Recipes and Cooking How to Cook Preserving & Canning Altitude Adjustments for Canning Altitude must be considered when home canning jams, preserves, and vegetables. These simple instructions give you high-altitude tips for your home canning recipes, whether you're canning savory tomato juice or something sweet like jam and preserves—or anything in between! By Wini Moranville Wini Moranville Instagram Website Wini Moranville has written about food and wine for leading magazines and websites for more than 20 years—hundreds of those being for Better Homes & Gardens publications, including the iconic New Cook Book. She holds a bachelor's degree in French and English from the University of Iowa; she also studied French at the University Laval in Quebec, Canada. Moranville later studied creative writing at Iowa State University, where she received a master's degree in English and was the recipient of the Pearl Hogrefe Fellowship in Creative Writing.While she's covered just about every food topic imaginable—from bargain wines to fancy desserts—she's most passionate about the easy-yet-inspired everyday French cuisine she's discovered throughout more than twenty summers living and cooking in France. Moranville was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Award, Best Food & Cookbooks 2019, for The Little Women Cookbook. Her book, Everyday French Cooking: Modern French Cuisine Made Simple, will be published by Harvard Common Press in 2022. Back home in the Great Midwest, her local Aldi supermarket is her happy place. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on June 9, 2015 Share Tweet Pin Email Before you roll up your sleeves on your home canning recipes, take note: At higher altitudes, water boils at a lower temperature. This means that when canning at higher elevations, you must process food longer in a boiling-water canner or process foods at a higher pressure in a pressure canner. What's the elevation where you live? It might be higher than you think! Much of the so-called "flat" Midwest, for example, is above 1,000 feet, and altitudes can vary within a community. Check your altitude online or with your county extension office before you begin your home canning projects. Then adjust processing times for boiling-water canning or pressure for pressure canning as indicated in this article. Home Canning Altitude Adjustments for Blanching Foods and Sterilizing Jars Sterilizing Jars for Home Canning Recipes. Add these timings to your home canning recipes: Blanching: Add 1 minute if you live 5,000 feet or more above sea level. Sterilizing Jars: Boil jars an additional 1 minute for each additional 1,000 feet above sea level. High-Altitude Home Canning for Jellies and Jams When processing jellies and jams at high altitudes, process half-pints and pints for 10 minutes at 1,000 to 6,000 feet and for 15 minutes at altitudes above 6,000 feet. Get the Caramel Apple Jam recipe Home Canning Altitude Adjustments for Boiling-Water Canners Boiling-Water Canner for Home Canning. When home canning using a boiling water canner, call your county extension service for specific instructions, but use the following as a guideline: At 1,001 to 3,000 feet above sea level, increase processing time by 5 minutes.At 3,001 to 6,000 feet above sea level, increase processing time by 10 minutes.At 6,001 to 8,000 feet above sea level, increase processing time by 15 minutes.At 8,001 to 10,000 feet above sea level, increase processing time by 20 minutes. Home Canning Altitude Adjustments for Dial-Gauge Pressure Canners and Weighted-Gauge Canners Dial-Gauge Pressure Canner for Home Canning. When home canning using pressure canning, the timings are the same; however, different pressures must be used at higher altitudes. Here are guidelines for dial-gauge pressure canners: At up to 2,000 feet above sea level, use 11 pounds of pressure.At 2,001 to 4,000 feet above sea level, use 12 pounds of pressure.At 4,001 to 6,000 feet above sea level, use 13 pounds of pressure.At 6,001 to 8,000 feet above sea level, use 14 pounds of pressureAt 8,001 to 10,000 feet above sea level, use 15 pounds of pressure. Here are the guidelines for weighted-gauge canners: At up to 1,000 feet above sea level, use 10 pounds of pressure.At above 1,000 feet above sea level, use 15 pounds of pressure. Great Home Canning Recipes If home canning is your favorite food preservative, you'll love these recipes: How to Can Tomatoes Home Canning Recipes for Pickles, Beets, Sauerkraut, Barbecue Sauce, and More Strawberry Preserves Recipes Charts for Canning Blueberries, Melons, Apples, and Other Fruits Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit