. Place jars on a rack inside your water bath canner.

2. Make sure at least 1 inch of water is covering the tops of the jars.

3. Once you've got rolling boiling water, add lid and process pint jars for 35 minutes or quart jars for 40 minutes.

NOTE: See recipe notes for altitude adjustments above 1,000 feet in elevation.

4. Turn off heat and remove the lid from the canner. Allow jars to rest inside the water bath for 5 minutes.

NOTE: If you remove jars immediately, you run the risk of cracking the jars or the siphoning of liquid, which can inhibit a proper seal.

5. After the five minutes have passed, using a jar lifter, carefully lift jars out of the canner and place them in a draft-free area on a kitchen towel folded in thirds. Never place hot jars on a cold countertop.

6. Allow jars to rest, untouched for at least 12 hours, 24 hours if you have the counter space.

7. Remove bands and check seals then move to the pantry for storage. (If any jars didn't seal, store them in the refrigerator and use them within a day or two.)

Upclose shot of a pressure canner with jiggler.

Pressure Canning Instructions

1. Add water to the pressure canner, place the inner rack inside, and load jars.

2. Lock the lid, bring to a boil, and allow the pressure canner to vent steam for 10 minutes.

3. Put the weight on and allow the canner to come up to 10 pounds of pressure (or use a weighted gauge, depending on your pressure canner).

NOTE: See recipe notes for altitude adjustments above 1,000 feet in elevation.

4. Start processing time after weight begins rocking and hissing, or dial gauge reads 10 pounds of pressure.

5. Process both pint and quart-size jars for 15 minutes.

6. Allow pressure canner to cool down naturally and for pressure to return to normal.

7. Carefully remove the hot lid and wait another 10 minutes before taking jars out of canner.

NOTE: If you remove jars immediately, you run the risk of cracking the jars or the siphoning of liquid, which can inhibit a proper seal.

8. Using a jar lifter, carefully lift jars out of the canner and place them in a draft-free area on a kitchen towel folded in thirds. Never place hot jars on a cold countertop.

9. Allow jars to rest, untouched for at least 12 hours, 24 hours if you have the counter space.

10. Remove bands and check seals then move to the pantry for storage. (If any jars didn't seal, store them in the refrigerator and use within a day or two.)

NOTE: If you have enough tomato sauce to fill all the jars needed for a run in the pressure canner, I'd use the pressure canner. Food may reach a hotter temperature in the pressure canner, but because it's processed for less time, it retains more of the nutrients. But, if you don't have enough jars or don't have a pressure canner, the water bath is completely safe with this recipe.

Vertical view of an open jar of tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes on the counter and a teaspoon of dried basil.

Now stand back and look at those gorgeous scarlet jars, just begging to be simmered all day for spaghetti, in chili, or in these slow cooker cabbage rolls.

Seriously, does anyone else like to sit and stare at the rows of home-canned food, or am I the only one weird that way? I'm hoping now that you know how to can tomato sauce, you'll be staring at them, too.

Want to learn how to pressure can?

I have a FREE pressure canning video series here walking you through how to:

  • safely pressure can without fear of blowing it up or exploding
  • how to make sure you stay SAFE and avoid botulism
  • the science of canning so you always stay safe
  • what foods CANNOT be canned at home, even in a pressure canner
  • and more

It's completely free and I've taught hundreds of people how to pressure can, you're in good hands! Click here to snag your seat and get started pressure canning today.

home canned jars of tomato sauce on counter with ripe tomatoes

Helpful Posts & More Recipes

Did you make this recipe? If so, I'd love for you to leave me a star review in the recipe card below, then tag me on social media @melissaknorris so I can see!

Easy Canned Tomato Sauce

Melissa Norris
Learn how to can tomato sauce at home with this easy recipe, safe for both water bath or pressure canning!
4.08 from 25 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hr
Cook Time 1 hr
Canning Time 35 mins
Total Time 2 hrs 35 mins
Course Sauce
Cuisine Italian
Servings 14 cups
Calories 119 kcal

Equipment

  • Pressure Canner or Water Bath Canner
  • Canning Jars and Lids

Ingredients
  

  • 20 pounds tomatoes 20 pounds makes about 7 pints of sauce
  • 7 tbsp bottled lemon juice
  • 1.75 tsp salt
  • 3.5 tsp dried basil optional

Instructions
 

Prepare Tomatoes

  • Pick your fresh tomatoes, slice in half and remove seeds.
  • Place tomatoes, flesh side down (skin side up) on a cookie sheet and roast in a 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes (or until skins start to pull away from the tomatoes).
  • Carefully remove skins and set them aside in a bowl.
  • Add tomatoes to a food processor or high-powered blender. Pulse quickly to liquefy contents.
  • Add tomato sauce to a heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat and continue simmering until tomato sauce is reduced down to desired thickness. (This will vary based on tomato variety.)
  • Meanwhile, prepare your jars, gather your lids, and either your water bath canner or your pressure canner.
  • To each jar, add one scoop of tomato sauce, then add 1 Tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each pint jar (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice to each quart jar).
  • Add 1/4 teaspoon salt to each pint jar (or 1/2 teaspoon salt to each quart jar).
  • Add the optional 1/2 teaspoon dried basil to each pint jar (or 1 teaspoon dried basil to each quart jar).
  • Fill jars the rest of the way with tomato sauce leaving 1/2-inch headspace for water bath canning and 1-inch headspace for pressure canning.
  • Run a spatula around the jar circumference to remove air bubbles. Add more tomato sauce if needed to keep 1/2-inch or 1-inch headspace depending upon your method of canning.
  • With a damp clean cloth, wipe the rim of the jar clean. Place on lids and screw down the bands until resistance is met, then to fingertip tight.

Water Bath Canning Instructions

  • Place jars on a rack inside your water bath canner.
  • Make sure at least 1 inch of water is covering the tops of the jars.
  • Once you’ve got rolling boiling water, process pint jars for 35 minutes or quart jars for 40 minutes. (See notes for high altitude canning instructions.)
  • Turn off heat and remove the lid from the canner. Allow jars to rest inside the water bath for 5 minutes.
  • Using a jar lifter, carefully lift jars out of the canner and place them in a draft-free area on a kitchen towel folded in thirds. Never place hot jars on a cold countertop.
  • Allow jars to rest, untouched for at least 12 hours, 24 hours if you have the counter space.
  • Remove bands and check seals then move to the pantry for storage. (If any jars didn’t seal, store them in the refrigerator and use within a day or two.)

Pressure Canning Instructions

  • Add water to pressure canner, put in the rack, and load jars.
  • Lock the lid, bring to a boil, and allow the pressure canner to vent steam for 10 minutes.
  • Put the weight on and allow the canner to come up to 10 pounds of pressure (or use a weighted gauge, depending on your pressure canner). See notes for high-altitude canning instructions.
  • Start processing time after weight begins rocking and hissing, or dial gauge reads 10 pounds of pressure.
  • Process both pint and quart-size jars for 15 minutes.
  • Allow pressure canner to cool down naturally and for pressure to return to normal.
  • Carefully remove the hot lid and wait another 10 minutes before taking jars out of canner.
  • Using a jar lifter, carefully lift jars out of the canner and place them in a draft-free area on a kitchen towel folded in thirds. Never place hot jars on a cold countertop.
  • Allow jars to rest, untouched for at least 12 hours, 24 hours if you have the counter space.
  • Remove bands and check seals then move to the pantry for storage. (If any jars didn’t seal, store them in the refrigerator and use within a day or two.)

Video

Notes

  • Keep track of how much tomato sauce you're blending as you go to have an idea of how many jars to prepare for canning.
  • You MUST use bottled lemon juice for this recipe in order for it to be considered safe (or citric acid, see free chart for differing types of acid and amounts right above recipe card).
  • Lemon juice, salt, and optional herbs should be added to each individual jar, not the pot of tomato sauce.
  • If you have enough tomato sauce to fill all the jars needed for a run in the pressure canner, I'd use the pressure canner. Food may reach a hotter temperature in the pressure canner, but because it's processed for less time, it retains more of the nutrients.
  • If you don't have enough jars to fill a pressure canner, or you don't have one, the water bath is completely fine with this recipe.
  • Even if you are pressure canning the tomato sauce, you still need to use the bottled lemon juice (or citric acid).
  • Allow jars to remain in the canner for the recommended time to prevent siphoning of liquid which can inhibit a proper seal.
If you're 1,001 feet above sea level, you must make processing adjustments.
  • For water bath canning 1,001 to 3,000 feet is 40 minutes for pints and 45 minutes for quarts, 3,0001 to 6,000 is 45 minutes for pints and 50 minutes for quarts. For altitudes above 6,001 feet increase by an additional 5 minutes.  
  • For pressure canning, 1,001 + feet use 15 pounds of pressure.

Nutrition

Calories: 119kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 6gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 323mgPotassium: 1550mgFiber: 8gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 5398IUVitamin C: 92mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 2mg
Keyword Canned Tomato Sauce, pressure canning, Tomato, Tomato Sauce, Water Bath Canning
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Echinacea Tincture – How To Make It & Use It

by 7 Comments

Learn to make a simple immune-boosting and virus-fighting echinacea tincture with the leaves and flowers from your immature echinacea plant or the roots of your mature echinacea plant.

Echinacea flowers and a tincture bottle sitting on a wooden counter top.

If you've been here before, you know I'm a huge advocate of using natural remedies to improve my health and boost my immune system. (I also love to boost my immune system naturally with the foods I eat.) Whether it's making homemade elderberry syrup (or these 29 elderberry recipes) or learning more about using medicinal herbs at home, I'm always studying!

It's important to note that I am not a certified medical practitioner or a certified herbalist, and this post is not intended to diagnose or treat but is for informational purposes only. Please contact your medical care professional before introducing new herbal remedies into your wellness routine.

Why I Love This Remedy

One of the amazing things about echinacea is not only is it gorgeous, but you can also harvest the flowers and the leaves before the plant is old enough to begin harvesting the roots.

Medicinally, most people prefer to use the roots because they feel there are stronger medicinal powers in the roots. However, most plants need to be at least 2-3 years old before you start harvesting the roots so you still have some that will come back the next year and grow flowers.

If you have plants that aren't quite old enough, you can harvest the leaves and flowers and still get some great medicinal benefits.

What is Echinacea Tincture Used For?

Echinacea is an herbal flower that can be steeped in alcohol to create an herbal supplement. When taken at the first signs of a cold or flu this herbal remedy can help fight off the virus.

It's important to use this tincture before the virus has a chance to enter the bloodstream, as it's ineffective on the virus once it's past the blood-brain barrier.

Up close photo of echinacea flower.

Which flowers and leaves are best?

You want to look for the healthiest and most vibrant flowers and leaves. Don't harvest flowers or leaves that have begun to wilt or dieback.

Some herbalists say that the flowers and leaves from the Echinacea Angustifolia family have more medicinal properties than other varieties, but any echinacea leaves and flowers will still have some immune-boosting properties as well as anti-viral and anti-bacterial benefits.

A woman in an herb garden cutting echinacea flowers.

How to Harvest Echinacea for Tincture

Find the best, most vibrant flowers and leaves and snip them off the stem using kitchen shears.

It's really that simple! You can harvest your flowers and leaves throughout the growing season, or just wait until the end of the season and harvest the last flowers before they begin to die back.

Place the flowers and leaves into a bowl or colander. Know that for this tincture you'll need a 1:2 ratio of flowers to alcohol by weight. So it might be helpful to know how much tincture you want to make before you harvest your flowers.

A woman holding a mason jar standing in the garden.

How to Make Echinacea Tincture

1. After harvesting the leaves and blossoms, bring them into the kitchen and rinse them well under cold running water in a colander.

2. Allow the leaves and flowers to air dry.

3. Grab a kitchen scale and place a mason jar on the scale then tare it to zero.

4. Fill your jar with your flowers and leaves then take a look at the weight. You want to do a 1:2 ratio of fresh flowers to alcohol. Example: I had 1.4 ounces of fresh echinacea leaves and flowers, so I used 2.8 ounces of vodka for the tincture.

TIP: When making tinctures with fresh plant material (not dried) it's best to use a 190 proof (or 95% alcohol) as this will help draw out all the medicinal qualities in the flowers and it will help keep the bacteria at bay due to the higher strength alcohol.

5. Add your alcohol (twice as much as the flower petals and leaves), screw on the lid to your jar, give it a good shake, then remove the lid and push all the flowers and leaves down beneath the alcohol so everything is submerged, recap the jar and let it sit at room temperature for two weeks.

6. Every time you walk past your jar, give it a good shake!

7. After two weeks strain out the flowers and leaves through a fine mesh colander and bottle up the liquid into an amber dropper bottle.

Echinacea flowers and a tincture bottle sitting on a wooden counter top.

How to Store Echinacea Tincture

A tincture is shelf-stable for years when stored correctly. I like to use 1-ounce amber glass bottles with a glass dropper. This is perfect for easy dosages, and the dark amber bottle will help keep sunlight from penetrating and degrading the tincture.

How Long Does My Tincture Last?

Because of the alcohol base, the echinacea tincture will be good at room temperature for years on the shelf (if stored out of direct sunlight). So you may not even need to remake this tincture yearly, depending on how often you use them.

How Much Echinacea Tincture Should I Take?

For adults and children, 12 years of age and older, at the first signs of illness, take one dropper-full (30 drops or 1.5 ml's) until symptoms cease or diluted in a small amount of water or tea three or four times daily.

For sore throat/tonsillitis and/or onset of cold/flu symptoms Herbal Antibiotics recommend one dropper-full (30 drops or 1.5 ml's) every hour until symptoms cease.

From Herbal Antivirals by author Stephen Harrod Buhner, says with echinacea purpurea (which he feels is less effective than echinacea angustifolia) that its effectiveness is greatly reduced when taken in water and recommends mixing it with your saliva for strep throat/tonsilitis symptoms.

Interested in learning more about herbs and home remedies, especially concerning safety and dosing, be sure to sign up for my free herb class where we'll go into more depth about using herbs medicinally for you and your family.

When To Take Echinacea Tincture

You must take your tincture at the very first signs of illness. When the tincture comes into contact with the virus, it can actually help fight it off, or keep it from replicating and becoming a full-blown illness.

If you're already sick, the echinacea tincture will not be as effective because once the virus is deep into the cells the anti-viral capabilities are reduced.

However, echinacea is an immune stimulant (which means it should NOT be used daily for a prolonged period or as a preventative) and can aid the immune system to fight off the illness.

Those with an auto-immune disorder should check with their medical practitioner to make sure it's safe for them. If you're allergic to plants in the Compositae family you may have contact dermatitis issues with the aerial parts of the plant.

A woman holding a bundle of herbal flowers.

Can You Take Echinacea Every Day?

Yes and no, only when you begin to feel symptoms appear from a cough/cold/or flu. It may be taken daily only during the acute onset of symptoms and shouldn't be used for more than 8 weeks at a time.

Who Should Not Take Echinacea?

Those with an auto-immune disorder should check with their medical practitioner to make sure it's safe for them. If you're allergic to plants in the Compositae family you may have contact dermatitis issues with the aerial parts of the plant and should avoid it.

How Much Alcohol Am I Taking In My Tincture?

Because you dilute the tincture into water or hot tea, the end result of your dose will have very negligible amounts of alcohol.

If you add your tincture to something like hot tea, the alcohol will also evaporate out, so this is how I like to give it to my children.

It's also easier for them to stomach since some kids don't care for the taste of tinctures, especially echinacea. It can cause a numbing sensation in the mouth.

Can I Make Echinacea Tincture Without Alcohol?

Yes, you can use a glycerin or vinegar base echinacea tincture, but this doesn't always work with all herbs.

When you're working with plant roots or plants that contain more resin, you really need the alcohol base to draw out the medicinal purposes of the plant.

A woman bending forward amongst echinacea flowers.

Types of Echinacea

When it comes to the different types of echinacea, the most commonly used varieties for medicinal uses are Echinacea Angustifolia and Echinacea Purpurea.

Most herbalists say that Echinacea Angustifolia contains stronger medicinal properties and recommend using the root over the flowers.

But even if you're using Echinacea Pupurea and using the flowers and leaves, not the roots, there are still great immune-boosting properties as well as is anti-viral and anti-bacterial benefits.

Where to Get Echinacea

I recommend growing it yourself, but if you missed planting it this year and don't have any friends growing it, then one of my trusted online sources is Starwest Botanicals organic echinacea.

However the areal parts are the most potent when used fresh, so I wouldn't recommend doing a tincture with the dried flower and leaves. Instead, the root would be best and then a tincture ratio with dried plant matter would be 1:5 with 70% alcohol.

Free Herb Class

If you're interested in learning more about herbs and home remedies, be sure to sign up for my free herb class where we'll go into more depth about using herbs medicinally for you and your family.

Chamomile flowers.

Other Herbal Posts You May Like

Did you make this recipe? I'd love it if you leave a star rating on the recipe card below, then snap a photo and tag me on social media @melissaknorris so I can see!

Echinacea flowers and a tincture bottle sitting on a wooden counter top.

Echinacea Tincture

Melissa Norris
Make a simple immune-boosting and virus-fighting echinacea tincture with the leaves and flowers from your immature echinacea plant, or the roots of your mature echinacea plant.
4.34 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Hands-Off Time 14 d
Total Time 14 d 5 mins
Servings 2 ounces

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ounce echinacea flowers and leaves
  • 2 ounces vodka 190 proof, or 95% alcohol

Instructions
 

Harvest the Flowers

  • Harvest the flowers and leaves from the echinacea plant. Choose flowers and leaves that are bright and vibrant (not beginning to wilt or die back).
  • Give the flowers and leaves a good rinse and allow them to air dry.

Make the Tincture

  • Place a mason jar onto a kitchen scale and hit "tare" to zero out the weight.
  • Add your echinacea leaves and flowers to the jar, packing down gently, if needed.
  • Remember the weight (in ounces) of the flowers and leaves, then add double the weight (in ounces) of vodka.
  • Add lid and give the jar a good shake to start the process.
  • Remove the lid and push any flowers or leaves below the surface of the alcohol, replace lid and set on the counter, out of direct sunlight, for two weeks.
  • Each time you walk by the jar, give it a good shake (at least once daily).
  • Tincture is ready in 14 days.

Strain Tincture

  • Once tincture is complete, strain out flowers and leaves using a fine mesh colander. Transfer liquid into glass amber dropper bottles.
  • Store out of direct sunlight and follow dosage instructions in the notes section below.

Video

Notes

  • Store tincture out of direct sunlight
  • Tincture is good for many years when stored correctly (using 190 proof alcohol). 
  • Dosage:
    • Adults and children 12 years of age and older: at the first signs of illness, take one dropper-full (30 drops or 1.5 ml's) until symptoms cease or diluted in a small amount of water or tea three or four times daily. For sore throat/tonsillitis and/or onset of cold/flu symptoms Herbal Antibiotics recommend one dropper-full (30 drops or 1.5 ml's) every hour until symptoms cease. 
    • Children 2-11 years old: No information listed for children as a standard/safe dose but has been used in clinical studies with children with good outcomes. 
    • Babies: not recommended for kids under the age of 2
Keyword Echinacea, Echinacea Tincture
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Leather Britches Green Beans (200-Year-Old Preservation Method)

by 10 Comments

Leather Britches green beans are something my grandmother would make during the Great Depression and World War II eras. They've been around for hundreds of years and were a popular form of preservation before people learned how to can green beans.

A woman holding up a string of strung green beans that will dry into leather britches.

My family has been saving Tarheel pole beans for hundreds of years. My grandparents brought the seeds with them to Washington State from Avery County, North Carolina back in the 1940s.

But my dad tells me his family has been seed saving them for over a hundred years before that. Needless to say, this variety is near and dear to my heart!

Green beans hanging from the vine.

Heirloom Tarheel Green Pole Beans

Whenever I share about my family's green beans, I'm always asked where people can get them! You can watch this video where I shared my family's story of seed saving this particular strain of beans for over a hundred years, throughout five generations.

Unfortunately, the certification and laws required for selling seeds in Washington state are simply too much for our small operation. I just grow them for our home use and to have a little bit extra each year.

However, there is a way you can get some of my bean seeds! Members of the Pioneering Today Academy get a chance as a bonus in February (while supplies last).

We're not always open for new members, so if you visit the page when we're not enrolling, just go ahead and submit your name and email to be added to the waitlist for the next enrollment period. Even if it’s not immediately available, you'll be able to check out what the Academy is and everything that it offers. 

Jar of dried beans with two bags of the bean seeds on a wooden table.

Lessons inside the academy teach you how to grow your own fruits and vegetables organically, and I also have a complete seed-saving course.

I can’t provide seeds to everyone who wants them. I don't have the volume and there are many different laws to navigate when it comes to selling seeds. But the most important reason I don’t sell our family pole bean seeds is my hope that everyone who uses them also saves them correctly. This will allow you to pass them on to generations in your family, for years and years to come. 

What Are Leather Britches?

Leather Britches are green beans that have been preserved by stringing and drying, rather than canning, or other forms of preservation.

The great thing about this method of preservation is that you don't have to heat up your house with a pressure canner or even a dehydrator to preserve them safely.

During the Great Depression, my grandmother did can some food, but they had a limited amount of jars, so she really had to choose what food went into jars vs. other forms of food preservation that were available to her.

Tarheel pole green bean growing up post and hand picking fresh bean

What Beans Make the Best Leather Britches?

Traditionally leather britches were done with a greasy bean, an heirloom bean that is slick without fuzz on the pod. Our Tarheel green pole beans are a greasy variety, but any hardy, non-fuzzy green bean will dry well and make great leather britches. It's best to choose a variety (preferably an heirloom variety) that has thicker skin and larger beans.

But don't let your variety hold you back! Even if you've already planted your beans this year and they're not heirloom or a larger bean variety, give these leather britches a try anyway! Like I always say, you learn best from doing!

When To Harvest Beans

When making leather britches you really want to use beans that aren't overripe, they should be the perfect eating stage, tender and crisp when snapped.

To know when your beans are ready for harvest, check out this blog post on how to grown and when to pick pole beans.

A handful of drying leather britches.

What Do Leather Britches Taste Like?

In a future video I will show you how to cook up your dried leather britches, but just know they won't taste like a fresh green bean, nor will they taste like canned green beans, they're chewier. But just as fresh and canned are delicious in their own right, leather britches have a distinct and delicious flavor of their own.

I'll be sharing my favorite tips on how to use leather britches for the best results in a future video that I'll be sure to add to this post.

When string beans are dried using this method, they'll need to be cooked low and slow in order to rehydrate and develop flavor.

A woman stringing green beans and putting them into a stainless steel bowl.

Why Are They Called String Beans?

Some green beans are referred to as “string beans” because they have a long, fibrous “string” that grows on one side of the bean. I know the photo above is a bit blurry, but you can see me snapping off one end of the green bean and then pulling the long, fibrous “string” off of the bean.

Green beans are also referred to as “snap beans” because of the noise they make when you're snapping the ends off the beans.

Don't be fooled though, not all green beans are string beans and only certain varieties will have the string that's necessary to remove before preserving or eating.

Trust me when I say you need to remove it! No one likes a piece of floss-like material in their mouth while enjoying dinner!

A woman poking a needle through a green bean to make leather britches.
A woman threading a green bean onto a piece of thread.

How to Make Leather Britches

  1. The first thing you'll need to do after harvesting your green beans is to give them a quick rinse, then string them by snapping off one end and pulling the string-like membrane off the bean. Then snap the other end of the bean off.
  2. Grab an older sewing needle and a long piece of thread and double thread your needle (the beans can get heavy if doing a long strand). Tie off a large knot at the end of the string (if your knot is too small the beans will just slip right over it.
  3. Take a bean and poke the needle through the middle of the bean. I like to poke through one of the actual beans rather than just through the green fleshy part, this will help the beans stay in place.
  4. Continue stringing your beans until you have a nice long line of beans. I like to do mine in about 1-2 foot sections, but ultimately, it depends on how many beans you're harvesting at a time for how long your strand will get OR how much your family will eat at one sitting.
  5. Make a nice big loop at the top of the string and hang it from a hook where it's out of the way, preferrably in a warm, dry, with good air flow area of your home.
  6. As the beans dry, they will start to look leathery, hence the name, “Leather Britches”.
Leather britches, or dried green beans, strung and hanging against a wall.

How to Store Leather Britches

Once your leather britches are completely dry, you can store them in a cool, dark area of your home. A root cellar or dark pantry will do.

More Preservation Recipes and Resources

Freeze Dried Eggs for Long-Term Storage (+ Reconstituting Freeze Dried Eggs)

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Learn how to preserve farm-fresh eggs during the summer months to enjoy all year long with my new favorite egg preservation method, freeze-dried eggs. They'll last on the shelf for over 20 years and still taste as fresh as the day they were laid and I'll teach you how to easily reconstitute freeze-dried eggs.

Two quart mason jars filled with freeze dried eggs sitting on a counter with a basket of eggs beside it.

One of the things we're doing throughout the summer is putting up the eggs we collect for long-term storage. Because we don't like to use artificial lighting to force our hens to lay throughout the winter months, we need to preserve the extra eggs we're getting now to last us through the winter.

The struggle with preserving eggs is that up until now I haven't found a method that I actually enjoy the eggs when cooked up fresh.

As I've said before in the many different methods of egg preservation, and in this post on preservation methods for meat, dairy, and eggs, I'm fine freezing eggs that I'll use in the future for baking, but as you can tell in the video below, the frozen then dehydrated eggs when cooked up to eat as scrambled eggs are a bit rubbery in texture.

Why I Love This Method

Not only do freeze-dried eggs taste just like freshly cracked eggs when reconstituted and scrambled, but they take up very little space, I don't have to use up valuable freezer real-estate, and they're also shelf-stable for up to 20+ years!

Image of tray of freeze dried eggs coming out of the freeze dryer.

Why Freeze Dried Eggs?

You may be asking yourself, “If eggs are fine in the refrigerator for 3 months or more, why would I need to worry about preserving them?”

Well, I don't know about you, but I don't have enough extra refrigerator space to store 3+ months' worth of fresh eggs. If I did that, I'd have no room left for any other food.

Think about it, if your family eats two dozen eggs per week, that's 24 dozen eggs for just three months of fresh eating! Who has enough refrigerator space to house all those eggs? Certainly not me!

I also don't want to rely on the freezer to store food long-term because if (or when) the power goes out, we have to rely on generators to keep them running and I don't want to risk losing all that food.

Freeze-dried eggs don't require refrigeration or freezing (other than the initial preserving) and will last for years on my pantry shelf where I have much more storage space than in my freezer. Plus, 48 eggs will fit into two quart-sized mason jars.

To be fully transparent, Harvest Right did sponsor this post and they sent me my freeze dryer as compensation, but all opinions are mine and, now that I've used it for about a month, I truly would buy my own freeze dryer had they not sent one to me first.

Egg and vinegar being stirred together in a bowl with a fork.

How to Make Freeze Dried Eggs

Freeze-dried eggs couldn't be easier to make. You do need to have a freeze dryer, and I'm absolutely in love with my Harvest Right Freeze Dryer. I have the medium-sized unit and have been so pleased with the amount of food I'm able to preserve in one batch.

Pre-Freeze the Trays

When freeze-drying eggs, or anything liquid for that matter, I like to pre-freeze my trays because this will speed up the freeze-drying process. It can actually knock off up 8-10 hours of time in the machine!

I freeze-dry 12 eggs per tray on each of my four trays for a total of 48 eggs per batch.

  1. Crack your eggs into a blender and blend them up (or whisk well until the yolks and whites are completely combined).
  2. Pour them onto your freeze dryer trays.
  3. Repeat until all four trays are filled.
  4. Carefully place the trays into the freezer and freeze overnight.
Image of tray of freeze dried eggs coming out of the freeze dryer.

Freeze Dry

5. Once the trays are completely frozen (this step can be done in the freeze dryer itself, but will use up more electricity and time than pre-freezing yourself), place them into the freeze dryer.

6. Add the insulating sleeve, securely close the door, and start the machine.

7. My eggs took approximately 22 hours to be fully dry. When checking your eggs, they shouldn't feel cold to the touch at all, although the trays will feel cold (use a towel or pot holder when handling trays) or use the warm tray function button, and the eggs should crumble with ease when broken up.

8. If your eggs are not fully dried, place them back into the freeze dryer until completely dried through.

A woman's hands crumbling freeze dried eggs into powder.
Freeze dried eggs getting pulsed in the food processor.
Image of a woman in the kitchen with two mason jars of freeze dried egg powder.

Storing Freeze-Dried Eggs

You can easily crumble the eggs by hand and store them in a mason jar. However, to make measuring your eggs easier when you're ready to use them, I like to run my eggs through the food processor for a few pulses so everything is powdered very finely.

For short-term use, you can simply store your freeze-dried eggs in a jar. If you want to store them for the long term, say more than a few months, drop an oxygen absorber into the jar before sealing. You can then seal your jars airtight using this vacuum sealer with the jar attachment.

Alternatively, you can store eggs in a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber tossed in and all the air removed.

A woman measuring freeze dried egg powder into a bowl.
A woman stirring freeze dried eggs that have been reconstituted.
Freeze dried eggs getting reconstituted with water in a bowl.

Reconstituting Freeze Dried Eggs

Reconstituting eggs to use for scrambled eggs and baking couldn't be easier:

  1. Take 2 Tablespoons of freeze-dried egg powder and add it to a small bowl.
  2. Add 2 Tablespoons water to the eggs and whisk well with a fork or tiny whisk.

Scale-up if more eggs are needed, then use as you would any freshly cracked and whisked egg!

Two pressure canners and jars of home canned food sitting on a kitchen counter.

More Articles on Home Food Preservation

Preventing & Treating Early Blight of Tomato & Potato Plants

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When you're raising your own food any time you have disease hit or crop loss, it can be detrimental to your garden harvest. One disease to watch out for is early blight. Learn to identify, prevent and treat early blight organically with these methods.

The reason blight is such a big deal is because the spores will infect the soil and they will stay in the soil for years. This means you won't be able to grow anything in the nightshade family in your garden, or on your homestead for years.

So, at the first sign of blight, you want to treat it immediately. This is also why, if you have my book The Family Garden Plan, I talk about crop rotation as this helps prevent these soil-born diseases.

What is Early Blight?

Caused by Alternaria solani, early blight is a fungal disease that spreads rapidly and can be detrimental to a crop.

Not to be confused with late blight, this fungal disease doesn't mean your crops are ruined or inedible.

Identifying Early Blight

It can be difficult to identify early blight on crops, especially if it occurs toward the latter part of the crop's life. Potato leaves, for example, will go through stages where they're growing in height, flowering, then dying back as the potatoes are almost ready for harvest. Because of this, it can be difficult to identify whether the potatoes are nearing the end of their growing season, or if there's a more serious problem.

A woman showing the signs of early blight on the leaves of a potato plant.

Appearance of the Leaves

You can help identify early blight by the appearance of the leaves. If there are multiple dark brown spots showing up on healthy green leaves, along with entire stems of your plants that are turning yellow/brown and dying back, that may be a sign it's blight.

The brown spots usually start small and get bigger, appearing as a growing bullseye, then the rest of the leaf or stem will gradually turn yellow.

If your plant loses too many of its leaves due to blight, the fruit or vegetable may be susceptible to sunscald, so use row covers or sun shades as needed.

If your tomatoes or other vegetables have markings or blemishes on the fruit itself, I recommend discarding them.

The blooms of a potato plant.

Plant still blooming

If your potatoes are still blooming and you see signs of blight, you know your potatoes aren't ready for harvest and it's a good sign that it is blight.

A small potato plant growing in the garden.

Immature or Mature Crop

If you pull up a potato plant and notice the potatoes all look very immature and small, this is a sign it's blight.

However, if you harvest a potato plant and the potatoes are fully grown in size, it's possible you're just dealing with a mature potato plant that's ready for harvest.

Best way to water your vegetable garden to help eliminate disease and increase yield soaker hose at base of tomato plants

Adequate Water

It's also a good idea to know the best way to water your garden. Sometimes signs of too little or too much water can seem like the plants are diseased, when in reality, you just need to adjust your watering system or quantity. Be sure you know the best way to water your vegetable garden.

A photo of a woman working in the garden with a potato plant affected by early blight.

How does Early Blight Spread?

You may find yourself feeling guilty or at fault if early blight hits your garden, but rest assured, this is a disease that can get into your garden when even the best preventative measures are taken. It can come on diseased transplants and seeds without you even knowing it's there.

Early blight also loves warm temperatures and high humidity which will cause it to spread even faster. But you don't need warm temperatures for it to spread, it can overwinter in your soil, and spores are spread by your hands, your clothes, insects, wind, and water.

A woman harvesting small potatoes from a diseased potato plant.

How to Keep Early Blight From Spreading

Keeping a close eye on your garden every single day is the best method for catching the disease early and keeping it from getting out of control, or worse yet, losing your harvest.

Rest assured, if you catch early blight soon enough, your crops will still be edible. Here are the best organic methods for keeping early blight from spreading:

  • Remove affected leaves/plants
  • Discard leaves (do not drop in the garden or add to compost pile)
  • Avoid touching healthy plants
  • Water from below
  • Stake your plants
  • Practice crop rotation
  • Use copper sulphate
  • Properly prepare garden in fall
A woman holding up dead potato leaves affected by early blight.

Remove Affected Leaves/Plants

We also need to take measures, right away, so that the blight doesn't spread to the other crops around it. As a gardener, this is why it's so important to be out in your garden on a daily basis so you can identify these diseases at the onset.

To get rid of early blight, all of the affected leaves of the plant need to be removed. If all leaves on the plant are affected, you'll need to pull up the entire plant. This goes for potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and any other plant in the nightshade family.

Look for any leaves or stems that have completely died and fallen to the ground, you'll want to remove those from the garden as well.

A woman removing affected leaves from her potato plants putting them into a plastic bag.

Discard Affected Leaves

It's important to properly discard the diseased leaves and plants so the fungus can't continue to spread. Don't drop the diseased leaves on the ground of your garden.

Because early blight is caused by spores, the spores are still alive and active on those plant leaves. You'll want to remove the leaves and dispose of them either in the trash or by burning them. Don't simply drop them far away from your garden or in your compost pile. Like I said before, the spores can travel by wind, so we don't want to potentially cause another outbreak in the future.

I bring a plastic grocery bag into the garden so I can bag the leaves up and throw them in the trash or even burn them as soon as possible.

Avoid Touching Healthy Plants

As you're going along in your garden removing any affected leaves, try not to touch your healthy plants with your hands because the spores will be on your fingers and can be spread unintentionally.

Water from Below

As mentioned before, it's important to know the best method for watering your garden. Though watering with a sprinkler from above may seem easy and the most cost-effective route, it can also keep your plants damp which allows these fungi to grow and spread.

Trying to keep your plants as dry as possible is ideal, which is why I like to use soaker hoses. You can read more about watering methods here (or listen to the podcast).

Tomatoes growing in a greenhouse with tomato cages.

Stake Plants

By using garden structures and stakes to keep your plants growing tall you will help create airflow to keep your plants dry.

Staking plants helps reduce contact between the leaves and the soil which could be contaminated with spores.

I like to prune away suckers or any branches of plants that are shooting out from the bottom of the plant draping on the ground. These are those little tasks that can be done as you walk your garden daily.

One tip is to be sure and stake your crops at the time of planting (this is most ideal for indeterminate tomato plants that like to grow very tall), if you stake them after they've grown you risk damaging their roots. (Read this post for my 10 tomato growing tips for a disease-free harvest and here on how to prune tomatoes for a better harvest.)

An image of garden crops to denote garden crop rotation.

Use Crop Rotation

I recommend using crop rotation not only for the health of your soil but for the health and productivity of your plants.

I rotate my crops based on crop family, you can read more about easy crop rotation in this post (or listen to the podcast). But in a nutshell, you want to avoid planting the same crop family in the same spot for two years.

So even though your potatoes may have done phenomenal this year, you shouldn't plant them in that same spot for two more growing seasons. This goes for all plants in the nightshade family (peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, etc.). (Read here for how to plant potatoes in containers or in the ground.)

A woman holding up a sprayer filled with blue copper.

Organic Fungicides (Copper Sulfate)

Because I want to keep my garden as organic and natural as possible, I always like to try to prevent disease with the methods mentioned above. However, sometimes, when fungal diseases hit your garden, you'll need to treat it to keep it from coming back year after year.

Using a copper concentrate spray is a natural and organic way to treat the nightshade plants affected by early blight.

Following the dilution ratios, spray your crops generously with the copper solution. You'll need to reapply the copper every 10 days throughout the gardening season.

Image of a garden that has dried leaves layered on top of the soil for sheet composting.

Properly Prepare Garden Beds in Fall

By clearing out the garden beds in the fall, amending the soil, and even planting cover crops, you can help give your garden the best chance for success the following spring.

This also includes removing any volunteer tomato plants that come back the following year as early blight could still be present in those plants.

As you can see, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in regards to your time and effort, so be sure you're following these best gardening practices to help improve your soil.

Potato plants being sprayed with copper to treat early blight.

Treating Early Blight

After following the steps listed above of removing the diseased leaves and plants, you'll need to treat your garden to keep the early blight spores from traveling.

I like to use organic gardening methods as much as is possible, so to eliminate the risk of early blight spreading throughout my garden.

As mentioned above, I'm spraying all my nightshade plants with elemental copper. This product may look artificial due to its bright blue color, but I assure you, it's 100% natural. This is the brand of copper concentrate spray I use to treat my garden.

Red and yellow potatoes arranged on a burlap sack.

Can I eat the vegetables that have been affected with early blight?

Yes! You can eat the new potatoes (baby potatoes) that are on the diseased plants. You can also harvest any green tomatoes if the plant needs to be pulled up and see if they'll ripen on your countertop. As far as peppers and eggplant go, you can harvest the tiny crops, but they'll be harder to consume as they may just be too immature.

But remember, if only a few leaves on your plant are affected, you don't need to pull up the entire plant. But you will want to continue to monitor the plants as blight can live on the stem and travel that way as well.

More Gardening Articles

How to Can Green Beans the Easy Way – Raw Pack

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Learn how to can green beans the easy way using the raw pack method. This is the perfect tutorial for beginner canners and those who want their fresh green beans preserved for year-round eating without a ton of prep work.

Homecanned green beans on towel

Choose freshly picked green beans, rinse clean, snap to bite-size pieces, place in jars and cover with boiling water, then pressure can for just 20 minutes! Easy peasy and no need to pre-cook or blanch your green beans.

Green beans were the first thing I learned how to can on my own as a newlywed over twenty years ago (I was 18-years-old when I got married, I'll spare you the math) and I've never bought green beans from the store and neither will you after seeing how easy it is to can them at home. Especially once you taste them, they're full of flavor! My kids refuse to eat green beans from the store or restaurants because they taste nothing like home-canned green beans.

Supplies needed to can green beans

Pressure canner (here's how to pick the best pressure canner for your stove-type and budget)
Canning jars
Canning lids and bands (I buy my canning lids in bulk sleeves here)
Jar lifter
Kitchen towel
Bubble popper/headspace measurer (or a ruler)

Ingredients for canning green beans

Fresh green beans – on average you'll need 1 pound of green beans per pint (or 2 pounds per quart)
Canning salt (salt is optional but trust me, you want to add it or beans will be extremely bland tasting)

How do you prepare green beans for canning

  1. Pick your green beans, avoid beans that have blemishes or rust spots, choose beans that are tender, and crisp when snapped. The beans will be the crispest when picked in the morning.
  2. Rinse green beans thoroughly then strain.
  3. Trim off ends, string if beans are a string variety, and snap into 1 to 1 and 1/2 inch (bite-sized) pieces.fresh green beans being snapped in bowl on counter for pressure canning

How to Can Green Beans

Step 1

Place pressure canner on stove-top and fill with rack and hot water, water level should be 2 to 3 inches deep. Turn burner on medium heat to keep water at 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Fill a kettle with water and bring to a boil.

Step 2

Wash Mason jars and lids in hot soapy water. DO NOT boil the lids. Canning lid guidelines changed in 2014 and boiling the lids can affect their ability to seal. You do not need to sterilize lids or jars as long as you're processing jars for 10 minutes or longer (which you definitely are when pressure canning). Place freshly washed jars on a clean towel on the counter.

green beans inside mason jars before canning

Step 3

Fill Mason jars with green beans to a 1-inch headspace (space from the top of the green beans to the top of the jar). Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to pint jars or 1 teaspoon salt to quart jars (salt is optional but does provide better flavor). Always use canning salt or sea salt with NO added anti-caking agents or ingredients, regular table salt is not recommended.

Pouring boiling water onto fresh green beans before pressure canning

Step 4

Pour just off the boil water over the top of the green beans until the liquid level reaches the 1-inch headspace.

removing air bubbles when pressure canning green beans

Step 5

Use a canner bubble/headspace tool (or ruler if you don't have a headspace tool) to remove air bubbles by running it between the glass and outside of the food. Remeasure your headspace and add extra water if needed.

Step 6

Use a damp cloth and wipe the rim of your glass jar clean. This helps to ensure there's nothing that will inhibit a seal from forming. Place lid and canning band on and tighten to fingertip tight (over-tightening canning bands can cause lids to buckle). Place in the prepared pressure canner.

Step 7

Place lid on the pressure canner and allow to vent for 10 minutes. Then place weight on pressure canner according to your altitude and process for 20 minutes for pint jars or  25 minutes for quart jars. Remove from canner following pressure canning protocol 

Can you can green beans without a pressure canner? Can you can green beans in a water bath?

Green beans are a low-acid vegetable and must be pressure canned. The only safe way to water bath can green beans is if they're pickled, the addition of vinegar changes the pH level to 4.6, making them safe to water bath can.

How long is home-canned green beans good for?

The National Center of Home Food Preservation states that home-canned food is best used within 12 months for optimal nutritional benefits but provided you followed tested times/procedures and store canned goods out of direct sunlight and below 90 degrees Fahrenheit, they will be good for years. We practice rotation and try to use all of our home-canned food within 18 months but have had jars that are older and the food has been fine.

Do you cook green beans before canning?

I prefer to use the raw pack (or cold pack) method of canning green beans. It requires less work on my part and is an approved and tested way to can. You can do a hot pack method if you wish, which involves blanching the green beans in boiling water for 5 minutes, before jarring and processing in a pressure canner.

Looking for more canning recipes and resources

How to Pressure Can FREE Video Series

Canning Problems and Solutions: Siphoning (Liquid Loss in Jars)

Canning in Electric Pressure Cookers & Other Pressure Canning Questions

How to Store Home Canned Food Safely – Jar Stacking & Canning Rings

How to Can Green Beans the Easy Way – Raw Pack

Melissa Norris
Preserve your fresh green beans for year-round eating with this easy tutorial on how to can green beans. You'll never go back to store-bought after experiencing the flavor difference of homegrown and home-canned green beans! Go through my free video series on how to pressure can without fear and safely!
4.2 from 10 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Course side
Cuisine American
Servings 9 pints

Equipment

  • Pressure Canner

Ingredients
 
 

  • 9 pounds fresh green beans
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (per pint jar)

Instructions
 

  • Pick your green beans, avoid beans that have blemishes or rust spots, choose beans that are tender, and crisp when snapped.
  • Rinse green beans thoroughly then strain. Trim off ends, string if beans are a string variety, and snap into 1 to 1 and 1/2 inch (bite-sized) pieces.
  • Place pressure canner on stove-top and fill with rack and hot water, water level should be 2 to 3 inches deep. Turn burner on medium heat to keep water at 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Fill a kettle with water and bring to a boil.
  • Wash Mason jars and lids in hot soapy water. DO NOT boil the lids. Canning lid guidelines changed in 2014 and boiling the lids can affect their ability to seal. You do not need to sterilize lids or jars as long as you’re processing jars for 10 minutes or longer (which you definitely are when pressure canning). Place freshly washed jars on a clean towel on the counter.
  • Fill Mason jars with green beans to a 1-inch headspace (space from the top of the green beans to the top of the jar). Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to pint jars or 1 teaspoon salt to quart jars (salt is optional but does provide better flavor).
  • Pour just off the boil water over the top of the green beans until the liquid level reaches the 1-inch headspace.
  • Use a canner bubble/headspace tool (or ruler if you don’t have a headspace tool) to remove air bubbles by running it between the glass and outside of the food. Remeasure your headspace and add extra water if needed.
  • Use a damp cloth and wipe the rim of your glass jar clean. This helps to ensure there’s nothing that will inhibit a seal from forming. Place lid and canning band on and tighten to fingertip tight (over-tightening canning bands can cause lids to buckle). Place in the prepared pressure canner.
  • Place lid on the pressure canner and allow to vent for 10 minutes. Process at 10 pounds of pressure if you’re zero to 1,000 feet above sea level and if 1,001 feet above sea level use 15 pounds, start timer when pressure is reached (weight should be rocking and hissing). Process for 20 minutes for pint jars or  25 minutes for quart jars. Remove from canner following pressure canning protocol 
  • Allow jars to cool for 12 to 24 hours before removing bands and checking seals. Then store in cool area out of direct sunlight.

Video

Notes

  • The beans will be the crispest when picked in the morning. Only use blemish-free green beans.
  • Use the salt, beans will be tasteless without it (ask me how I know). Always use canning salt or sea salt with NO added anti-caking agents or ingredients, regular table salt is not recommended.
  • You’ll need 1 pound per pint or 2 pounds per quart jar
Keyword how to can green beans
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Raising Chickens for Profit

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When you're raising meat birds for profit it's important to make sure that you're actually making a profit and taking the necessary steps to make it worthwhile. Read on for my tips on raising meat birds for profit.

Baby meat chicks hanging out in the grass.

I've discussed before that my family regularly raises 25 meat birds a year (we have a family of 4). This is just a portion of our meat that we raise, which you can read more about our plan for how we raise a year's worth of meat here. Plus more tips on raising backyard meat chickens here.

Since we were already raising meat birds for ourselves, I was constantly getting asked if we had any we would be willing to sell. This got my husband and me thinking, and after having an in-depth discussion about the logistics of maximizing our homestead for profit with Joel Salatin on this recent podcast interview, we decided to go for it.

I've written before about how to make money by homesteading, including quick ways to make money when you're broke, how to use your homestead skills to earn money, and I've even taught on how to create a homestead business.

So it should come as no surprise that we put our heads together and tried to figure out the best method for moving forward.

We're so thankful to McMurray Hatchery for providing this round of chicks to us at no cost (they sponsored, in part, the YouTube video above). We've used them in the past for our meat birds and won't buy from anyone else as their birds always arrive to us healthy and happy!

Things to Consider When Raising Meat Birds

Know the season you'll be raising your meat birds and any additional resources they might require.

For instance, when raising meat birds during the summer, be sure to account for high heat and provide any shade necessary.

If you're raising meat birds throughout the winter months, be sure you have a coop that's insulated well and additional heaters, as needed.

Baby meat birds in a mobile chicken tractor next to waterers.

Where to Order Meat Birds

We've ordered meat birds through multiple mail-order hatcheries in the past. In fact, it became typical that when we ordered our birds we'd lose about half, even when we'd get our replacement birds, we'd still lose half of those.

It wasn't until we tried McMurray Hatchery that we had a 100% survival success rate with our birds (the most current batch we did lose three birds due to the 120-degree heatwave we had). We've been ordering through them ever since, and each time getting healthy, happy, and very vibrant birds that seem to have a much more active temperament than any birds we've received in the past and they're now a sponsor of the website.

Right now we're raising 55 meat birds as a test run and plan to not only sell for profit but also, one day soon, hold a chicken butchering class here on our homestead (keep an eye on your inbox as we have very limited spots for this August).

It's important to us that our meat birds are raised on pasture, allowed to eat insects in the grass, and that they're allowed access to the outdoors to keep them healthier, have less smell on our homestead, less cleanup for us, and overall cleaner areas since we're utilizing a mobile chicken coop to keep them on fresh grass daily.

This benefits our grass and pasture as they're aerating the grass, eating unwanted pests, and fertilizing the grass.

Buy in Bulk

As with anything, the more you buy the more you save. With McMurray Hatchery, they have a per bird price set at 25 bird increments. So the more you buy, the cheaper the birds become.

This is good to know because if you wanted to order 70 birds, knowing that by buying 5 more birds you would get that next price bracket may save you significantly! So do your pricing research ahead of time and know the best quantity of birds to buy for the price.

An up close shot of baby meat birds.

Have Extra Margin

When ordering meat birds, especially if you're preselling your birds, be sure to order enough to have a margin. This year, due to record high temps (up as high as 120 degrees for three days straight), we lost three of our baby birds. We were actually quite pleased that we didn't lose more, but we used these tips on keeping livestock cool during the summer to help!

Ordering Male vs. Female Birds

If you're raising meat birds for profit, it is more beneficial to raise males over females because the male birds dress out quite a few more pounds per bird and will also reach butchering weight a week to two weeks faster than the females.

A chicken being lowered into a chicken butchering cone.
A chicken in a chicken plucker.

Butchering Equipment

If you don't have your own butchering equipment, as we don't yet have it ourselves, you may be able to rent it from your local agricultural office.

Since we don't want to double our equipment fees, the birds all need to be ready for butchering on the same day (we don't want to be waiting an additional week or two for female birds to be fully developed). This is one more reason why selecting male birds is important for your profit margin.

A woman walking through the grass to a mobile chicken tractor carrying two waterers.

Consider Your Time

When raising chickens for profit, it's important to take into consideration the amount of time you're spending daily tending to and caring for the chickens, as well as your time on butchering day.

It's easy to forget to factor in the time you spend raising the chickens, especially if you'll already be doing this whether you were selling them or not. Small tasks can quickly amount to a great deal of your time over the course of 8 weeks, so I always recommend looking at all your daily tasks and maximizing your efforts where possible.

For example, if your coop isn't near a water source and you're needing to fill their watering buckets every single day, perhaps you could move the coop closer to a hose or water source to lessen the distance to and from the water.

Or maybe purchasing a larger watering bucket would be helpful so you're only filling the water every other day instead of every day.

Look at all the small tasks you're doing and see if any of your time spent can be reduced or paired with other tasks to help reduce your time spent (remember, your time is money, make it count!).

Baby meat chicks huddled beneath a heat plate.

Supplies Needed to Raise Meat Birds

There are a few things you'll need to have in place before your meat birds arrive in the mail…

  • Brooder Coop and/or Chicken Coop
  • Feeder Trays
  • Chicken Feed
  • Waterers
  • Heat Lamp or Heat Plate from Premier 1 Supplies
  • Butchering Equipment
A woman shoring up a hole with a piece of wood so baby chicks cannot escape the mobile chicken coop.

Chicken Coop or Brooder

I've shared before about my chicken coop and brooder set up so read that post for more information. It's worth mentioning again that you should have this area set up ahead of time and ready for your baby chick's arrival.

It depends on when you're bringing in your chicks for which type of housing you should use. At the time of this posting, it's mid-summer and we're having very warm temperatures, so I opted to use our mobile chicken coop with a few alterations.

First, if the weather is overly hot, make sure the coop is located on an area of the property that is shaded during the heat of the day. It's also important to note if you need to run electricity to the coop, that you locate it in a place where an extension cord can reach the coop.

Second, be sure the coop has additional shade from either a tarp or roof.

Third, be sure the coop is well ventilated to allow for a breeze but can be protected easily if the breeze is too much for the baby birds.

Fourth, make sure the coop is shored up and that the birds cannot escape, and that predators cannot get in.

When getting baby meat birds or hatching out eggs yourself, there are a few additional supplies needed. Traditionally baby birds need to be under a heat lamp, however, I'm testing out a heat plate that was sent to me by Premier 1 Supplies and I'm absolutely loving it!

Using a heat plate means there's less chance of fire if the birds knock it over, it's a steady heat source so even the birds huddled along the exterior of the plate are getting enough heat, and it's adjustable (just as regular heat lamps are).

Because our mobile chicken tractor isn't very big, we're actually building an additional mobile chicken tractor that we'll transfer our chickens to once they outgrow the smaller coop.

We've modified our design to make it easier for us to get into and out of when it's butchering day, which will also help speed up the process.

A woman standing beside a mobile chicken coop holding two feeders.

Chicken Feed

I like to buy certified organic meat bird feed. I buy this from a local grainary because they can mill the grain themselves which makes it cheaper than our local feed store.

I also buy scratch and peck through Azure Standard and order it in bulk to save even more money, this also saves me gas money as Azure delivers close to my home.

A woman holding up a heat plate inside a mobile chicken coop.

Heat Plate or Heat Lamp

If you already have a heat lamp, then by all means continue using that. However, I've found our own heat lamps to be hazardous to the tiny meat birds when they first come in because they're easy for them to knock over or for a lightbulb to break (which also becomes a fire hazard).

This is why I was thrilled about these heat plates from our sponsor Premier 1 Supplies. They also require electricity, so that's no different from a heat lamp, but what I love is that there's nothing on the heat plate for the chickens to break.

Also, when touching the heat plate with your hands, it's not too hot to touch so there's no risk of the chicks burning themselves if they get pushed up against it.

The heat plate comes with adjustable legs so you can move the plate up as the chicks grow, but what we designed was a hanging system that's adjustable and then the chicks can get nestled in on all four corners without the risk of knocking the heat plate over or shifting it.

Minimize Risk

When creating or selling anything for profit is always smart to minimize your risk by selling the product upfront and having it spoken for before investing your time, energy, and money.

For us, we required our customers to put down a deposit ahead of time, this ensures they get their product, and at the same time gives us some security that they won't change their mind at the time of butchering leaving us high and dry with unsold product.

There are many ways to go about doing this, whether you pre-sell, get people on a waitlist, have customers put down a deposit (a flat fee, or a percentage of the sale), etc. But minimize your risk and have this set up ahead of time!

A woman standing beside a mobile chicken tractor with chickens inside.

How to Price Chickens

When pricing out your chickens there are many ways to go about this. The very first thing you must do is factor in the total cost of raising, butchering, and processing the chickens (don't forget to factor in your time!).

Next, you need to check around to farms and grocery stores near you to see what the going rate is for chicken (both certified organic, free-range, and conventionally raised).

From here, the pricing becomes individualized. Do you want to price your birds at a per-bird flat-rate price? Do you want to price them per pound?

Then, assuming you've minimized your risk by pre-selling your birds, figure out your profit margin.

Our profit margin on this round of 55 birds (52 after losing three), will come to about $2500. This is much higher than one should expect for 55 birds because we got the birds at no cost to us. I also had Azure Standard credit that I used for the scratch and peck, and we'll be opening up our home to 10 people for an in-person workshop to learn how to butcher your own chickens (there will be a small fee for this as well).

So all in all, our profits will be approximately $2500 in 8 week's time.

How to Increase Profit Margin

When raising meat birds for profit, there are a few sure-fire tips that will help give you a larger profit margin.

  • Choose male birds over female birds as they grow faster and larger.
  • Butcher all birds on the same day.
  • Buy chicks in bulk for a smaller per-bird price.
  • Free-range the birds so they're getting more protein from bugs and grass over their feed.
  • Buy feed in bulk and get a high-quality feed (the chickens tend to eat less the better quality the feed is).
  • Buy feed from a local grainary over a farm supply store.
  • Reduce your time by maximizing your efforts!
Chickens in a portable coop.

Related Posts

How to Keep Animals Cool in Hot Weather

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When the weather heats up it's not always easy for animals and livestock to stay cool. Learn how to keep animals cool in hot weather with these simple tricks.

A woman standing next to a baby cow in a pen.

The most important thing when experiencing hot summer temperatures, especially when they're outside the norm for your area (and even extreme temperatures like we experienced this year in the Pacific Northwest), is keeping your animals from becoming stressed and possibly dying.

It's also important to know how to keep yourself cool, which I discuss in these posts on ways to keep your house cool without electricity and how to stay cool in summer without ac!

Hot temperatures can easily become life-threatening to outdoor animals and livestock so following the tips I mention below can really be helpful.

The average daily temperature for the PNW in early summer is about 70 degrees F. We had temperatures in the triple digits (topping out at 120 degrees, a record high) for upwards of a week straight.

Because our animals aren't acclimated to this kind of heat, it can be especially dangerous.

cattle in wooded pasture

Tips for Keeping Livestock Cool

Provide Shade

Making sure your livestock and other animals have access to shade is very important. A shaded area can easily reduce the temperature by 10 degrees or more.

We moved our mobile chicken coop to a shady area of the yard to make sure our chickens were in the shade as well.

A woman standing beside a mobile chicken tractor with chickens inside.

Ventillation

Take advantage of natural breezes by opening doors or windows strategically in your barn to create good air circulation.

If you know your property tends to be more breezy in certain areas, it might be a good idea, if possible, to move your livestock or other animals into that breezy area so they can take advantage of that.

Even just a slight breeze can make even the hottest days a bit more tolerable, and the same goes for our fluffy friends!

If good air circulation isn't possible, consider getting a high-powered fan that can help move the air inside barns or coops.

A woman filling a water trough for animals.

Water

Drinking Water

It's important for animals to have access to water even when the temperatures aren't soaring, but it's even more important to be checking their water a few times daily to make sure it's not evaporating, tipped over, or consumed.

Your animals will naturally drink more during the heat, so you may need to replenish it more often, or even consider getting some larger watering troughs or containers.

A woman spraying a hose with a nozzle attachment.

Sprinklers & Hoses

You can even spray your animals down with a hose to help cool them off. This can be done with a hose and nozzle, or even just a sprinkler turned on where the animal can access the spray.

Ice Blocks

Our chickens really love pecking at a large frozen block of ice (especially if we've frozen some of their feed or veggie scraps into the ice block). They'll peck away at it and it will naturally help them to cool down.

A woman standing next to a kiddie swimming pool.

Swimming Holes & Kiddie Pools

If you have any bodies of water nearby, you can also encourage your animals to get in the water. This is especially great for animals like dogs.

For your livestock, if you have access to a creek then try to get them down by the water as temperatures will naturally get cooler by water.

We also bought a little kiddie pool for our dog, but this also works well for chickens, ducks, etc.

For those animals that can't get into a body of water, use the hose and spray them down with a strong mist.

I also saw on social media that some people would take sections of a soaker hose and affix them to the roof of their barn, then turned the water on so it would provide dripping water for the animals.

Chickens in a portable coop.

Too Much Heat – Signs to Watch For

Cows

During the hot, hot days, we reserved our pasture that's deep in the woods and next to plenty of shade for them to escape into. We also turned on our automatic waterer to make sure their water troughs stayed full.

If the cows were just in barns we would also mist them with water to help keep them cool.

Baby meat chicks hanging out in the grass.

Egg-Laying Chickens & Meat Birds

Watch your chickens for signs of too much heat. Because chickens don't sweat, they will pant to help cool themselves off. If you see your chickens panting, make sure they're in the shade, try spraying them down gently with a hose and cool water, and giving them an ice block to peck on.

It's completely normal to not get any eggs during a heatwave. When chickens become stressed, they will slow down or completely stop laying, and we definitely noticed that with our chickens. This is absolutely normal.

It was a blessing that our baby meat birds were still very young because they naturally need higher temps (95 degrees F). But 120 degrees was a lot more than what they needed, so I added some apple cider vinegar and molasses to their water so they were getting extra minerals and glucose to help keep their stress levels down.

Another thing to consider with your chickens is that the ground they're walking on can get very hot for their little feet. So this is also why it's important to keep them in the shade. You can take a hose and spray down the area they're in to cool the grass off as well.

And allowing them access to some dirt where they can scratch away the top layer and lay where it's a little cooler is smart.

Unfortunately, I did end up losing two baby chicks out of 55 birds, but all in all, I was happy with how well they did.

The animals on our homestead are an integral part of our livelihood. Knowing how to care for them during all seasons is an important homesteading skill we all should learn.

I hope you've found these tips helpful! Did I miss any? Let me know how you keep your animals cool in the comments below!

Other Articles You May Enjoy

Cherry Jam Recipe Without Pectin and Low Sugar

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A cherry jam recipe is a must in every kitchen and my low sugar no pectin cherry jam recipe is the way jam should be. High on flavor instead of bucket fulls of sugar. I've also provided a quick-setting method that uses pectin, or an even easier freezer jam recipe so you don't have to heat up your house by canning! No matter the method, these cherry jam recipes come together easily so you can enjoy the bright taste of cherries all year long.

An opened jar of cherry jam with a spoonful.

Are your cherry trees ripe for the picking? Be sure you know what to do with all those cherries before they're ready to pick and have a plan to get them all preserved and lining your pantry shelves. Some of my favorites are this cherry jam, cherry pie filling, chocolate cherry sauce, and of course, these adorable mini hand pies!

The one drawback with preserving fruit in the middle of summer that it's often very hot and no one wants to heat up the house. But many of us also only have so much freezer space and need to use up the fruit we harvest before it goes bad.

What Type of Cherries are Best for Jam?

I prefer a sweet cherry jam recipe and my favorite sweet cherry is Bing. They provide that deep red color naturally. I've also used Rainier cherries for this recipe. Rainier cherries are a cross between a Van and a Bing cherry.

However, any sweet cherry will work, so use what you have available to you, or at a good price!

If you have tart cherries, simply increase the amount of sugar in the recipe and taste the jam before cooking, making adjustments as needed. (See the “Update” note below on cooking times if you're using tart cherries!)

Can You Use Frozen Cherries for Jam?

Yes, cherries freeze quite well and can be used to make both jam, jelly, and cherry pie filling. Make sure you thaw frozen cherries fully before proceeding with the recipe. I will often freeze cherries and berries to make jam later in the fall when I have more time (and a cooler kitchen).

Harvest Note: Whenever you pick cherries, be sure to leave the stem on, until just ready to use. Once you remove the stem, you allow oxygen into the cherry and it will turn brown and break down faster.

A colander filled with cherries.

Supplies Needed

  • Multiple Cherry Pitter  – pitting cherries isn't always the most fun job, but having a pitter that can do multiple cherries at once sure speeds up the process. If you have kids, this is a great job to have them do!
  • Classic Zester- this little beauty makes getting that pectin luscious lemon zest into your cherry jam without the bitter pith so easy if using the no store-bought pectin version.
  • Stainless Steel Canner– (Safe for glass top stoves) this water bath canner won't rust like the granite wear and will be your trusty sidekick in the kitchen for years to come.
  • OR Steam Canner (my new favorite way to water bath can recipes)
  • Candy Thermometer – most accurate way to ensure jam has reached the gelling point for the non-pectin version.
  • The Pampered Chef Cutting Edge Food Chopper – because chopping up fruit is not where I want to spend my time and I'm all about making quick work when possible. You can also use a blender or a food processor for this part!</li>

Ingredients Needed

  • Cherries – again this recipe works best with sweet cherries, but tart cherries or pie cherries can also work, you'll just need more sugar so it wouldn't be considered a “low-sugar” recipe.
  • Sugar – I like to use an organic sugar like evaporated cane juice, but regular granulated sugar would work as well. Pomona's pectin gives options for using honey or maple syrup, so if you're wanting to use a natural sweetener I would recommend reading the instructions that come with the pectin.
  • Lemon juice (or lime juice) – you can use fresh lemon juice or lime juice with tart or pie cherries, sweet cherries should use bottled juice from concentrate for acidity reasons.
  • Pomona's pectin (for pectin recipe only)– This ingredient is essential in order to reduce the amount of sugar and time needed to make this jam. (See below for more info on pectin.)
  • Calcium (for pectin recipe only) – The Pomona's pectin relies on calcium for the jam to set, this is why you're able to use less sugar, which I love! The calcium isn't an extra ingredient you need to purchase, it actually comes with your box of Pomona's pectin.
Cherry jam ingredients being cooked in a large yellow dutch oven.

What Does Pectin Do for Jam?

Pectin is naturally found in fruits, but not all fruit has the same level of pectin. Apples, grapes, currants, and citrus are naturally high in pectin and can be paired with lower pectin level fruits like cherries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

Pectin works with sugar (the natural sugars in fruit as well as added sugar) and acid to create a gel when it reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

Commercial pectin is almost always made from GMO-derived ingredients (with the exception of Pomona's pectin) and is an added cost, so many jam makers want to learn how to make homemade jam without store-bought pectin.

Omitting store-bought pectin does require you to cook the jam longer to reach the jelling point, but you can use less sugar than most commercial recipes and pair together acidic fruits to create delicious jams and jellies, like the low sugar cherry jam recipe below (I've also included an alternative sweet cherry jam recipe using the ONLY non-GMO commercial pectin I will use).

A woman's hand holding up a spoon covered in jam as a "Sheet test" to see if the jam has set.

How To Tell When Jam is Set

Jam is done when it's reached the gelling point, nice and thick for spreading on toast, homemade buttermilk biscuits, sandwiches, or anything else your taste buds desire. I highly recommend using this jam in my homemade pop tarts recipe!

When the jam is hot, oftentimes it's difficult to tell if the jam has reached the gelling point because it thickens as it cools (it will remain runny while hot). The easiest way to tell if a jam is set is when it reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit. You can know this by using a candy thermometer. 

Old-Fashioned Gel Tests

Don't despair if you don't have a candy thermometer, there are several old-fashioned tests to see if your jam is set that work just fine.

Sheet Test

Because jam will set more as it cools, it can be difficult to tell while it's still cooking if it has reached the jelling point. An easy fix is to use a sheet test.

Place a metal spoon in the freezer when you begin making your jam. To perform the sheet test, dip the cold spoon into the jam and then pull it out. Watch the jam drip off the back of the spoon, it should drip off in a sheet, not run or be individual droplets.

This is called sheeting and if the jam comes off in one sheet it's reached the gelling point.

Plate or Saucer Test

The other test is called the plate or saucer test. Instead of a spoon place a small plate or saucer in the freezer. To check the set of the jam, place a tablespoon of jam on the cold plate. Let it sit for a minute (so it cools and you don't burn yourself) and then run your finger through the middle. It should separate and not run back together.

If you perform either of these tests and the jam isn't set yet, put your spoon and/or saucer back in the freezer, cook for 5 to 10 minutes, and then test again.

Update: I've increased the processing time to reach a gel as a few people have had to cook for a longer time to get a gel. I've always reached a gel with a shorter time but I am using sweet cherries, not tart or pie cherries. I recommend testing for the gel point at the 15-minute mark and only continuing to cook if it's not gelled yet.

Cherry Jam Recipe (No Pectin & Low Sugar)

Four cherries in a cherry pitter.

1. Wash, remove stems, and pit cherries. Get the cherry pitter!

2. Roughly chop up cherries using a chopper, blender, or food processor. Be sure to measure cherries once they're processed, not whole!

Cherry jam ingredients being cooked in a large yellow dutch oven.

3. Place chopped cherries in a large stockpot. Add 1/2 cup water to cherries. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You'll see the cherries begin to break down and thicken.

4. Stir in sugar and lemon juice, mixing well. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Sugar will scorch quickly if not kept moving.

5. Boil, uncovered until thickened, about 25 minutes, and has reached the gel point via one of the above tests.

Cherry jam being funneled into a canning jar.

6. Remove jam mixture from the heat and pour into hot canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

Cherry jam being poured into a canning jar.

7. Using a knife or canning tool, slide it down into the jar to remove any air bubbles, then adjust headspace again, if needed.

8. Wipe rims of jars with a damp towel, center the lids on each jar then add bands and tighten to fingertip tight.

Three jars of cherry jam sitting in a steam canner.

9. Submerge in a hot water bath and process for 15 minutes. (Or, if using a steam canner, see video above at the 12:30 minute mark for instructions.)

Jar lifters lifting out a finished batch of cherry jam from a steam canner on a stovetop.

10. Take off of heat and let sit for 5 minutes before moving to a folded towel when using a traditional hot water bath, if using the steam canner follow instructions in the video.

11. Let jars sit for at least 12 hours before checking seals or removing bands. Then, remove bands, wipe down jars, and store them in a cool dark place for up to a year. Be sure to date and label your jars so you know what's in them!

12. If any jars didn't set, transfer to the refrigerator and use them right away.

Be sure to get more steam canning tips and tutorials in my full canning course, Home Canning with Confidence, or my Fruit to Jar course.

Sweet Cherry Freezer Jam

To make cherry freezer jam, simply follow all the instructions above through step 3, and instead of canning, allow jars to cool completely and then freeze.

Alternate Pomona's Pectin Cherry Jam Version

This is the method I'm using in the video above! We had a massive heatwave go through our area about the time all our cherries were ripe, and I definitely wasn't wanting to heat up the house by using the stove all day to cook jam then can it.

When using a recipe that includes pectin you can cut your jam-making time by a fraction and still end up with a great low-sugar jam recipe that you can either can or put in the freezer for freezer jam.

Furthermore, Pomona's Pectin is the only store-bought pectin I will use on our homestead because it doesn't rely on sugar for the set (it uses calcium instead) and is the only non-GMO pectin I've found without questionable ingredients.

Plus, 1 box makes multiple batches of jam and you can even do completely no sugar batches, which you can't do the old-fashioned way because you need sugar to reach the gelling point. And no, I'm not sponsored by Pomona's, but if they're reading this, I'd totally take a box of pectin in exchange!

This is the bulk option of Pomona's Pectin I purchased last year and the best price I've found for 6 boxes.

Three jars of cherry jam sitting on a counter with a Pioneering Today tea towel.

Cherry Jam Recipe (With Pectin)

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups smashed pitted cherries (approximately 8 cups whole cherries will equal the 4 cups smashed/pitted)
  • 1/4 cup lime juice from concentrate
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 4 teaspoons powdered pectin (in your Pomona's box)
  • 3 teaspoons calcium water (comes with your box of Pomona's pectin)

Directions:

  1. Prepare jars and canner with hot water.
  2. Place prepared cherries, lime juice, and calcium water in a large stock pot on the stove, stir well, and over medium high heat bring to a boil.
  3. While berry mixture is heating, mix together your sugar and powdered pectin in a bowl until well combined.
  4. When berry mixture has reached a rolling boil, stir in the pectin/sugar and mix until combined. Stir continuously for 1 to 2 minutes, making sure the contents have reached a full boil.
  5. Remove from heat and fill your prepared jars to a 1/4 inch headspace. Make sure and wipe the rim of jars clean with a damp towel, place lids and bands on and screw down to finger tip tight. Place your jars on the canning rack in your water bath canner, making sure the water level covers the top of the jars by 1 to 2 inches and bring to a full boil. Process for 10 minutes with the lid on.
  6. Take the lid off and let sit for 5 minutes, then remove jars to a towel and let jars cool for 24 hours. Remove bands, check seals, wipe down jars, mark or label your jars with the date, and place jars in pantry until ready to use!

Did you make this recipe? If so, I'd love for you to leave me a star rating on the recipe card below, then snap a photo and tag me on social media @melissaknorris so I can see! Happy canning!

Jars of apple pie jam sitting on a counter.

Other Jam Recipes & Canning Posts You May Find Helpful:

An opened jar of cherry jam with a spoonful.

Cherry Jam Recipe Without Pectin and Low Sugar

MelissaKNorris
Here's my favorite old-fashioned cherry jam recipe that's high on taste but low on sugar and doesn't use store-bought pectin! Can it or toss it in the freezer for freezer jam (or see our pectin option in the notes below if you're in a hurry!). No matter the method, these cherry jam recipes come together easily so you can enjoy the bright taste of cherries all year long.
4.19 from 27 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Total Time 50 mins
Course Condiment
Cuisine American
Servings 32 servings
Calories 75 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 5 cups sweet cherries pitted and chopped
  • 2.5 cups sugar can use between 2.5-3 cups depending on how sweet your cherries are and your preference
  • 5 tablespoons lime juice from concentrate or lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Wash, remove stems, and pit cherries. A cherry pitter is highly advised
  • Roughly chop up cherries. Place chopped cherries in a large stock pot. Add 1/2 cup water to cherries. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You'll see the cherries begin to break down and thicken.
  • Stir in sugar and lemon juice, mixing well. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Sugar will scorch quickly if not kept moving. Boil, uncovered, till thick, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into hot sterilized jars.
  • Note: It's set when it sticks to the back of a metal spoon. This is called sheeting. Look at the jam dripping off the edge of the spoon. It should look like a “sheet” of jam, not a bunch of individual drops. Cherry jam is not meant to be extremely thick. It's a thinner jam, excellent on pancakes, waffles, toast, etc.
  • Wipe rims with a damp towel, put on lids and bands. Submerge in hot water bath and process for 15 minutes *increase processing time for high altitude (see note section).
    Take off of heat and let sit for 5 minutes before moving to a folded towel. Let sit for at least 12 hours before checking seals on jars. Then store in a cool dark place for up to a year. If any jars didn't set, store in fridge.
  • Make 2 pints or 4 eight ounce jelly jars.

Video

Notes

*For altitudes 1,001 feet above sea level, increase processing time by 5 minutes for every 3,000 feet increment. For 1,001 to 3,000 feet add 5 minutes. 3,001 to 6,000 feet add 10 minutes, 6,001 to 8,000 add 15 minutes extra. 8,001 to 10,000 add 20 minutes extra.

Recipe for Cherry Jam with Pectin:

    • Ingredients:

      • 4 cups smashed pitted cherries (about 8 cups whole cherries)
      • 1/4 cup concentrated lime juice (or lemon juice)
      • 1 cup sugar
      • 3 teaspoons powdered Pamona's pectin
      • 4 teaspoons calcium water (comes with your box of Pomona's pectin)

      Directions:

      1. Pit cherries, then chop and mash or pulse in a blender (do not puree or completely liquefy). 
      2. Place in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add lime juice and calcium water. Stir well. Bring to a full boil.
      3. If using a STEAM CANNER begin to heat water to 180 degrees F (because this is a hot pack recipe).
      4. If using a WATER BATH CANNER begin heating BEFORE prepping your cherries as it takes longer to get to temperature than the steam canner.
      5. While the cherry mixture is boiling, mix together pectin and sugar. 
      6. Add combined pectin/sugar and stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.
      7. Remove from heat and fill jars to 1/4″ headspace. Remove bubbles and adjust headspace if needed to maintain 1/4″.
      8. Wipe rims clean, add lids and bands, tightening to fingertip tight, and process for 10 minutes. *
      9. For STEAM CANNER: turn off heat BUT don't remove the lid for additional 5 minutes, the steam will keep the temperature high and is required for total processing time with the steam canner.
      10. After 5 minutes move jars to a towel and allow to cool and set overnight or for at least 12 hours.
      11. Check seals. If the center of the lid gives, then store in the fridge and eat soon. If jars are sealed, wipe them down with a damp cloth, mark them with the date and contents, and store them in the pantry out of the light for up to a year. 
      12. For the WATER BATH CANNER: turn off the heat and remove the lid, allow jars to sit for 5 minutes before removing them to a towel.
      13. Allow to cool and set overnight or for at least 12 hours. Check seals. If the center of the lid gives, then store in the fridge and eat soon. If jars are sealed, wipe them down with a damp cloth, mark them with the date and contents, and store them in the pantry out of the light for up to a year. 
      14. Yields 4-5 cups of jam

Nutrition

Serving: 2TbsCalories: 75kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 51mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 15IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 3mgIron: 1mg
Keyword Cherry Jam, Cherry Jam Recipe, Easy Cherry Jam, How to Can Cherry Jam, Low-Sugar Cherry Jam, No Pectin Cherry Jam
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