Guide topic
Home Canning Safety
Plain-English, source-cited guides to safe USDA home canning.
Guide
Canning altitude calculator
Enter your altitude for the water-bath time to add and the pressure PSI (dial & weighted) — free, USDA brackets, never rounded down.
Read guide →
Guide
Water bath vs. pressure canning
The dividing line is acidity (pH 4.6) — which foods need which method, and why, per USDA/NCHFP.
Read guide →
Guide
Canning at altitude: adjusting time and pressure
How elevation changes home canning: add water-bath time, or raise pressure-canner PSI, as you go higher.
Read guide →
Guide
Pressure canning green beans: time & PSI by altitude
USDA times (20 min pints, 25 min quarts) and the exact pressure for your elevation — and why green beans can never be water-bathed.
Read guide →
Guide
Canning tomatoes: how much lemon juice or citric acid
USDA requires added acid in every jar — the exact bottled-lemon-juice and citric-acid amounts, and why it's a safety rule.
Read guide →
Guide
Canning salsa safely: use a tested recipe
Salsa is a low-acid mix held safe by its acid ratio — what you can change, what you never can, and how to thicken it safely.
Read guide →
Guide
How long do home-canned goods last?
Best within a year, safe longer with an intact seal and cool, dark, dry storage — plus the spoilage signs that mean discard.
Read guide →
Buying guide
The best pressure canners (2026)
dial vs. weighted gauge, and which canner fits your jars and altitude.
Read guide →
The app for this
Seal: Home Canning Safety
Pick a food, set your altitude, and Seal computes the USDA-tested processing time and pressure for your jar size — every number cited “Per USDA” or “Per NCHFP”, with a pre-process safety checklist and a jar-failure diagnostic. No subscription, no ads, no account, works offline.