4 Steps to Take Preserving Food From “No Way” to “I Can Do This”

If you’d told me a few years ago that preserving food would become one of my favourite parts of seasonal cooking, I probably would have laughed. I grew up gardening… planting strawberries on a London balcony, coaxing herbs through a Tauranga winter, but jars, heat, steam, pressure? That felt like another universe…Then I met Katherine from Katherine’s Kitchen.

TL;DR: Start Preserving, Grow Your Confidence, and Yes, You Can Learn to Pressure Can If you’re new to preserving food or beginner canning, you’re not alone. I only started a couple of years ago myself, and I had all the same fears and questions. But once you learn the basics, everything becomes simpler than you expect. Start with small, easy preserving projects to build confidence, move into beginner canning when you’re ready, and let pressure canning come naturally as your skills grow. Modern canners are incredibly safe, the steps are clear, and with a little patience, you’ll feel that quiet sense of pride when your jars start popping on the bench. You don’t need experience, you just need to start somewhere.

Suddenly the kitchen was full of jars and stories and this warm, practical confidence that made canning feel less like a mysterious art and more like something anyone could learn – even a beginner like me. I found myself asking all the same questions everyone asks:
Is this safe? Is this complicated? Can I really do this?

And that’s exactly why I wanted to write this piece — because preserving food is one of the easiest, most empowering ways to begin. It’s how I started. And it’s how most people gently build the confidence to move into beginner canning and, eventually, pressure canning.

If you’re standing where I once stood… curious, worried you’ll “stuff it up,” secretly hoping someone will tell you it’s simpler than you think… let me reassure you:

You absolutely can do this.

Here’s how the journey usually unfolds.

Step 1 – Start where it feels natural: Preserving food

Preserving food is the soft landing into this whole world. It’s where I started – nervously at first, peering into jars as if they might talk back, and it’s where I tell everyone else to start too.

There’s something wonderfully accessible about it. You warm the jars, simmer your fruit or your syrup, fill, wipe, and wait for that tiny “pop.” The moment it happens, your shoulders drop. You realise: Oh. This is actually doable.

Preserving teaches you the foundations you’ll use later in beginner canning without overwhelming you. Clean jars. Consistent heat. Careful handling. All the small details that add up to confidence.

It’s also where you learn the rhythm of the kitchen — that preserving is less about perfection and more about presence. Once you feel that shift, beginner canning stops feeling like a mountain and starts feeling like the natural next step.

Step 2 – Dip your toes into beginner canning (It’s far less intimidating than it looks)

Beginning pressure canning was the moment I went from interested to hooked.
But I also had the same worries every beginner has:

What if I crack a jar? What if something explodes? What if it all goes wrong?

Katherine answered these questions with the calm confidence of someone who has taught thousands. She explained that “raw pack” simply means packing raw food; “hot pack” means food and jars are heated; and “cold pack” is everything going in cold – a method she used herself for months at the very beginning because it was “just so much easier.”

Hearing that removed so much of the pressure (pun intended).

I also learned that the frightening stories many of us grew up with – lids hitting ceilings, pots exploding… simply don’t apply anymore. Modern canners have safety valves designed to release before anything dramatic can happen.

That’s when beginner canning becomes manageable:
when it stops being mysterious and starts being understandable.

Once you know the “why” behind each step, the fear gives way to capability.

Step 3 – Move onto pressure canning with the confidence you’ve been building all along

Pressure canning was the part I never imagined myself doing. Even after a year or two of preserving food, I still thought it was something “advanced people” did. But over time, the curiosity won.

I wanted broth on the shelf. Meals ready to go. Chicken, beans, stock… all the things you can’t water-bath safely.

And once I understood how a pressure canner actually works, the fear dissolved….

• When the air vent pops up, it just means the air has been pushed out.
• Steam venting clears any remaining pockets of air.
• PSI is simply a measurement of pressure.
• The weight jiggles to release excess pressure (it’s designed to keep the canner exactly where it needs to be).

Even the dreaded “what ifs” have simple answers:

• Vent too long? The jars will be fine.
• Process too long? Softer food, but safe.
• Power cuts out? Restart the cycle.
• Try to open the canner too early? Don’t! It needs time to settle.

Pressure canning stopped feeling scary and started feeling strangely satisfying. A system. A routine. A skill that rewards patience with incredible food security.

And once you pull your first jars out of the canner?
You feel something settle inside you, a quiet kind of pride.

Step 4 – Let it become part of your everyday life

After a while, the process becomes second nature.

• You line your jars on the bench to cool overnight, resisting the urge to touch them before the pressure drops naturally.
• You take the screw bands off in the morning because the seal (not the band) should hold the food.
• You wash and label the jars, learning along the way which foods take longer to heat through, which ones expand more, and what proper headspace looks like.

These small habits accumulate until one day, without noticing it, you realise you’re not a beginner anymore.

You understand the process.
You trust yourself.
You enjoy it.

And you finally believe the words I say over and over again:

You can absolutely do this.

Are you ready to start canning?

If you’ve been thinking about preserving food or stepping into the world of beginner canning, you’re in good company. This is exactly why Katherine and I created our online courses over on Jar by Jar. We take you through everything – the jargon, the confidence-building steps, the mistakes, the “what ifs,” the equipment, and the safe, simple methods we use in our own kitchens every week. If you’re ready to turn nervous curiosity into real, practical confidence, we’d love to guide you through it. See you there!