The Art Of Canning: A Hot Water Bath Guide

Chinese hot pot is a fun, social meal to enjoy with family and friends. It's an interactive dining experience where people sit around a pot of soup at the centre of the table, cooking and dipping various raw ingredients in the boiling liquid. The ingredients can include meat, seafood, vegetables, tofu and starches. It's easy to make at home, and you can buy ready-made broths and sauces to make it simpler. You'll need a heat source, a pot, and chopsticks, as well as small bowls for dipping sauces and metal ladles for cooking.

Prepare the ingredients

Preparing the ingredients for canning is a crucial step in the process. Here are some detailed instructions to guide you through it:

Firstly, it is important to select the right ingredients for canning. Choose high-quality, fresh produce that is in season. Inspect the fruits or vegetables for any signs of damage or spoilage, and avoid using overripe or decayed items. Wash the ingredients thoroughly to remove any dirt or residue. For fruits and vegetables, you may also need to peel and slice them into appropriate sizes, ensuring they are packed tightly for canning.

If you are canning meat, it is important to follow safe handling practices. Wash your hands and surfaces before and after handling raw meat. Cut the meat into suitable sizes for canning, and ensure it is fully cooked before proceeding.

Additionally, prepare the syrup, brine, or liquid that will be used in the canning process. This could be water, brine, fruit juice, or a sweet syrup, depending on the recipe you are following.

Before filling the jars, it is crucial to sterilize them properly. Wash the jars and lids with soapy water, rinse them well, and keep them hot until you are ready to fill them. Sterilize the jars by boiling them for 10 minutes, adding an additional minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level.

Once your ingredients are prepared and the jars are sterilized, you can start filling the jars. For a raw pack, place the raw ingredients directly into the jars and cover them with boiling liquid. For a hot pack, pre-cook the ingredients and then pack them into the jars with boiling liquid. Be sure to leave the appropriate headspace, usually between 1/4 and 1/2 an inch, to allow for expansion and to ensure a proper seal.

Finally, before sealing the jars, release any trapped air bubbles by running a bubble freer or plastic utensil around the edges of the jar. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp cloth to remove any residue, and screw on the lids. Your ingredients are now ready for the canning process!

Get the sauces ready

To get the sauces ready, you'll need to gather the following ingredients:

• Pickling spice
• Tomatoes
• White vinegar
• Pickling salt or a salt substitute
• Sugar
• Spices
• Peppers (hot peppers, jalapenos, or chilli peppers)

You can adjust the quantities of the ingredients based on your preference, but make sure to maintain the same amount of peppers. You can also wear gloves while handling the peppers to protect your hands from the heat.

• Wash, stem, seed, and coarsely chop the peppers.
• Make a spice bag for the pickling spices and secure them in it. You can use cheesecloth or any other cloth to tie them up.
• In a large pot, combine the peppers, tomatoes, vinegar, and pickling spice bag.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, uncovered.
• Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for around 20 minutes.
• Press the mixture through a food mill, and return the liquid to the pot.
• Bring the liquid back to a boil and let it vigorously simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
• Ladle the sauce into heated jars, leaving about a 1-centimetre headspace.
• Process the jars in a water bath or steam canner for about 10 minutes.

You can adjust the spices and ingredients to suit your taste preferences. However, it is important to follow the recommended processing times and not alter the vinegar, food, or water proportions in the recipe to ensure food safety.

Choose your equipment

To can using a pot of hot water, you'll need a few pieces of equipment. Here's a list of what you'll need and some tips for choosing the right equipment:

• Canning Pot: You'll need a large pot to hold the hot water and jars for canning. It should be deep enough to completely submerge the jars. A stockpot or a specialised canning pot with a rack to hold the jars in place can be used. If you already have a large pot, you may be able to purchase a canning rack that fits inside.
• Heat Source: You'll need a heat source to heat the water in your pot. This could be a stove, a portable electric burner, or a tabletop gas burner. If you plan on canning regularly, investing in a hot pot set with a built-in electrical heating element is a good option, as it will make the process more convenient and efficient.
• Jars: Choose jars that are suitable for canning and come in various sizes, such as half pints, pints, quarts, or half gallons. The two main brands are Kerr and Ball, known for their quality products. Consider the type of food you'll be canning when choosing between regular mouth and wide-mouth jars. Regular mouth jars are great for canning items like tomato juice, applesauce, diced fruits, pickles, and salsa. Wide-mouth jars are better for canning soups, meats, or larger items like peach halves, as they are easier to fill and clean.
• Canning Lids and Bands: Canning lids are thin metal lids with a rubber seal that goes on top of the jar to create an airtight seal. Jar bands, or rings, are used to screw the lids tightly in place. New jars typically come with lids and bands, but you'll need to purchase more as you continue canning.
• Jar Lifter: A jar lifter is essential for safely removing hot jars from the canner. It fits any size jar and is a must-have item to protect your hands from the boiling water and hot jars.
• Funnel: While not mandatory, a funnel, especially a wide-mouth funnel, will make the canning process much easier when filling jars with slippery or small foods like tomatoes, peaches, or salsa. It helps simplify the process and reduce messes. You can choose between plastic or metal funnels.
• Other Tools: Depending on the type of food you're canning, you may also need additional tools like knives, strainers, food mills, or choppers. These can help with tasks like slicing, dicing, and removing skins and seeds from fruits and vegetables.

Make the broth

Making the broth is the most important part of hot pot, as it forms the base of your meal. There are two types of broth for hot pot: spicy and clear.

Spicy Broth

For a spicy broth, you will need:

• Beef tallow (or beef dripping)
• Dried chilli peppers and Sichuan pepper
• Other spices such as star anise, cassia cinnamon, bay leaves, and Chinese black cardamom
• Aromatics such as scallions, onion, coriander, garlic, and ginger
• Sichuan chilli bean paste and fermented black beans
• Shaoxing rice wine and sugar

First, rehydrate your dried chillies in hot water until they are soft, then chop them into a coarse paste. Add the Sichuan pepper to Shaoxing rice wine and set aside. Next, melt the beef tallow in cooking oil over medium heat, infusing it with the spices. Remove the spices and add the aromatics to fry. After removing the aromatics, add the dried chilli paste, Sichuan chilli bean paste, fermented black beans, minced garlic, and ginger. Simmer to release their flavour, then add sugar, Sichuan pepper, and rice wine. Transfer to a heatproof container and refrigerate.

Clear Broth

For a clear broth, you will need:

• Chicken and pork bones
• Tomatoes
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Red dates
• Scallions
• Celery
• Corn
• White peppercorns

Cut the chicken into large chunks and clean the chicken and pork bones. Break the ginger and cut the scallion into large sections. Prepare a pot or wok with at least 4L of water, adding the ginger, scallion, white peppercorn, chicken, and pork bones. Skim any froth that appears on the surface, then simmer for 40 minutes to an hour. In your serving pot, add the tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, red dates, scallions, celery, and corn. Season with salt and load with light stock.

Enjoy

Now for the fun part: eating! Once your broth is boiling, it's time to start adding ingredients to the pot. Remember to cook ingredients through before consuming, and allow the pot to boil for at least 30 seconds to 1 minute after adding any raw meat or seafood.

Hot pot dinners are meant to be savoured slowly, so don't worry about adding all your ingredients at once. In fact, you shouldn't! Leafy greens will get soggy if left in the pot too long, so just boil and eat as you go, adding more ingredients when you want, and topping up the hot pot with extra water when needed.

And then, of course, the most important thing of all: just enjoy!

Frequently asked questions