Video Review

At Home Canning for Beginners & Beyond with Kendra Lynne

This video usurped my old favorite. In the first 5 minutes.

Before I had the joys and heartaches of having my own homestead, I lived vicariously through the Homestead Blessings video series…and promptly found some ankle-length linen skirts at the local thrift store. The West ladies fostered my romantic view of many of the lost kitchen arts that I had yet to reclaim for myself, which increased my willingness to try them for myself. I was quickly impassioned when I saw the health of my family improve nearly overnight and when I had the joy of “something tangibly accomplished” that few baby/toddler moms get to experience. I still recommend these videos for young girls and for encouraging women to think about some lost skills as both beautiful and useful additions to daily life. But the Homestead Blessings video is no longer my favorite. Enjoyable to this day, but not my fave.

Starts with Safety

Kendra never fails to emphasize safety and starts with it every single time and throughout each recipe. This ensures that you produce a healthful product without worries. Since this video starts with safety, you will never have to second guess yourself or our finished product. Romantic notions are nice and all, but botulism not-so-much. Focus on the mechanics to get the safety rules learned, and you will see your confidence improve immensely, too. Start with this video and start with safety.

Matter-of-Fact

As someone who was <cough> blessed with too much personality (my way of saying “loudly ADHD”), I admire Kendra’s ability to stay on-point. She is succinct and clear in her communication. Awesome-possum for the beginner and experienced alike who are not watching the video for lazy couch time, but who are ready-rearin’ to go into the kitchen instead. Let’s get to the point already and make some apple jelly! Yum!

Warm Personality

Okay, so after I said she was matter-of-fact, I felt I should clarify that Kendra Lynne is certainly not a robot. She warmly invites you into her pristine kitchen for a morning lesson on canning how-to. She talks about the farmer down the road that barters with her, and she is very conversational. Her winsome smile and delightful personality shine through, but they do not distract from the information either.

For Beginners & Beyond is True

I have personally only canned for just under the 5 year mark, but am experienced in a wide variety of foods and have the pressure canner out nearly weekly. I can the springtime foraged foods (like pickled onion blossoms, for instance), the summertime harvest, the late summer harvest (such as pickled eggs, apples, pears, and squash) and the wintertime boon of chicken broth and canned meats. Indeed, though my experience in years may be few, my weekly kitchen time is excessive to say the least. I learned some things. I’ll prove it, here are just a few of the things I learned:

1) The reason All-American says not to use a pressure canner on the glass top stove has nothing to do with the safety procedures at all, but only with protecting your stovetop—so if you stay with a canner that is no bigger than model 921 and do not slide the canner around or drop it, you are perfectly safe.

2) Do not boil your metal lids, only simmer them, because boiling them can ruin the rubber seal. This was a “well, huh” moment—I hate using metal lids and much prefer Tattler, partly because the metal lids have historically had a high failure rate for me. I am now wondering if this is why!

3) When canning something greasy, use white vinegar instead of plain water when you wipe the rim. Okay, this one might seem obvious but I never thought of it!

This video was nearly 2 hours long and didn’t waste a minute of it. You can watch it in its entirety, which I highly recommend for the beginner, or just pick the section that applies to the harvest flooding your kitchen. She made something like 12 different recipes in this single video–it was rather impressive.

Here were specific recipes covered:

Apple Jelly

Apple Sauce

Blueberry Pie Filling

Beans & Meats

Spaghetti Sauce

Grape Juice

Green Beans

Meals in a Jar (including chicken soup and chili)

I appreciated the fact that she started with water bath canning and did a thorough job with pressure canning too. In fact, I really cannot say anything negative at all about this video. She did state the pressure amount (such as 10 lbs) firmly for specific recipes, but it should be noted that these do vary with your altitude. No worries, though, she does tell you to double check the chart in the book that accompanies your canner at purchase.

Do not hesitate to get this one if you are new to canning (or even more seasoned): it’s worth the investment to boost your confidence and abilities in the kitchen before you get started.