Jarden Home Brands introduces the Ball Freshtech Automatic Home Canning System

Jarden Home Brands are the folks that make Ball canning products. And even if you've never canned a thing in your life, chances are you've seen Jarden's versatile Ball Mason jars at weddings or in restaurants. In addition to its more recent popularity as decorations and drinking glasses, they continue to be used widely for making everything from pickles to jams. The problem is that canning can be a bit of a pain.

Clearly Jarden knows this. So it decided to make the whole process a bit more accessible by introducing a new kitchen appliance to the Ball family: the Freshtech Automatic Home Canning System. It costs $299.95 and you can buy it now on Ball's online store. It will also be available for purchase at Williams-Sonoma starting December 19.

Basically, canning requires a lot of heating and boiling. While that isn't exactly difficult, you do have to be thorough and patient. And if you don't get it right, you run the risk of contaminating your freshly canned food. Then, you've spent all sorts of time making something you can't eat.

Enter the Ball Freshtech Automatic Home Canning System. It's equipped with "Smartpreserve" technology that's supposed to do pretty much everything for you. And, because it notes your altitude and customizes temperature and time based on recipe, it claims to take 30 percent less time and use 60 percent less energy and 85 percent less water than more-traditional techniques.

For your $300, you get the appliance itself, complete with a removable inner pot, and a jar rack, a jar lifter, and a recipe book. The recipes are preprogrammed into the appliance so it knows how to make each batch as efficiently as possible. Not only that, but it comes with two temperature sensors and seven different safety features that work together to make sure your food is OK to eat for up to a year after the lid is sealed. And you don't have to use the stove top at all; just put the device on your kitchen counter within reach of an outlet, and you're ready to get started.

The steps seem almost too simple. You select the recipe you want, stick the jars in the "auto canner," and it will chime when your food is securely preserved. I love that this takes all of the responsibility from you and places it in the (hopefully) capable hands of the Ball Freshtech Automatic Home Canning System.

I would expect this to be popular with canning novices and experts alike. If you already know what you're doing, this will simplify your method. And if you're new to canning, this is a much less intimidating way to get started.

I don't have one of these in front of me yet, but I like the way it looks. The silver and black finish is sophisticated, and the display seems intuitive. And while the included recipe book offers mainly favorites, more-seasoned canners or adventurous beginners can make other things, too.

The one question I have relates to batch size. If you want to make a lot of applesauce, how many jars can you fit in the Freshtech at once? And what size jars can it accommodate? Apparently, it can handle 3 quart jars, 4 pint jars, or 6 half pint jars per recipe. If you want to make more than that at once, though, you're kind of out of luck. But for a budding canner, the fear of doing something incorrectly might outweigh any possible batch size constraints. I guess I'll have to test one to be sure.