Why is Canning Headspace Crucial

Food preservation has a long history.  Canning food is a recent development in that history.  Preserving food by heating and sealing in an airtight environment didn’t come along until 1795 when Napoleon offered a reward for developing a reliable and safe way to preserve food because his traveling army of men were hungry.  A method that involved heat-treating food in a glass jar and sealed with wax.  This was the beginning of our love for canning food to preserve it.  Many thanks to Nicolas Appert who successfully created the method and now we can open a jar of jam or crunchy dill pickles in the middle of a cold winter’s day.

Canned foods are readily available in any grocery story, but a lot of people still enjoy putting up their own fruits, meats, and vegetables.  Home canning is a serious task and can be dangerous if you don’t do it properly.  The CDC has a food safety page that’s dedicated to educating how to properly home can foods. With the right methods and the right kind of equipment, anybody can enjoy the fresh food of Summer well into the Winter.  One of the most important parts of the canning method is to make sure you leave extra room under the lid known as headspace.

Maintaining the space between the food and the jar lid is an important part to creating the vacuum seal that protects the preserved food. Things can slide sideways in a bad way if a sufficient space isn’t maintained in the canning process.  Either too little space or too much can cause issues with jars not sealing and food being wasted.

Canning is a wonderful way to preserve foods.  Have that pantry full of delicious meats, fruits and vegetable is a very satisfying feeling of being prepared all year long.  Leave the recommended head space no matter what you’re preserving and your food with stay safe and healthy.  Using this tool will help you maintain that all important headspace.