What to record in a canning log or journal

Updated October 17, 2026

A canning journal template gives each batch space for the recipe source, what you did, the jars you filled and notes you add later. Include the product, processed date, jar sizes, quantity and jar location so you can connect the batch to your inventory.

A blank notebook gives you plenty of room, but it’s easy to get to the end of canning day and realize you never wrote down which recipe you used.

A template gives you the same prompts for each batch. You can copy these headings into a notebook, put them on a printed page, or use them to organize a digital canning log.

Recipe name and source

Start with the recipe’s name as it’s printed and where you found it. For a book, include the title and page. For a publication or website, keep the publication number or web address along with the publisher’s name.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation is one source of published recipes. Your record points back to the safe and tested recipe you followed, so you can find it again without copying out its instructions.

Include space to record the ingredients and amounts you used, with any substitutions named. These are notes about what happened, rather than suggestions for changing a recipe.

Batch details

Give the entry a product name and processed date. Then leave fields for the details you want to record:

• Method and pack. The method and pack you used.
• Processing details. Headspace, processing time, and pressure and vent time where applicable, entered as you carried them out.
• Altitude. The altitude of the kitchen where you canned.
• Notes at the time. What you noticed during the session, in your own words.

Leave the values blank in the template. Your safe and tested recipe supplies the instructions, and your log records what you did.

Jars and yield

Write down each jar size and the quantity you filled, alongside the recipe’s stated yield. If you filled more than one size, give each size its own space so you can read the counts later.

Add the jar location: “Kitchen pantry” or “Basement, shelf A,” for example. When a batch goes to more than one place, note how many jars went to each.

Those details connect the batch to your canning inventory. The product and processed date identify it; the jar size, quantity and location tell you what went into storage.

Notes for later

Leave some room to add the date you opened a jar and what your household thought. You might want to repeat the recipe, choose a different jar size next time, or remember who asked for another jar as a gift.

A short note beside the batch will mean more next season than trying to remember which of several recipes everyone liked.

Using the template

You can print a page for each batch and keep the pages in a binder, or use the headings in a notebook you already own. If you want a separate paper count of the jars still on hand, our free canning inventory sheet has room for that.

We’re building The Cantry to keep the batch record and inventory together on your phone. Logging a batch adds its jars to your inventory, and marking jars used updates the count. The same recipe sources and notes stay with the batch, whichever format you choose for your records.