For the past few years, even before we moved to the ranch I have wanted to learn to can food. My very real fear of foodborne illness only increased after Josh’s surgery. Now that he does not have a spleen, he is very susceptible to foodborne illnesses. A tiny bacteria that might give you and I a tummy ache for a day or so can send him to the hospital (thanks a lot, Taco Bell!). Nonetheless, I was determined to learn to can, and can safely.

Read more: If you love it, put a (canning) ring on it

I wanted to make chicken and beef bone broth. I use this often, so I knew it would come in handy. To can bone broth, you have to use a pressure canner as opposed to water bath canning. I thought I could use my electric pressure cooker (the Power Pressure Cooker XL) to can. The instruction manual includes instructions for canning. However, after further research, canning in an electric multi cooker (like an instapot) is not approved to be safe. I did not want to take any risks, so I purchased a regular stove-top pressure canner.

Once I had my broth made, I was ready to can! I split it into a two day process. I made the broth on day one, and canned on day two. I was so nervous. Not that there would be any danger in canning, I wasn’t worried about that. What I was worried about was that it wouldn’t work. I was worried that all of my hard work would just result in spoiled food that went down the drain along with my tears 😥. But, I overcame my fear and put those jars in the canner!

Once I opened the lid, and discovered that none of the jars exploded, I became a little more confident. Now, I just had to wait the 24 hours to be sure they all sealed.

I learned there is a lot more time invested in pressure canning than I thought. Reading the instructions in my canning books made it sound like it would take only an hour or so. As per usual for me, I was way off! Four hours later, I pulled my last jar out of the canner.

I was overjoyed when all of my jars sealed! Now that I have some more experience, I can see that some of my jars had some “siphoning”. That is when some of the liquid comes out of the jar during the canning process. As long as the jar seals, it doesn’t cause a problem, but it doesn’t look as nice. I also learned to put a splash of white vinegar in the canner water. Since we are on a well, the minerals in the water stick to the jars and make them look strange. After I took this photo, I also wiped them down with vinegar on a paper towel. I used all of them in about two months. I’m gearing up for another (double) batch- but this time… I have an (approved!) electric pressure canner to use! Stay tuned!