Water Bath Canning for Beginners


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Water bath canning is an easy way to preserve food at home. Learn the basics with this beginner's guide to water bath canning and start canning jams, jellies, fruits, pickles, salsa and so much more! #waterbathcanningforbeginners #waterbathcanningWater bath canning is one of the easiest and most popular ways to preserve many types of food. An easy skill to master that requires no real special equipment, water bath canning is the first form of food preservation that most modern homesteaders and sustainable foodies master, and it tends to quickly lead to an interest in learning other forms of food preservation too.

Still, if you’ve never canned any food at home before, even water bath canning can seem intimidating. I was certainly intimidated by it when first I started canning just a few years ago. But after four years of canning jams, jellies, sauces, syrups, fruit, pickles and more with nary a spoiled jar to show for it, I’m now more than confident in my water bath canning skills, and that’s prompted me to start pressure canning too, as well as fermenting and dehydrating food at home.

I remember being so nervous when I canned my very first batch of applesauce (the first thing I ever canned at home). I was sure I was going to get botulism and die if I ate it, or worse, that I would feed it to my 6-month old daughter and she would get botulism and die and my life would be over. 

This might sound a little crazy for a seasoned canner who knows what they’re doing, but it’s a legitimate fear for new home canners who don’t yet understand the process. So if you can relate at all to the intimidation and trepidation I once felt about canning, then this is the post that will ease all your worries and help you gain the confidence and knowledge you need to break out the Mason jars and fill your pantry with home-canned goodness:)

 

What is water bath canning?

So, what exactly is water bath canning?

Well, it’s pretty much what it sounds like: Canning food in a hot water “bath,” (ie. a pot of boiling water). 

Basically you put your food into hot, sterilized Mason jars and pop them into a pot of boiling hot water for a specified amount of time. The boiling water kills off any bacteria that could allow your food to spoil, sucks the air out from inside the jar and helps the lid to suction onto the jar and seal tightly, all of which helps to preserve the food inside the jar and make it shelf stable for months and even years to come.

 

Water bath canning equipment list

Water bath canning is really as simple as it sounds and requires little to no special equipment. While you could purchase a water bath canner specifically for this task, you can also use a large stockpot with a rack in the bottom or even a pressure canner with the lid placed gently (not sealed) on top. 

I’ve been using my great aunt’s old pressure canner as a water bath canner for years! I just rest the lid on top so the steam can escape, since there’s no need to bring the pressure up or raise the temperature past boiling when it comes to water bath canning. 

Water bath canning is an easy way to preserve food at home. Learn the basics with this beginner's guide to water bath canning and start canning jams, jellies, fruits, pickles, salsa and so much more! #waterbathcanningforbeginners #waterbathcanning

I use a hand-me-down old pressure canner for my water bath canning. I just rest the lid on top to allow the steam to escape.

Just make sure that there’s a rack in the bottom of whatever pot you’re using as you should never place jars directly on the bottom of a boiling water pot since they could break.

Aside from the pot or canner itself, you’ll of course need Mason jars and lids (size will depend on what you’re canning), and a few basic canning tools. I use and recommend jar lifters, a canning funnel and a canning scoop.

 

Water bath canning vs. pressure canning

While water bath canning simply requires a pot of boiling water, pressure canning requires the use of a pressure canner to bring the water temperature up much higher than boiling point, which is necessary for canning certain vegetables, as well as meat and combination recipes like soups.

Pressure canning is what many people think of when they think about canning, and thoughts of blowing up your kitchen with a pressure canner or poisoning your family with botulism from improperly canned foods can be enough to scare many potential home canners off from ever even trying.

But the good news is that, even though pressure canning isn’t nearly as scary as most people think, water bath canning is even less scary. In fact, it’s downright safe and easy as long as you follow some very basic rules.

To learn more about pressure canning, check out this post on how to use a pressure canner safely.

 

A word about botulism

Just in case you’re unfamiliar with botulism, I’m going to touch on it quickly here since it’s probably the biggest safety concern when it comes to home canning.

In short, botulism is a severe form of food poisoning caused by a bacteria called Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum) that affects the nervous system, and can cause severe disability, including paralysis and even death.

The bacteria that causes botulism actually lives in the soil and can be found on the surface of pretty much all fresh fruits and vegetables, however botulism can only survive in anaerobic environments (where there is no air), which is exactly the kind of environment inside a sealed canning jar!

However, botulism cannot survive on high-acid foods, so any food with a PH of 4.6 or lower is safe from botulism. The addition of vinegar (and in some cases, lemon juice) also keeps food safe from botulism, so even though cucumbers have a PH level of about 5.1 to 5.7, when they’re pickled in vinegar their PH level lowers to about 3.5, which automatically makes them safe from botulism.

Botulism spores can also be killed with very very high heat (greater than 240ºF/116ºC), but only pressure canning can achieve the temperatures needed to kill off the bacteria. Since water bath canning can only reach boiling temperature (212ºF/100ºC), it is not safe for canning low-acid foods.

This being said, as long as you follow a tested water bath canning recipe, it will always be made with ingredients that are high-acid and can safely be water bath canned without any fear of botulism. So water bath canning is actually very safe since you won’t be canning anything that could allow botulism to grow in the first place. Just always follow a tested recipe and follow the specified processing times (more on that below).

–> Read more about botulism here.

Water bath canning is an easy way to preserve food at home. Learn the basics with this beginner's guide to water bath canning and start canning jams, jellies, fruits, pickles, salsa and so much more! #waterbathcanningforbeginners #waterbathcanning

 

Rules to follow when water bath canning

 

Rule #1: Only water bath can high acid foods

Water bath canning is only safe for high-acid foods, such as most fruits (apples, berries, cherries, peaches, pears, etc.) as well as tomatoes* and any pickled foods (because “pickling” -either with vinegar or with the naturally-occurring lactic acid that’s created when foods are fermented- raises the acidity of the food in question).

The reason acidity matters is because botulism can’t grow in acidic environments where the PH level is 4.6 or lower, and the foods mentioned above are all below 4.6 on the PH scale. 

* The one exception is tomatoes, which used to be highly acidic, but years of engineering and hybridization has caused the PH level to rise in some tomatoes, so to be safe, most tomato recipes call for the addition of lemon juice in order to bring the acidity up enough to make it safe for water bath canning. 

Low-acid foods, including most vegetables (potatoes, carrots, green beans, pumpkin, etc.), red meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, stock, soups, etc. MUST be pressure canned in order to be shelf stable and safe to eat.

 

Rule #2: Follow a tested recipe

While you might enjoy getting creative with your standard kitchen recipes, canning is definitely more of a science than an art. While it is possible to add or omit certain ingredients like sugar, spices, etc., you should always start with a safe, tested recipe from a source you trust.

I wouldn’t recommend tampering with the ingredients in any recipes until you are comfortable with canning and understand the science behind it, since tampering with certain ingredients can change the PH level and potentially affect the safety of the food in question.

I highly recommend investing in a good canning cookbook. My absolute favourite is the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I use it all the time and most of the recipes on this blog are adapted from this book as Ball pretty much sets the standard when it comes to canning.

Other books I recommend include the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving and the Amish Canning Cookbook.

You can also check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s website for up-to-date recipes and safety information.

 

Rule #3: Always use new lids (and remove bands after processing)

When it comes to canning anything, glass Mason jars can be used over and over again, although you should always check the jars for nicks and cracks, and you always need to clean them with hot soapy water and sterilize them in hot water before filling them.

Bands can also be reused as long as you wash them first (bands are the metal rings that secure the lid onto the jar). 

But you always ALWAYS need to use new lids when canning. This is because once a lid has sealed onto a jar, that seal will never be as strong again, which means your jars of food may not seal completely or correctly, which can lead to food spoilage. 

Once you’ve built up your Mason jar collection, however, a few boxes of lids are a small investment to make each season. If, however, you’re willing to invest a little more up front, you can purchase reusable tattler lids for your home canning projects.

Also, it’s best practice to remove the bands before you store your home-canned food. This helps to ensure that you spot any potential issues, like jars that didn’t seal or food spoilage and bacteria growth at the top of a jar that didn’t seal correctly. I’ll be honest, I usually leave the bands on, and I’ve never had a problem, however the safety standard is to remove the bands, so it’s what I recommend for you (and for me) this canning season!

 

Rule #4: Practice safe food storage and rotation

This last rule really applies to all of your food storage, but it’s extra important when it comes to canning: Once you’ve canned your food and the lids have sealed and the jars have cooled and you’ve removed your bands (I typically recommend waiting for at least 12 to 24 hours before moving jars from the spot where you’ve left them to cool), then it’s time to put them away.

To ensure the quality and safety of your home-canned food, always label and date jars and store them in a cool, dark place such as a pantry cupboard, basement or cold storage. Keep them out of direct sunlight and try to keep them somewhere where the temperature will remain fairly constant, and won’t freeze or get hotter than 75ºF (23ºC).

If you can, store jars in a single layer and do not stack them on top of one another as this can potentially cause jars of the bottom layer to break their seal. If you need the space and must stack jars, only stack rows two layers deep and try to stack equally weighted or lighter jars on top of heavier ones.

And finally, make sure you rotate your food! Put the newest canned goods at the back and move your older canned goods to the front so you’ll use them first.

You should try to use up home-canned goods within a year, although most canned goods will last longer than that. Still, nobody wants to be eating canned food that’s from another era! (I’m reminded of cleaning out my great aunt’s cold storage when we moved her to a home a couple months ago and found apple sauce dated 1994! Yuck!)

If you’re ever concerned that any of your jars of home-canned food have spoiled or are unsafe to eat, toss them out. It’s just not worth the risk.

 

Water bath canning instructions

While every canning recipe is different and obviously calls for different ingredients and processing methods, certain procedures stay the same. Here’s what you always need to do before, during and after a water bath canning session…

  1. Prepare your jars: Wash jars and bands with hot, soapy water and rinse. Place jars in the canner or pot and simmer them on medium high heat to keep them hot (you don’t need to boil them).
  2. Prepare your ingredients as per the recipe you’re following. 
  3. Remove jars from water right before you fill them. The trick is to never let the jars or the food going in the jars to cool down (unless you’re following a cold pack recipe like pickles).
  4. Leave the correct amount of headspace in your jars. Head space is the amount of room you need to leave between the food and the lid at the top of the jar. Your canning recipe will tell you how much headspace to leave (usually ¼-inch to ½-inch headspace for most water bath canning recipes). Headspace is important so that your jars seal properly and allow for any food expansion that can happen when the jars are heated and processed.
  5. Release any trapped air bubbles by sliding a non-metallic utensil around the food and the outside of the jar. Air bubbles can affect the seal and quality of home canned food. (I use a knife for this purpose, but the official guidelines say not to use metal as some metals can cause off-flavouring of foods that they react with. A plastic or wooden utensil works well.
  6. Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean, wet cloth to ensure there’s nothing standing in between the jar and the seal.
  7. Place new lids on top and screw bands on “fingertip tight,” meaning just as tight as your fingers can tighten them without straining too hard. (You don’t want the lids to be too tight as they need to be able to loosen slightly while in the canner in order to expel air and create an airtight seal.
  8. Place filled jars upright in the canner and ensure they’re covered by at least 1 inch of water.  
  9. Bring water to a full boil and then start the timer for the specified processing time in the recipe.
  10. Leave jars in the canner for an extra 5 minutes after processing time has finished. This allows the pressure inside the jars to stabilize and reduces the chance of liquid loss.
  11. Remove jars with jar lifters and place them on a tea towel on the countertop somewhere where they can sit undisturbed for at least 12 to 24 hours. Never place hot jars directly on a cold countertop as this could shock the jars and cause them to break. And 24 hours is the recommended time to allow jars to cool, but in most cases I find 12 hours is enough. I leave jelly to set for a full 24 hours in order allow the pectin time to cool and set.
  12. Store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight.

 

How to get started water bath canning

If you’re ready to dive in and start canning, my advice is to start with one simple recipe and go from there. Here are a few straightforward water bath canning recipes to get you started:

Oh, and don’t overwhelm yourself if it’s your first go (as in, don’t go pick 50 lbs. of strawberries for strawberry jam. 5 or 10 pounds is enough to get you started on a batch or two!)

And practice! The more you do it, the easier it will become. 

Back when I first started canning, I read over the recipes for hours before I even worked up the courage to actually get started because I was afraid that I would mess it up and kill my family. During the process I made a huge disaster of my kitchen and struggled to keep organized and get all of my timing right. 

Nowadays I barely need to check my recipes for certain items. I know the process well and I always make sure I have everything I need prepped and ready to go so I’m not scrambling. And I’m relaxed and organized enough during each canning session that I can actually clean as I go while the jars are processing, so by the time they’re ready, I have a clean kitchen and a sparkling countertop to line my new jars of home-canned food on. This makes it all the more enjoyable when I stand back to admire my jars (I’m pretty sure literally every home canner does this!) And so they should. And you should too.

Home canning isn’t just a skill every aspiring modern homesteader should master, it’s something to be proud of. Because for anyone with a pioneering spirit and a homesteader heart, having a pantry full of glistening jars of home-canned food is more valuable than gold, and you’d certainly be forgiven for stopping to stare;)

Ready to take your canning game to the next level?

Whether you’ve never canned anything before or you’ve done a little canning and you’re ready to take the next step, my Yes, You CAN! complete home canning course will walk you through everything you need to know to get started canning food SAFELY at home.

Over the course of 12 easy-to-follow lessons, we cover both water bath canning and pressure canning, and I show you step-by-step how to can your own jams, jellies, pickles, pie fillings, fruits, vegetables, tomato sauce and chicken stock at home. And of course we’ll go over canning safety, equipment and over all best practices in more depth so that you always feel confident both during the canning process and while enjoying your home-canned food afterwards.

You’ll also get a collection of bonuses including:

  • Printable checklists and cheatsheets to help you stay safe and never miss a step while canning food at home
  • My bonus Jam and Jelly Making Mini-Course to help you make and can your own jams and jellies with store-bought pectin, no pectin and even low-sugar
  • A copy of my Home Canning Handbook, complete with 30 of my favourite home canning recipes for canning everything from fruits and vegetables to jams and jellies to sauces and salsa to stocks, soups, meats, combination meals and more!

But the best part is that, I’m currently offering my Yes, You CAN! home canning course for 25% off the regular price, but only for a limited time! 

So if you’re ready to get started canning (or canning more food than ever before this year!) enroll now to take advantage of this special offer and get started stocking your pantry right away!

I hope to see you in class!

Wishing you health, wealth & homestead happiness:)

 

 

 


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16 Comments

  1. BELYNDA RYAN

    Love the info. What if I want to can My own homemade salsa? How do I know acid levels?

    Reply
    • Ashley Constance

      In order to ensure safety with acid levels, it’s best practice to follow “tested” recipes. Check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation website for more info – it’s a great place to start!

      https://nchfp.uga.edu/index.html#gsc.tab=0

      Reply
  2. Allie

    So helpful! Thank you! I’ve made jam and applesauce before but it’s been a hot second and I needed a refresher. Going to use your recipe for tomato sauce and get her done!

    Reply
  3. LeiLanie Snell

    Thanks so much for your information. lol i was worried i might poison my family. I feel better now and i’m going to give water canning a try. i’ll holler your name if i did something wrong. God Bless

    Reply
  4. Hailee

    When your sterilizing jars in the canner are the jars fully submerged? When you take a jar out to fill with jam do you need to dry the inside?

    Reply
    • Tish Painter

      Hi Hailee,
      The guidelines for sterilizing jars has changed over the years. Now, for processing in a water bath canner, the jars only need to be clean as long as you are processing them at least 10 minutes or more. So, those few recipes I have seen that say process 5 min, I do the 10 minutes to safe.
      However, I do keep the jars warm in the canner with water so they don’t break or crack when adding hot foods to be canned. When you take them out to fill, I just pour out the water using my jar lifter (either into the sink or back in the canner- depending on how much water I started with) and fill. I do not dry them out as that jar is hot and I need it to say hot as I fill it with hot jam/jelly. The moisture has never caused any problem with my jams or jellies.
      I hope that helps! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Mamat88

    I made Apple butter on Saturday and refrigerated it. Can I safely can it now using the hot water bath?

    Reply
    • Anna Sakawsky

      You can, however you would need to heat it back up to a boil first. Since it’s already cooked down, it might be quite thick. But as long as you bring it back up to a boil and pour into hot, sterilized jars you should be fine:)

      Reply
  6. Linda

    When you say, make sure jars are covered by at least one inch of water, is that 1″ above the tops, or just 1″ of water in the bottom of the canner?

    Reply
    • Anna Sakawsky

      Hi Linda,

      Yes, make sure your jars are fully submerged and that the tops of your jars are covered by at least one inch of water.

      Reply
    • Kelly

      I misunderstood this process and only had 1 inch coverage from the bottom. The jar has no give when I push from the top. Should I reprocess or is it still possible to can without being fully submerged?

      Reply
      • Anna Sakawsky

        I would reprocess to be safe.

        Reply
        • Sue

          I made strawberry jam and it’s runny is it safe to open the Jared and cook it more and add more jell and re can it?

          Reply
          • Anna Sakawsky

            Hi Sue,
            Yes, you can safely reprocess it. However it may have set now that it’s been canned and had time to cool, etc. I often find that my jams and jellies seem a lot more runny when I’m canning them than they do after they’ve had a chance to cool and sit on the shelves for a few days.

  7. Stephanie Cox

    Thanks so much for this article! This is my first year to have a garden and it has been producing fantastically so I’m definitely gonna have to try canning but I’m afraid I’m gonna kill my family with botulism ???. This definitely made me feel better about the whole canning process!

    Reply
    • Anna Sakawsky

      No problem! I’m actually launching a canning course in about a month! I’ll be covering both water bath canning and some pressure canning too. If you’d like to learn more or join the waitlist you can do so right here🙂

      Reply

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ABOUT ANNA
Hi! I’m Anna, and I’m a city girl turned modern homesteader who’s passionate about growing, cooking and preserving real food at home, creating my own herbal medicine and all-natural home and body care products, and working toward a simpler, more sustainable and self-sufficient life each and every day. 
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Before you just start throwing seeds in the ground or into red solo cups on your windowsill, it’s important to take some time to read your seed packets and get to know each crop’s specific needs.⁣

Understanding the information on a seed packet is super important when it comes to gardening, especially if you want your plants to get a strong, healthy start and produce an abundance of food for you. And what gardener doesn’t want that?!⁣

Set yourself up for success and take a minute to read through my 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦, before your weekend gardening plans begin. ⁣

Grab the guide link in my bio, or get it here: https://thehouseandhomestead.com/how-to-read-seed-packets/⁣

Happy Planting:) ✨
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This all-natural homemade toothpaste recipe is made with just four simple ingredients that are good for both your body and your bank account!⁣

I’m on a personal mission to replace every commercially-made, toxic product in our home with homemade, all-natural alternatives. One-by-one, I’m getting closer every day.⁣

The benefit of making all-natural toothpaste at home is avoiding the unhealthy additives found in most commercial toothpastes by substituting ingredients with proven benefits for oral health.⁣

So if you’re also on a mission to rid your own home of toxic products and replace them with healthy, all-natural versions that actually work, then I highly recommend whipping up a batch of this all-natural homemade toothpaste.⁣

Wishing you health, wealth and squeaky clean teeth… The all-natural way;)⁣

You can find the recipe here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/all-natural-homemade-toothpaste-recipe/ or at the link in my bio.
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It's that time of year 🌱 seed starting season! ⁣

I know you can feel it too. The transition from winter to spring is truly a special time. It’s when life begins again. It’s the very first taste of all that lies ahead.⁣

So before you go just planting any and every seed you can get your hands on, I've got a list of 8 Things to Think About Before Starting Seeds, to get you off on the right food! ⁣

I will walk you through, planning, sowing, containers, watering, lighting and more, and if that's not enough you can download my Seed Starting Cheat Sheet at the end to lay it all out. ⁣

I hope you're as excited as I am for the beautiful Spring season that lies ahead:)⁣

You can find the list here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/before-starting-seeds/ or at the link in my bio.⁣

What are you planting this year? Anything new you've never tried before? Share with me in the comments!
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Ever thought about growing mushrooms at home??

A great EASY way to get started is with one of these mushroom grow kits from @northsporemushrooms

All you need to do is cut open the pack, spray with a little water (the kits even come with a handy little spray bottle), and then sit back and watch the magic happen!

And seriously, watching mushrooms goes does feel a little like magic because they grow so fast you can practically see them growing, no time lapse necessary!

The mushrooms are ready for harvest in just a few days. No gardening experience or land necessary! Even a newbie homesteader in an apartment in the city can grow these babies!

This is a great way to dip your tow into the much bigger world of mushroom growing and harvesting, and to try out a few new varieties that you probably won’t find anywhere else.

I grew Pink Oyster Mushrooms, Lion’s Mane and Blue Oyster Mushrooms (all pictured here). I’ll be using the Pink Oyster Mushrooms in a rigatoni pasta for dinner tonight. I turned the Lion’s Mane into Lion’s Mane “crab cakes” and the Blue Oyster Mushrooms are delicious as part of a stir fry or sautéed in butter and spooned over sourdough toast.

If this reel intrigues you, you can grab your own mushroom grow kit (along with time of other mushroom related products, including fruiting blocks, outdoor log kits, medicinal tinctures, capsules and more) at northspore.com. Use code HOUSEANDHOMESTEAD for 10% off your order!

And if you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my interview with Louis Giller of North Spore Mushrooms in the winter issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine. You can also find my recipe for Lion’s Mane “Crab Cakes,” along with other delicious mushroom recipes and an in-depth feature on medicinal mushrooms including Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Chaga and Cordyceps in the winter issue.

Visit modernhomesteadingmagazine.com to subscribe or login to the library and read the current issue.

Mushrooms really are pure magic, don’t ya think? 🍄 ✨

#mushrooms #mushroomhead #shrooming #eatyourshrooms #mushroomsaremagic #modernhomesteading #urbanhomesteading #homegrown
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If you’ve been following me for any length of time, it probably comes as no surprise that I don’t exactly love relying on the grocery store to provide for me and my family, and that sentiment is only getting stronger as time goes on.⁣

Between supply chain issues, rising food costs and the plethora of unhealthy ingredients, chemicals and GMO foods on grocery store shelves, I’d rather toil in the garden and kitchen all year to grow and preserve my own food than have to rely 100% on grocery stores to provide for me.⁣

But that being said, we are in no way 100% self-sufficient so when I do go to the grocery story, I haveI have some ingredient guidelines in mind that I use when shopping for my family. ⁣

Check out my shopping tips, what I do and don't buy, and where and who I like to buy from here at this link https://thehouseandhomestead.com/healthy-grocery-shopping-tips/ or at the link in my bio.
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Usually by late February/early March, right about nowish, I’ve pretty much had enough of winter and the thought of enjoying a tropical fruit platter and a cold adult beverage on a sunny beach in *insert tropical vacation destination here* seems to be just about all I can think about...⁣

But with a newborn at home that's about the last thing on our to-do list right now! So this year, I will be visiting my tropical escape via my favorite Low-Sugar Mango Jam recipe. ⁣

If you do have tropical vacation plans, have a piña colada for me 🙏🏼, but if you don't then this recipe may be just what you need to "escape" for a few minutes into that tropical paradise:) 🥭🍹⁣

Check out the recipe here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/low-sugar-mango-jam-recipe/ or at the link in my bio. ⁣

Let me know how the recipe works for you, and if add in any additional fruits to change it up!
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