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When it’s harvest season, it’s canning season.

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Typically, August is when the crops are in full bloom in home gardens and in the fields in the Valley.

So this is a good time to think about how to prepare your kitchen for preserving fresh foods now to eat this winter when the wind blows cold.

There are two methods.

The boiling water bath.

The pressure canner.

At her Cooperative Extension Service office in Palmer, home economist Julie Cascio discussed the use of pressure canners.

First, she pulled some old newspapers out of one.

“Newspapers help absorb odors from the previous use, especially if you’ve been canning fish.” Then she described the kinds of pressure canners. Hammered steel vs. cast aluminum. Weighted gauge vs. dial gauge. Rubber gasket vs. metal-to-metal seal.

Typically, depending on brands, stainless steel is size-for-size the heavier of the two, but Cascio said both work fine if handled properly.

Weighted gauges offer the convenience of doing something nearby without having to constantly look at the dial. The weights will start to rock, she said, giving off a distinctive sound as they come to the appropriate pressure. With weighted gauges, cooks should shoot for 10 pounds per square inch of pressure.

Dial gauges give the cook a more visual way to see how far along they are to achieving the 11 pounds per square inch of pressure. But, there’s no pleasant rocking sound, so watching the dial keeps cooks confined to the pot.

Both gauges bring the temperature inside the pot to the optimal 242 degrees. A rubber-gasket seal works just fine, Cascio said, though often needs to be replaced. They can harden and crack, therefore not providing a tight seal. But they’re not costly.

Metal-to-metal seals on cast aluminum work fine too. But Cascio cautioned they have to be treated well because any nicks or scrapes in the metal will prevent a perfect seal, and it can be costly to replace a lid or the whole cooker.

Heat and size matter

“Know your heat source” is another concern, Cascio said. Being able to adjust the heat is crucial to arriving at and maintaining the pressure needed to achieve the correct temperature for the right amount of time inside the canner.

Stability is paramount.

She took one of the larger cookers in her office and put it on a stove to show how it barely fit on the small burners.

“You don’t want it to overlap more than an inch or two past the outside of the burner,” she said, or the pot may not sit still — and nobody wants one of those to fall off the stove.

While pressure cookers come in a variety of sizes, the 8-quart size is the smallest she recommends for canning. Anything smaller is strictly for cooking.

After choosing a cooker, Cascio said, read the manual but don’t rely on it for canning information. It’s best to ask your local extension agent, who can help you find the most recent information.

The extension staff will also check your daily gauge for accuracy. That’s a free service.

Yes, they are safe

Some fear that the cooker will blow its top under pressure, as they occasionally did in their infancy. There are safeguards built in now that prevent that from happening.

In her book “The Pressure Cooker Gourmet,” Victoria Wise writes about the advances in safety. “First and most important, there’s no way you can blow the top off a modern pressure cooker.”

There are two reasons to believe in the new cookers’ safety. First, according to Wise, the design of the appliance allows steam to be released through either the vent or the steam-release dial or lever.

“Though the cooker may whine, moan or groan, you’re safe. It’s telling you, ‘Check me, I may need adjusting.’ In case you aren’t present to heed that call, it will hiss and spew through the steam vent until it fixes the pressure problem itself. You, however, will have to fix any overflow mess yourself when it’s done.”

In fact, most cookers have redundant pressure release mechanisms: overpressure plug, pressure regulator, vent pipe, air vent/lid lock.

It’s about the jars

When you finally decide to start canning, you should make sure your jars are clean. Sterile isn’t necessary, because they will be under intense heat. And make sure they don’t have any cracks or abnormalities. And don’t use a peanut butter jar.

Depending on your cooker, Cascio said, there should be about 2 inches of water at the start, enough to create the necessary steam for the entire processing time.

You will also need a rack at the bottom so the jars don’t come in direct contact with the heat source. A pair of canning tongs will make retrieving and handling the jars much easier and safer. Cascio even has a stick that lifts lids from the hot water. Or just glue a magnet to a ruler or chopstick and it’ll work like a dream.

After those basics, follow the instructions of safe canning recipes.

Your local extension office will have all types of free materials for the type of canning you want to do. Go to www.uaf.edu/ces to see modules that take you step by step through the canning process, as well as print materials.

Water bath canning

If you’ve canned before, it may be because you learned it from your mom or grandmother or another elder who canned for the months ahead when food wasn’t as available in the hard months. Here are tips and directions to get you started from www.associatedcontent.com.

Equipment

• One large pot that allows your jars to fit inside with at least a few inches of water covering them.

• A rack that fits into the large pot that will keep your jars at least ½ to 1 inch off the bottom.

• Canning jars and lids. Most grocery stores have them now, but they can run out as harvest progresses.

• A large pair of tongs.

Getting started

First, fill your large pot with enough water to comfortably cover your jars by at least 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil. Place empty jars and lids in there in an orderly fashion. Allow them to boil for at least a minute to sterilize them. Pull them out with the tongs and place on clean work surface.

Once your jars have been sterilized, fill them with your fruit, jam, jellies or whatever you are canning. Place the lid on the jar and firmly screw on the rings.

Place the jars inside the pot of boiling water on the rack. Put a lid on the pot. Wait for the water around the jars to begin boiling rapidly again. Follow the instructions on your recipe for how long the jars should stay inside the boiling water. This will vary with different canning recipes, so be sure to follow the times exactly.

Remove the jars with the tongs. Once they are cooling on the counter you will most likely here a pop as the lid is sucked down into the jar. This means your jars are properly sealed. You can also check for this by trying to push lightly on the lid. It should not move.

Find T.C. Mitchell online at adn.com/contact/tcmitchell or call 1-907-352-6716.

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