Altitude Calculator
Enter your elevation and a base processing time from a tested recipe (the time given for 0–1,000 ft) — this adjusts it correctly for where you live.
Recipe Presets
Base times for 0–1,000 ft, cross-checked against USDA/NCHFP-sourced references. Tap one to load it into the Altitude Calculator. This is a starting point, not a full recipe — follow the linked source for the complete tested method.
Safety Guide
The core rules that keep home-canned food safe.
High-acid vs. low-acid
High-acid foods (fruit, properly acidified tomatoes, pickles, jams/jellies) are safe in a boiling-water canner — 212°F is hot enough to destroy what grows in an acidic environment.
Low-acid foods (all plain vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood) can only reach a safe temperature in a pressure canner (240°F). There is no safe boiling-water process for a plain low-acid food — this is the single most important rule in home canning.
Headspace
Rules that are never optional
- Never alter the ratio of low-acid ingredients (vegetables, meat) to acid in a tested recipe — that ratio is what makes it safe, not just tasty.
- Never reduce processing time or pressure below what a tested recipe calls for, even if it "seems done."
- If a jar's seal fails, the contents look off, smell off, or spurt liquid when opened — don't taste it. Throw it out.
- A jar that leaked during processing, or shows bulging lids, foam, or seepage in storage, gets discarded unopened.
My Recipes
Save your own recipes' base times and notes for quick reuse. Free tier: up to 3 saved. Pro: unlimited.
Batch Log
A record of what you've canned and when — for your pantry inventory, not for safety verification.
Settings
Appearance, your account, and your data.
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Preserve Safe Pro
Manage ProYour data
Downloads your saved recipes and batch log as a file you can keep as a backup.
About
Preserve Safe · sourced from USDA/NCHFP guidance.