learn canning

When I was quite young my parents saved a great deal by canning. We would pick strawberries and peaches from the garden or blackberries along the side of the road and can those. We had gardens both in our back yard and on rented lots and from those we canned everything from squash to green beans.
I’ve always wanted to can my own food. I grew up watching my mom can all kinds of things as she grew up watching my granny… So I want to bring that tradition into my own household.

I was really hoping to do this when I made my first big harvest from my garden. I’m not sure if this is going to happen this year or not so I may just try and bribe my friend into showing me how with bought fruits of veggies. We’ll see.

Made 6 pints of kosher dill pickles last week. My cucumber plants are going crazy, so this week will be sweet relish and maybe some dill slices.

Canning wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be. I want to really feel comfortable with a variety of things before I consider this goal accomplished though.

Most of my applesauce has gone uneaten, which makes me sad. I loved making it, and I loved eating some of it, but there was just too much of it in the end. It’s a noble goal, and canning isn’t something I’m going to stop doing, but I’m going to stop thinking of it as a Goal and just think of it as something to try.

over pork chops with mushrooms, caramelized onions, and cabbage. It was wonderful to eat the preserves that I had made myself.

and been out of the loop for a while now. But I had a good excuse! Morning sickness! (“morning”???!!! HA!) It goes a looong way toward Not canning. So now I’m finally feeling half human again- time to get back to these little projects.

I made two batches actually, one of apple sauce and one of strawberry preserve. The applesause turned out quite good, the sauce itself was tart, with lots of lemon, just the way I like it. I made three cans of it, I had to call my mother in the middle and ask about some of the instructions (Can I use Chanpaigne? It really will seal as it cools? It’s not going to kill anyone?) but with her guidance I was able to complete this simple task. That was the first thing I eveer canned on my own.

The strawberry preserve also went very well. I wanted to make a low-sugar jam. I used about a flat of fresh, local, organic strawberries and a 1/2 bottle of white wine and some clover honey. I should have added the pectin I had on hand. I didn’t. Now instead of jam I have strawberry preserve. Good as a sauce for Ice Cream maybe, or a pie filling, or a really goopy spread for bread and cheese. Not a loss, just a change-up.

Next week, another farmers market, another project?

I would like to can and preserve some of my own food. My initial goal is to get enough equipment to can a batch of applesauce. This seems like it shouldn’t be too hard.

I need the mason jars and the canning rack. Let’s see if I can make this happen!

Got the lids, jars, and… it’ll be interesting to find out how to work the gadget there in front, whatever it is.
I’m going for the simple boiling method for now, so I don’t need a pressure canner, just a big pot with a rack—strangely absent from the canning sections of stores I’ve been to.