A Guide to Starting a Canning or Jamming Club

It was one of those summers that I’ll never forget: apple picking, plum foraging, blackberry harvesting, and then turning it all into jam. Working together as a team, a friend and I washed, peeled and boiled the bounty. We didn’t know a lot about jamming, but we learned and shared the jam we made equally, enjoying it and the memory long past the summer. If you are excited about the idea of canning and jamming this harvest season, why not start a club and share your harvest with a friend or two? Getting a group going isn’t too challenging. Here are some ways to get canning ASAP.

Canning with Community 

Put out an invitation to your new canning or jamming club on your social media pages and ask anyone interested to send you a DM. Put up signs at your local community center, library, or coffee shop. Many hands may make light work, but too many cooks can spoil the broth, as the adage goes. A good number for a canning or jamming party is between 8 and 10. If too many people sign up, you can always start a second group.

Best Meeting Places for Canning

Because you will need a sink, oven and range top, you will have to pick a place with a large enough kitchen to accommodate the group. This may mean your house, or maybe a community or church kitchen; ask everyone to chip in to cover the rental costs for an afternoon.

Brush up on Food Preservation Techniques

The National Center for Home Food Preservation is the go-to source for many home preservers; it is run by food scientists from the University of Georgia with backing from the USDA. You can find tested recipes, safety tips and step-by-step home preservation guides on their site. It is excellent for beginners! You can also find some fantastic books on the topic! 

Set Canning or Jamming Expectations

Once your members have signed on to the club, have an initial gathering to ensure everyone is on the same page. The main idea of a canning or jamming club is that whatever is produced is equally shared. Once everyone agrees to this, figure out how often you will meet  – once a week, every month? Do members of your group like to pick and forage produce or source it locally through farmers’ markets or home gardeners? An excellent rule of thumb is to focus on one type of produce or fruit per meeting. For example, one meeting could be all about blueberry jam, another about tomatoes. This makes it easier to get the hang of things without continually switching up produce and recipes. 

Equipment Needed for Canning and Jamming 

Many libraries now offer canning supplies as part of their Library of Things collection. And while the equipment is loaned, the jars needed for the finished product often aren’t. Ask club members to bring ten jars to each meeting. Each member may not go home with the same jars they got, but they will go home with the same number. 

Share the Canning and Jamming Tasks

At each meeting, delegate tasks between the group, such as washing fruits and vegetables, filling jars, making labels, etc. Alternatively, each member does one task for a set period and then switches to another. This way, everyone not only gets to share in the bounty of the harvest but in the entire process.