The first time I decided to try my hand at home canning, I was terrified. If you read any “how-to” instructions on canning, they sound so scary! In reality, it’s really not difficult to can, but there are a few important steps to take so that you do not poison your family and friends.

1. Always use new lids. I do keep my old lids and use them for freezer jam, but if you’re worried things might get mixed up, only use lids that are fresh out of the box. Lids are pretty inexpensive, so why chance a bad seal – you could lose all of your hard work, or get sick. Neither sounds very appealing to me.

2. Only use jars specific to canning (mason jars). These jars are designed to withstand the high temperatures necessary for canning.

3. Always wash jars and lids with hot soapy water, then sterilize the jars by placing them right-side up in a canner or deep stockpot. Fill with hot water to 1 inch above the top of the jars and bring to a boil; continue to boil for 10 minutes. (If you’re above 1,000 feet in elevation, you’ll need to add an additional minute to the boiling time for each additional 1,000 feet in elevation.) Remove jars one at a time from the hot water to use in canning. Save the water – you can use this for the water bath.

4. The “rules” differ between high acid foods (tomatoes, salsa, fruit, jams) and low acid foods. Higher acid foods are able to block the growth of the bacteria that causes botulism, and kill it when heated to high temperatures. Thus, high acid foods tend to be the choice of novice canners. Low acid foods (meat, vegetables, seafood, milk, poultry) require a pressure canner, as the botulinum bacteria is destroyed at a temperature of about 240-250*F. The time needed to process the canned goods varies based on what is being canned, so follow the recipe! Canning is not the time to improvise.

5. When filling the jars, always leave 1/2 inch of headspace (unless the recipe calls for more) and wipe the top of the jar clean before covering with the lid and ring band. Place the jars in the water bath one at a time with a jar lifter (okay, I just use a tongs). Make sure there is at least one inch of water covering the top of the jars and process the jars in boiling water for the length of time specified in the recipe. After processing, turn off the heat and wait a few minutes, then remove the jars from the water bath. Cool jars on a wire rack or towel to cool; allow 12-24 hours to seal. For any jars that don’t seal, you can replace the lids and reprocess, or put the jars in the fridge.

These are general instructions for canning. Remember that instructions given in a recipe will trump what I’ve written here, as the rules do change a bit based on what you’re canning. In general, beginning with tomatoes, fruit or fruit products, and salsa are fairly foolproof due to their higher acid content (though some tomatoes are not as acidic as others). My first time around, I definitely walked the line of being too careful, but I was giving away a spiced fruit preserve around the holidays, and I certainly didn’t want my gift to hurt anyone!

Tomorrow I will post my adventures in canning salsa!

Poaching chicken is a very simple and healthful method to cooking chicken. The meat is moist and tender, and by adding aromatics to the poaching liquid, the chicken can take on some additional flavor.

Poached chicken is great for chicken salads, shredded BBQ chicken, as a topper for salads, in a wrap…the list goes on.

The secret to successfully poaching chicken is to first bring the water with the aromatics to a boil, then reduce the temperature so the water is kept at a bare simmer. At that point, add the chicken and poach until cooked through.

Simple Poached Chicken

1 carrot
1 celery rib
1/2 large yellow onion
4 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp whole peppercorns
1 tsp sea salt
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Heat enough water to cover the chicken breasts, bring to a boil. Add the carrots, celery, onion, thyme, peppercorns, and salt, and reduce the heat until the liquid is at a simmer. Add the chicken breasts; be sure they are completely submerged.

Poach until the internal temperature reaches 160 F (or 165 if you feel more comfortable, though the chicken will cook a bit more after it’s removed from the broth). Allow to sit for 10 minutes before shredding or dicing.

Strain the broth and reserve for another use.

What’s more comforting than a pot of soup cooking on the stove? Making soup used to intimidate me, and the thought of making soup stock made me want to run away from my kitchen. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that both are quite easy. If you’ve ever roasted a chicken, you may as well make your own chicken stock, as the process is incredibly simple.

Chicken Stock

1 chicken carcass*
2 carrots
3 stalks celery
1 parsnip
1 onion
1 bulb garlic
a few sprigs of thyme
a few sprigs of dill
bay leaf
bunch of parsley
peppercorns
salt

To make your soup stock, simply take the leftover chicken carcass and the neck and throw them into a stock pot or dutch oven. Cut the carrots, celery, and parsnip in half or thirds, and throw them in the pot. Cut your bulb of garlic in half, crosswise, and toss it in the pot. Cut the onion into quarters, and toss it all in (no need to peel). Add the herbs, a teaspoon of whole peppercorns, and about a teaspoon of salt.

Cover all ingredients with water and simmer (don’t let it boil!) away on the stove for about four or five hours, or put an oven-proof cooking vessel into the oven at a very low temperature so the stock doesn’t boil. The reason you don’t want the stock to come to a boil is because your stock will be cloudy and not very appealing to look at. Keep the temperature low enough (under 212 F or 100 C), and perhaps even use a thermometer to warn you if the temperature is getting too high.

Remove the carcass and veggies, and strain the stock into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, skim the fat off the top of the stock. Either use the stock within three days or put into containers and freeze for up to six months. With homemade stock, you’re getting superior quality soup stock with no preservatives. It tastes better, and it’s better for you.

*If the chicken came with the neck, go ahead and throw that in the pot. An inexpensive way to save stock ingredients is to save the peelings, ends, and skins from carrots, celery, an onions – just start a large freezer bag of stock ingredients. When you make chicken, throw the extra bones or carcass in the freezer until you’re ready to use them. If you have leftover parsley sometime, chop it up and freeze it into ice cubes, so you can just toss the cubes into your stock or any soup that you make.

Vanilla sugar is great to have on hand to give your baking recipes another layer of vanilla flavoring (if you’re already using vanilla extract), or to give a very subtle vanilla flavor. It’s extremely easy to “make” and it allows you to get your money’s worth out of a vanilla bean. Any time I use a vanilla bean for a recipe, after removing the seeds I just throw the pod into my container of vanilla sugar. The pods still contain a lot of vanilla scent, and that will perfume the sugar in the container. As you use vanilla sugar, simply add more sugar and give the closed container a good shake to distribute.

You can buy vanilla sugar, but I don’t really see the point when making your own is so easy and cost efficient.