Home food preservation can help make fruits, vegetables and food budgets last longer.
Grow your own at home with help from our Growing Groceries Resources (website) and/or visit one of the many Farms and Farmers Markets (website) in our region and start preserving local food from local farms.
New publication on low sugar/low sodium canning!
Food Preservation for Special Diets FS359E
This publication provides a synopsis of the changes you can, and cannot, safely make to the sugar and sodium content when preserving foods at home.
Food Preservation Resources
When preserving foods at home, be sure to use research-based, laboratory tested, up-to-date recipes like the following:
Fruit
- Canning Fruits PNW199 (pdf)
- Drying Fruits and Vegetables PNW0397 (pdf)
- Freezing Fruits and Vegetables PNW214 (pdf)
- Fruit Leathers (pdf)
- Fruit Pie Fillings for Home Canning PNW736
- Home Canned Sweet Spreads Made with Green ChileE326
- Let’s Preserve Jams, Jellies, & Spreads EB1665 (pdf)
- Low Sugar Fruit Spreads FS236E (pdf)
- Making Jams, Jellies, and Fruit Spreads FS232E (pdf)
- Preserving Berries FS233E (pdf)
- Preserving Berry Syrups at Home FS238E (pdf)
- Preserving Summer Berries (pdf)
- Remaking Soft Jams and Jellies FS253E
- Wild Berries and Other Wild Fruit B1210-3
Vegetables
- Canning Vegetables PNW172 (pdf)
- Canning Tomatoes and Tomato Products PNW300 (pdf)
- Drying Fruits and Vegetables PNW0397 (pdf)
- Freezing Fruits and Vegetables PNW214 (pdf)
- Pickling Asparagus (pdf)
- Pickling Vegetables PNW355 (pdf)
- Preserving Pumpkin and Winter Squash FS303E (pdf)
- Salsa Recipes for Canning PNW395 (pdf)
Meat, Fish, Poultry, & Game
- Big Game From Hunt to Home PNW517 (pdf)
- Canning Meat, Poultry, and Game PNW361 (pdf)
- Canning Seafood PNW194 (pdf)
- Canning Smoked Fish at Home PNW450 (pdf)
- Home Freezing of Seafood PNW0586 (pdf)
- Homemade Meat Poultry and Game Sausages EB1661 (pdf)
- Making Jerky at Home Safely PNW632 (pdf)
- Pickling Fish and Other Aquatic Foods for Home Use PNW0183 (pdf)
- Smoking Fish at Home Safely PNW0238 (pdf)
Take Care of Your Pressure Canner!
Use, Care, and Operation of Your Pressure Canner PNW421 (pdf)
Other Topics
Pressure Canner Dial Gauge Testing
Pressure canner dial gauges should be tested once a year to be sure they are accurate.
Weighted gauge canners do not need to be tested.
More information on Dial Gauge canners, testing locations & hours
WSU Recursos de Preservación de Alimentos
- Guardado de frutas en conserva PNW199S (pdf)
- Elaboración de conservas de tomates y productos de tomates PNW300S (pdf)
- Elaboración Segura del Queso Fresco PNW539S (pdf)
- Guardado de vegetales en conserva PNW172S (pdf)
USDA Food Preservation Resources
- USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (website)
- Steps in Food Preservation (video)
- So Easy to Preserve (website to order the book)
- So Easy to Preserve short videos (YouTube)
- National Center for Home Food Preservation (website)
- Making Jams & Jellies from NCHFP
- Recommended Canners (website)
- USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans (website)
- Frequently Asked Questions (website) – National Center for Home Food Preservation
- Using an Atmospheric Steam Canner to Can Acid Foods (website)