Using a Boiling Water Bath, or Non-Pressure Canners
Unless you are only canning a small amount of jelly each year, you will probably want to invest in a traditional boiling water bath canner. These canners are oversized and will hold up to 7 quart jars of food. Sold with both a lid and a jar rack, these canners are much more economical than pressure cookers or even a similarly sized stockpot.
Boiling water bath canners are used for canning high-acid foods, such as tomatoes and for jams, jellies and preserves. Processing times can be as little as 10 minutes for jelly and 45 minutes for tomatoes. The key to water bath canning is to keep the water at a "rolling" boil for the specified amount of time.
One of the additional good points of the boiling water canner is that you can use it to sterilize your jars before you fill them with food. This ensures that no bacteria or other contaminants will enter the food from the jars.
Using the Canner
Place the jars into the canner using the jar rack and cover completely with water. Bring the water to a boil. Use canning tongs to remove the jars, one by one, from the boiling water, allowing the water inside the jars to pour back into the canner.
Fill the jars as described in your canning recipe and secure the lid of the jar using a canning ring. Place the jar, again using the tongs, back into the boiling water. Continue this process until all the jars are full.
Make sure there is at least two inches of water covering the jars in the canner and bring the water back to a boil. Place the lid on the canner and process for the amount of time stated in the recipe.
When the processing time is complete, turn off the heat and remove the canner from the stove element. Use the tongs to lift the wire handles of the jar rack and lift the jars, using hot pads or oven mitts to hold the handles, out of the canner. Again, using the tongs, remove the jars and set on a towel covered counter to cool.
