Despite the fact that I grew up in a house in which my mom regularly canned jam, I find that most methods of canning and food storage to be mysterious and slightly intimidating. I have a fear that anything I can will end up infused with botulism and will kill my loved ones and myself. So I don't can (fears don't have to be reasonable). However, I am intrigued by the process and am in awe of people who tackle the task (especially when it includes the scary water bath portion).
It seems like these days it is becoming increasingly popular to can your own food, as it's a good way to keep some of the summer bounty available for winter, especially if you are trying to eat a local diet. The Daily Green has put up a terrific and helpful (and fear calming) post, written by Alisa Smith of the 100 Mile Diet, chock full of tips and information about canning technique. It's enough to make me put aside my fears, buy a case of jars, obtain a flat of tomatoes and start canning.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-19-2007 @ 1:27PM
Colin said...
We can a few of our favorite items including peach jam and grape juice (so yummy!) every year. I usually don't worry about botulism because one can tell quite easily when a batch has gone bad: there's black gunk inside the lid. Those I throw out. (Or give to enemies.)
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9-19-2007 @ 1:45PM
Susan said...
I freeze tomatoes in recycled plastic mayonaisse jars. Just cut into cooking size pieces and put into the jar. No blanching, no water bath, no botulism.
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9-19-2007 @ 9:53PM
Bunny said...
We have an orchard and a huge herb/vegetable garden. I have learned to make all types of preserves, jellies, marmalades, candies, sauces, dried fruits, dried herbs and dried veggies as a means to use our bounty...... the 1st time you preserve ANYTHING is always the toughest as there is always a little nagging question: did I do it correctly? Now, my family is proud of the fact that alot of our food and spices are "home-grown" and "home-made" + we give out lots of gift baskets with fresh and preserved goodies to family and friends...... We have lots of fun creating labels on the computer using our family's favorite photos or kids' drawings.......
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9-20-2007 @ 12:02AM
Rachel said...
I taught myself to can at the suggestion of my boyfriend at the time. If you are interested in learning the basics of canning, what equipment you need, why you do what you do, you must read "Complete Guide to Home Canning" from the USDA. It is not visually beautiful, but it was by far the best.
Check out on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Canning-Preserving-Second-Revised/dp/0486409317/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-5582625-1275028?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190260797&sr=8-1
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9-21-2007 @ 11:37AM
Nicole said...
I hope you'll come to the canning party at Jackie's so we can suck you into becoming a regular canner! *grin*
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11-05-2007 @ 2:14PM
VickiB said...
Hello all,
I hope I have the correct forum for this question.
I made some raspberry syrups and blackberry syrups and apparently I did not simmer them long enough as they are still very thin. I had read somewhere (can't find it now)that if after one month they still have not thickened that I could reprocess them. At this point, can I still do this safely by just recooking the syrup and reprocessing in clean hot jars? Thank you. :)
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