List of High Acid Foods for Canning

Here’s a list of high acid foods for canning with a water bath system you can easily create in your home kitchen. The high acid content makes it impossible for bacteria to live and thrive in the environment, which is why it is safe to can without a pressure canner. This will help you when your garden harvest starts to get a little too big for you to eat before it goes bad. If there is ever any doubt about the acid content in your food, please use a pressure canning system, different from a pressure cooker, to perserve your food. This will reduce the chance of spoilage and food poisoning.

List of High Acid Foods for Canning

• Lemons
• Oranges
• Pickles
• Tomatoes (adding acid is recommended, such as citric acid from lemons)
• Pears

Jams and jellies are traditionally safe for water bath canning, as are tomato based and fruit based salsas, and marinara sauces. When adding lemon juice to your canned foods for preservation purposes, it is recommended you use commercial lemon juice as the acidity is more consistent than that of fresh lemons.

*Only foods with a pH range of 3.0-4.6 should be canned using the water bath method.

Coming soon, we’ll have information about how to use a pressure canner to preserve low acid foods, including: meat, seafood, dairy, and vegetables. Please do not use a water bath canning system if you do not see your food on this list of high acid foods for canning.