Home Canning Methods I Don’t Use (and Why)

9.6.25
by: Jill@321Oak
Pennsylvania, USA

Common "Old-Time" Canning Methods

In Pennsylvania, we have a lot of home preservers. Some because of Amish, Mennonite, and related traditions, and some just because growing and putting up food is an Appalachian staple. So, I know people who have learned from long traditions of mothers and grandmothers. Sometimes they use methods that don't have modern scientific backing. Just to be clear, I believe many or most of those in my community made the switch to pressure canning for low-acid foods long ago. But there are still some using older traditional methods. I choose not to use these methods.

These home canning methods include:

1. Open-Kettle: Hot food is poured into sterilized jars with sterilized lids, with no subsequent heat processing (also called “hot-fill, no-process” open-kettle canning).
2. Inverted Jars: Same as Open-Kettle, but the filled jars are turned upside down to cool (inverted-jar sealing)}.
3. Wax Seals: Using melted wax as a seal instead of a lid, especially on jams and jellies (wax-seal canning)}.
4. Oven Canning: Using dry oven heat to process jars rather than a water bath or a pressure canner.

Why I avoid these home canning methods

• I don't have enough personal or community experience to feel confident doing it properly. If I had learned these techniques as a young girl in my grandmother's kitchen, I'm sure I'd be using some of them now. Also, I'm probably not clean enough for this. Cutting corners isn't an option when all the pieces have to be sterilized.
• I have an electric canner, and it's way easier for me to water-bath or pressure-can than any of these methods (water-bath canning for high-acid foods; pressure canning for low-acid foods).
• Sterilizing jars sucks. I don't think putting jars in a pot to boil is less work than boiling the jars, handling them with tongs, getting them full and wiped and sealed again while they're still piping hot. It's hot, tedious, messy work. And then you have to clean it up. Give me a washed jar, food that's cool enough to handle easily, and I'll spend a few extra minutes to water-bath or pressure-can it for a reliable home canning process.
• Canning is too much effing work to risk spoiling. Seriously, I am all about minimizing effort, and there's a risk/reward thing here. There are easier methods that have less risk of spoilage. I'm not talking about botulism here, which is exceedingly rare but very scary. I'm talking about other risks such as mold, yeast, and other pathogens that may gain entry (especially with the wax). I've never had a jar spoil on me yet, and I want to keep it that way.
• And Oven Canning : no way. Too much risk of thermal shock, or breakage when I jostle them to put them in or out. Also, way harder on my back than just putting something in a pot at counter height with a water-bath or pressure canner.

Uncommon and Untraditional Home Canning Methods:

There are others that I'll classify as uncommon but not unheard of. I don't know of any traditions where these have been commonly followed. Dishwasher, sun, and microwave canning are uncommon, nontraditional methods sometimes mentioned in home canning. Why don't I use these? Whether you're BtB or Rebel, I think we all agree that safe canning is a function of controlling time, temperature, and pH. None of these allow for that control in a home canning process.

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