Looking for Water Bath Canning - General Instructions in 2026?  Scroll down this page and  follow the links. And if you bring home some fruit or vegetables and want to can, freeze, make jam, salsa or pickles, see this page for simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preserving directions. There are plenty of other related resources, click on the resources dropdown above.  If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

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What's in season in July 2026, and other timely information:

Notes for July 2026: Summer is here and that means blueberries, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, figs, corn and tomatoes are here. Check your area's specific crop calendar (see this page) and call your local farms for seasonal updates. Strawberries and cherries are done in all areas except the far north.

See these pages to find a local Peach festival, Blueberry festival and other festivals. We have a guide to peach varieties here. Also recipes, canning and freezing directions for strawberries, blueberries, peaches, tomatoes, corn etc.

See our comprehensive list of easy home canning, jam and jelly making, preserving, drying and freezing directions. You can access recipes and other resources from the drop down menus at the top of the page or the site search. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to write me! It is easy to make your own ice cream, even gelato, or low fat or low sugar ice cream - see this page. Also note, there are many copycat website listing U-pick farms now. They have all copied their information from here and usually do not ever update. Since 2002, I've been updating the information every day but Christmas; so if you see anything wrong or outdated, please write me!

You may also be interested in finding a local:

• Children's Consignment Sale happening now; save money on children's clothes, toys, books, etc, find a local children's consignment sale, also often held by churches in the Spring and Fall, click here!
• Fun factory tours - usually free, fun and educational, find them in every state here!
• Road trips or a Camping trip - Find free and low-cost, but fun, interesting places to visit and things to do and see!

Water Bath Canning - General Instructions

Water Bath Canning Instructions

Check Mason jars discarding any that are cracked, nicked, have uneven rims or are otherwise defective. Wash jars and put in water bath canner with enough water to submerse jars and heat for 10 minutes to get them hot. Adding 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the water will help eliminate hard water deposits from forming on the jars. Keep jars hot while preparing food. (It is only necessary to sanitize jars for foods processed less than 10 minutes. Sterilizing is done by boiling jars for 10 minutes.) Prepare lids and rings according to manufacturers directions on the box. Rings may be reused but lids must be new to insure a seal. Pack hot food into hot jars leaving recommended amount of head space. Using a non metallic instrument like a spatula or plastic knife, run the instrument around the inside of the jar between the jar and the food to remove air bubbles. Use a damp clean cloth and wipe the sealing rim of the jars free of food. Affix lids and adjust rings until just finger tight and load jars onto a rack and lower into a hot water bath canner that is filled half full of water, adding hot water if needed covering the jars by one or two inches of water and bring to a boil. If you don't have a rack, a clean dish towel in the bottom of the canner will do. Start timing and process the recommended time. Remove jars using a jar lifter and place on a thick towel out of drafts and allow to cool completely. Do not tighten rings that may appear to have loosened. After cooling, rings may be removed, if desired. If any jars have not sealed, refrigerate immediately.

Wash jars to remove any hard water deposits or clinging food and store in a cool, dry, dark place.