"canning" news and stories

Homemade pickles. Photo: melsands, Flickr

August may mark the end of peak cucumber season, but that's no reason to be sad -- it's also the perfect time to stock, slice and pickle the green veggies, whether they're 2-inches or 2-feet long.

These pickles, made and taken by Flickr user melsands, were jarred with dill, coriander, allspice, garlic and fennel seeds. While they were probably intended to go on a sandwich, we'd be tempted to pluck each perfectly pickled cucumber chip straight from the jar until all that's left is just enough juice left to pickle another batch.

[Via Flickr]

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Pickles. Photo: Kat Kinsman

There's a canning revolution going on and Kim O'Donnel -- former food writer for the James Beard Award-winning Washington Post -- has brought it to a boil.

Upon tremendous response to her re-Tweet of an Ethicurean post about a canning party in San Francisco and subsequent suggestion that Seattle and other cities follow suit, O'Donnel asked interested home canners to contact her. Thus Cans Across America was born. On the weekend of August 29-30, cities across the nation will host classes, can-a-thons, canning meet-ups and raise awareness of this retro-haute preservation method.

More about the nation's can-do attitude after the jump.

• The pros dish about thrills and convenience of canning, the age-old practice that preserves your fresh market indulgences before they go bad.
• Texting is invading the communal dinner table, to the chagrin of Emily Post and those who appreciate some table manners.
• Frankie and Johnnie's, a New York steakhouse that began its life as a Prohibition-era speakeasy, has escaped plans for demolition.
  
• The Minimalist muses about mussels.
• Live-animal markets throughout the city are providing consumers with a face-to-face introduction to their dinner.
• New York City is loving more than just local food. It's going international with festivals celebrating the cuisine of countries from Indonesia to Sweden.
  

• Oprah may have made the acai berry a Superfood, but now the craze is robbing poor Brazilians of a native product critical to their health.
• Like every other city, Pittsburgh is coming alive with farmers markets. Here's a list of them.
  
• The Ball jar is celebrating its 125th anniversary, so get canning!
• Hugo Chavez has seized temporary control of one of Cargill Inc.'s pasta processing plants in Venezuela for breaking regulations.
• Rachel Carson Homestead is celebrating its dedication to local foods with a Sustainable Feast.
• Need more rhubarb in your life? Read on to learn more about rhubarb history and the plant's role in treats like this crisp with strawberry, a spring tonic and in a pie or tart with apple.

If you're a friend of mine, I'm sorry, but I'm about to spoil your Christmas present. You're getting my homemade corncob wine. Now get that look off your face -- it's actually pretty darned tasty, and if you don't believe me, at least trust the palates of James Beard Award winning cookbook authors and Lowcountry culinary ambassadors Matt and Ted Lee. I nabbed this method from The Lee Bros. Southern Cooking, and thought the first batch turned out so well, it was worthy of a second gallon's brewing a few weeks later.