| Q. What Size Canning Jars Should I Use When | | | | bad in the refrigerator so, it is best to use 4 oz |
| Home Canning? | | | | and 8 oz jars for jams and jellies. Specialty items |
| A. It depends on what recipe you are canning and | | | | such as special sauces, ketchup, and relishes also |
| your family's needs. | | | | work well in the little 4 and 8 oz jars. |
| The first thing to take into consideration is how | | | | When you are canning fruits and vegetables just |
| bulky the food is that you are canning. | | | | think whether you will be using a pint or a quart |
| Condiments, jams, jellies, and cut up fruits and | | | | at a time and then can them in the appropriate |
| vegetables can be canned in regular mouth jars. | | | | jars. You may want to split a recipe between pint |
| However, you will want to use wide mouth jars | | | | and quart jars. This will allow you to choose how |
| for foods such as pickles and whole or halved | | | | much of a certain food to have open at one time. |
| fruits and vegetables. The wide mouth of the | | | | This is especially helpful for time when you have |
| canning jars will make it easier to remove that | | | | company over and will be using more of a certain |
| kind of food from the jars. | | | | type of canned food. |
| The second thing you will want to think about is | | | | Finally, if you are thinking of giving some of your |
| how much of the recipe you will want open at | | | | home preserved foods as gifts, you may also |
| one time. Most likely your family would be unable | | | | choose to use smaller jars. This way you can give |
| to consume a quart of jelly before it would go | | | | a variety of your canned goods as a gift. |