Home Canning

Information on canning and other food preservation methods, food safety when preserving foods, and selling home-canned foods.

On this page: Canning and preserving food Selling home-cannned food

Canning and preserving food

• University of Minnesota Extension Services: Canning: Preserving and Preparing Food Safely 
  Home canning and food preservation information from the University of Minnesota Extension Services. This website has everything from general information about preservation methods to food safety information and recipes for canning salsa and tomato products, preserving meat, making jams and jellies, preserving fruits and vegetables, food drying, and pickling.
• National Center for Home Food Preservation 
  The National Center for Home Food Preservation was established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture by the University of Georgia to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods.
• USDA: Complete Guide to Home Canning
  The first part of this publication explains the scientific principles on which canning techniques are based, discusses canning equipment, and describes the proper use of jars and lids. It describes basic canning ingredients and procedures and how to use them to achieve safe, high-quality canned products. Finally, it helps you decide whether or not and how much to can. The second part of this publication is a series of canning guides for specific foods. These guides offer detailed directions for making sugar syrups; and for canning fruits and fruit products, tomatoes and tomato products, vegetables, red meats, poultry, seafoods, and pickles and relishes. Handy guidelines for choosing the right quantities and quality of raw foods accompany each set of directions for fruits, tomatoes, and vegetables. Most recipes are designed to yield a full canner load of pints or quarts.

Selling home-canned food

• MDA: Cottage Food Producer Registration
  The Cottage Food Law applies to selling certain home-processed and home-canned foods.
• University of Minnesota Extension Services: Cottage Food Producer Food Safety Training
  Do you make and sell baked goods, pet treats, home-canned pickles, salsa, jam or jellies? Are your gross annual sales $7,666-$78,000 per year? If yes, this workshop is for you. By attending this session, you will meet the training requirement to register as a cottage food producer with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.