This video, “Amish Canning 101,” explores traditional Amish canning methods through an interview with an Amish woman who has been canning her whole life. The creator explains that Amish families water bath everything—including meats, beans, and pumpkin—without pressure canners, relying on generations of experience rather than USDA guidelines.
🔑 Main Themes
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Amish Simplicity & Tradition:
The Amish use only water bath canning, passed down through generations, without ever referencing USDA standards. To them, if food looks and smells fine, it’s safe. -
Recipes & Methods:
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Meat (chicken, beef, pork, deer, rabbit): Boil jars for 3 hours — 1 tsp salt per quart, ½ tsp per pint.
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Green beans: 1 tsp salt + 1 tbsp vinegar per quart (2-hour boil with vinegar, 3 hours without).
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Pumpkin/winter squash: Cook down, puree, water bath for 3 hours.
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Spaghetti soup: Pre-cook pasta, combine with chicken, and water bath 3 hours.
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Canning Practices:
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Reuses lids and jars if rubber seals remain soft.
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Rarely measures headspace; relies on visual judgment.
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Never reuses lids for meat—only for jellies or jams.
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Key Takeaway:
The Amish approach focuses on experience, intuition, and self-reliance, not regulations. While not USDA-approved, their methods have kept families fed for centuries. -
Host’s Message:
This is part one of a larger series on Amish canning traditions — a respectful look at “your kitchen, your rules,” bridging the gap between strict and “rebel” canners.