Canning is a popular way to preserve fruits, vegetables, and other foods for long-term storage. The process involves heating food inside jars or cans to kill bacteria and enzymes that cause spoilage. This creates a vacuum seal to prevent recontamination. Canned foods stored properly can last for years.
Juicing is a different process that extracts liquid and nutrients from fruits and veggies. These juices must be consumed soon after juicing or they will spoil. So can you use a juicer for canning? Let’s take a closer look.
How Canning Works
Canning works by heating glass jars filled with food in a water bath or pressure canner. This heating process kills microorganisms and inactivates enzymes that cause food spoilage. Then as the jars cool, a vacuum seal is formed.
This vacuum seal prevents air from entering and recontaminating the food. As long as the seal remains intact, canned food can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Over time, the nutrients, color, texture, and flavor of canned foods slowly degrade but they remain safe to eat.
How Juicing Works
Juicers work by crushing fruits or vegetables to extract the liquid contents. This leaves behind the solid fiber pulp. Juicers typically operate at high speeds to spin produce against a mesh filter or through tiny holes that allow juice to flow out.
The resulting juice contains most of the vitamins, minerals, and plant chemicals from the produce used. But the fiber content is dramatically reduced. Juices are perishable because exposure to air causes nutrient breakdown. They must be consumed soon after juicing.
Key Differences Between Juicing and Canning
There are several important differences between juicers and canning:
- A juicer extracts liquid contents while canning preserves all edible parts of food.
- Juices contain very little fiber compared to whole fruits/veggies.
- Canning allows long term storage but juicing produces perishable juices.
- Canning requires high heat but juices are produced without heat.
- Canning kills bacteria for safe room temperature storage. Juices can grow bacteria quickly.
Due to these major differences, juicers cannot achieve the same long-lasting preservation as pressure or water bath canning.
Reasons You Cannot Use a Juicer for Canning
There are several key reasons why juicers cannot be used for canning:
- No heat applied – Juicers extract juice without applying heat. Canning requires high heat of 212°F (water bath) or 240°F (pressure canner) to kill bacteria and enzymes. Juices do not reach these temperatures.
- Cannot seal out air – Juicers produce an open container of juice. Canning creates a vacuum sealed jar. Without sealing out air, juices are prone to rapid spoilage from mold and fermentation.
- Fiber is removed – Juicers remove insoluble fiber from produce. Canning preserves all edible parts in the jar, including vital fiber and nutrients.
- Enzymes remain active – Juicing does not deactivate enzymes that cause spoilage. Canning destroys enzymes so food can be shelf-stable.
- Bacteria thrive in juice – The moist, nutrient-rich environment of juices allows bacteria to thrive. Canning kills bacteria then seals out new contamination.
For these reasons, juicers cannot achieve the same long-term food preservation effects as research-tested canning methods. Juices should be refrigerated and consumed within a few days.
Could Fresh Juice be Canned?
While juicers cannot can foods, it is possible to hot pack freshly made juices in jars then process in a water bath or pressure canner. Here are some considerations if planning to can produce juices:
- Use a research-tested canning recipe designed for juices. Do not modify juicing recipes.
- Only choose high-acid juices from fruits like citrus, pineapple, berries, tomatoes, and apples. Low-acid vegetables require pressure canning.
- Heat raw packed juices to boiling before filling jars to drive off oxygen and improve quality.
- Leave 1/4-1/2″ of headspace and follow canning instructions exactly.
- Process pint or quart jars in a boiling water bath canner for the time indicated in recipes.
- After processing, test jar seals and watch for signs of spoilage during storage.
With careful attention to pre-heating, headspace, processing time, and testing seals, it is possible to safely can certain fruit juices at home. However, a juicer itself does not achieve the requirements for canning.
Should You Use a Steam Juicer for Canning?
Steam juicers are sometimes used when making large batches of juice for canning. They work by steaming fruits and vegetables then collecting concentrated juice dripped out below. This juice is then canned using water bath or pressure methods.
Here are some key points if using a steam juicer:
- Steam juicers allow making larger quantities of juice efficiently.
- The juice is more concentrated due to water evaporating during steaming.
- Follow a trusted canning recipe designed for steaming and canning juice.
- Use caution when canning low-acid juices like carrots which require pressure canning.
- Check seals, headspace, and processing times carefully as with all canned foods.
Steam juicers can be a handy tool when making juice for canning. But the steamer itself does not meet canning requirements. The juice must still be processed properly after extraction.
Canning Juice vs Whole Fruit
There are pros and cons to canning juices compared to whole fruits or vegetables:
| Canning Juice | Canning Whole Produce |
|---|---|
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For produce like apples or berries, canning the whole fruit generally yields a higher quality product. Juices are a better option for fruits with tough skins like citrus or produce that cooks down significantly like tomatoes.
Tips for Canning Juice Successfully
Follow these tips for safe, high quality canned juices:
- Use ripe, undamaged fresh produce. Wash thoroughly.
- Work in small batches. Juices are prone to spoilage.
- Heat juice to boiling before filling jars to improve quality and shelf life.
- Ladle hot juice and leave proper headspace as per recipe.
- Wipe rims. Apply lids and rings finger tip tight.
- Use a canning rack. Follow processing times exactly.
- After canning, allow jars to seal and cool undisturbed.
- Check seals before storing. Refrigerate any unsealed jars.
- Monitor jars while stored. Discard any with mold, bubbles, or sliminess.
Conclusion
Juicers are designed to extract liquid contents from fruits and vegetables for immediate consumption. They do not apply the high heat or vacuum seals needed for long term canning. However, freshly made juices can be canned using proper methods. Steam juicers may help pre-extract larger amounts of juice to can.
Canning whole fruits generally yields higher quality compared to juices. But juices take up less room and are easier to prepare. With an appropriate recipe and careful attention to processing details, juices can be successfully preserved.
The bottom line – juicers alone cannot achieve safe canning. But juices can be canned using water bath or pressure methods. This allows enjoying homemade juices year-round as long as appropriate guidelines are followed.
