Welcome to WSU Clark County Extension Food Preservation, your source for current research-based information, publications and recipes.
Food can be preserved in many different ways including freezing, canning and dehydrating which allows you to preserve the bounty from your garden, farmers market, gleaning and other sources year round. To take advantage of this bounty however; you need to have a trusted source of publications, literature and recipes. The sources listed below will tell you the latest and best method of preservation and the proper steps, times and ratio of ingredients to ensure a high quality, safe product that has been lab tested to ensure its safety for your family.
Safe Canning Books
- PNW Publications*
- So Easy to Preserve – The University of Georgia*
- USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (PDF)
*Available for purchase at the Clark County Extension Office
PNW Extension Publications
- Freezing Home Prepared Convenience Foods – PNW296 (PDF)
- Using and Caring for your Pressure Canner – PNW0421 (PDF)
- Canning Timer & Checklist – PNW689 (App for iOS and Android)
Fruits & Vegetables
- Canning Vegetables – PNW172 (PDF)
- Canning Fruits – PNW199 (PDF)
- Freezing Fruits and Vegetables – PNW214 (PDF)
- Drying Fruits & Vegetables – PNW0397 (PDF)
- Canning Tomatoes and Tomato Products – PNW300 (PDF)
- Pickling Vegetables – PNW355 (PDF)
- Salsa Recipes for Canning – PNW395 (PDF)
- Drying Fruits & Vegetables – PNW0397 (PDF)
- Making Garlic and Herb-Infused Oils at Home – PNW664 (PDF)
- Storing Fruits & Vegetables at Home – EB1326E (PDF)
- Let’s Preserve Jams, Jellies and Spreads – EB1665 (PDF)
- Making Jams, Jellies and Fruit Spreads – FS232E (PDF)
- Low Sugar Fruit Spreads – FS236E (PDF)
- Preserving Berries – FS233E (PDF)
- Preserving Berry Syrups at Home – FS238E (PDF)
- Preserving Pumpkin and Winter Squash – FS303E (PDF)
Meat, Poultry & Seafood
- Pickling Fish & Other Aquatic Foods for Home Use – PNW0183 (PDF)
- Canning Seafood – PNW194 (PDF)
- Smoking Fish at Home Safely – PNW238 (PDF)
- Canning Meat, Poultry and Game – PNW361 (PDF)
- Canning Smoked Fish at Home – PNW450 (PDF)
- Making Jerky at Home Safely – PNW632 (PDF)
- Home Freezing of Seafood – PNW0586 (PDF)
- Big Game from Hunt to Home – PNW517 (PDF)
- Using a Food Thermometer – MISC0513 (PDF)
- Pickled Eggs – EB1104 (PDF)
Miscellaneous
- Yogurt Made Simple – FS173E (PDF)
- Pack Food Safely in Your Lunch – FS289E (PDF)
- You Can Prevent Foodborne Illness – PNW250 (PDF)
- Storing Food for Safety and Quality – PNW612 (PDF)
- Fresh Cheese Made Safely – PNW 539 (PDF)
- What You Need to Know about Botulism and Canned Foods – FS250E (PDF)
Spanish Publications
- Recetas de salsa para guarder en conserva – PNW395S (PDF)
- Guardado de vegetales en conserva – PNW172S (PDF)
- La congelación de frutas y verdura – PNW-214S (PNW)
- Elaboracion de conservas de tomates y productos de tomates – PNW300S (PDF)
- Guardado de frutas en conserva – PNW199S (PDF)
- Queso fresco hecho saludable – PNW 539S (PDF)
Safe Food Preservation Sites
Frequently Asked Questions
Have you wondered what causes liquid loss in jars of home canned fruits and vegetables? Or when you canning are you assured that your food is safe to eat when the jar seals? And why do I have to vent my pressure canner? Find the answers to these questions and more on our Frequently Asked Questions page!
Learn More About Home Food Preservation
Would you like to learn more about home food preservation? Do you want to learn about preserving food safely? WSU offers a wide variety of educational programs including “Preserve the Taste of Summer” online course, “You Can!” Food Preservation series to meet the needs of the general public.
Our pages provide links to external sites for the convenience of users. WSU Extension does not manage these external sites, nor does Extension review, control, or take responsibility for the content of these sites. These external sites do not implicitly or explicitly represent official positions and policies of WSU Extension.
Pressure Gauge Testing
We are not currently testing dial pressure gauges for canners.
There are a couple of options available to you:
Free, drop-in testing
Bob’s in Longview does pressure gauge testing for free in their housewares section on a drop-in basis.
Bob’s Sporting Goods
1111 Hudson St
Longview, WA 98632
360-425-3870
All-American Canners
If you have All American with both weighted and dial gauge the company recommends only the weighted gauge used for canning and not the dial gauge.
Presto Free Testing
Presto will test their own gauges for free. You will need to check with them about testing National, Magic Seal, Maid of Honor, Kook-Kwick
Send the Presto gauges to:
National Presto Industries Inc
Attn. gauge testing
3925 N Hastings Way
Eau Claire, WI 54703
Please allow 2-3 weeks to get the gauge back. Please include complete information in the box, meaning name, address (no PO box) and phone number. You’re welcome to ship any way you prefer, but they do recommend a tracking number of some sort for your and their protection against damage or lost packages.
Switch to a Weighted Gauge
Presto can also help with switching your canner to a 3-piece weighted gauge.
If you switch to a weighted gauge you don’t need to get your gauge checked. The weight becomes all that you need to rely on. You leave the dial gauge on — but it becomes instead just an indicator to let you know when the pressure is returning close to 0 so you will be able to take the lid off.
Do call Presto so they can help you determine if this is the best approach for you. All cases are different and they need to verify which canner you have before they can respond.
Contact Presto Customer Service via:
Tel: 1-800-877-0441
Email: Contact1@GoPresto.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoPresto
Contact Us
Zena Edwards
Food & Nutrition Faculty
zena_edwards@wsu.edu