Many people enjoy canning foods at home as it gives them a way to preserve their food for a longer period of time. Each type of food has specific canning instructions to help ensure bacteria are killed and the product is securely sealed. Proper preparation of the recipe, sterilizing the canning jars, and using a pressure canner are a few of the best tips an individual might consider when canning spaghetti sauce. In addition, proper storage of the finished product helps keep it fresh for as long as possible.
To help create a product that will taste fresh after canning, proper preparation is essential. When canning spaghetti sauce, most people prefer to start with a homemade product. Often they use ingredients they have grown themselves. Even when a homegrown product is not used, ingredients that are as fresh as possible should be used to produce a tasty sauce that is good for canning.
Canning jars are usually prepared while the sauce is simmering, which usually involves boiling the jars in extremely hot water. Some people choose to place the empty jars in a pressure canner or a dishwasher to ensure they have been heated to the proper temperature. This helps create clean and sterile jars for use when canning spaghetti sauce. It is often best for the contents to be placed in a still-hot jar.
After jars have been prepared, sauce might be added. In order to make this an easy process, many people use canning funnels to help ensure everything is placed in the jar cleanly. Care should be taken to avoid overfilling the jars as this can potentially cause the jars to explode once they have been placed in the pressure canner.
Some sources recommend simply boiling the filled jars when canning spaghetti sauce. Many people believe this does not do an adequate job of killing bacteria so they suggest the use of a pressure canner instead. A pressure canner creates a very high temperature steam environment which helps keep the product safe even after initial canning.
Lids are usually placed on the filled jars and they are placed into the pot with a small amount of water. They are then heated for at least 25 minutes. Allowing the jars to cool for approximately 24 hours after canning spaghetti sauce is recommended to avoid accidental breakage. After this process is complete, the jars might be frozen for future use, or given as gifts.
