There’s a frenetic energy in the kitchen. It starts with the just ripe fruits of summer, still warm from the field. They’re scrubbed clean of soil and the rich earth slides down the drain, the produce is sliced, stewed, and spooned into mason jars. The resultant package is plunged into boiling water, sealing the metal lid as time slows inside the jar.
The end of summer doesn’t have to mean the end of farmers’ market goodies. For the people who spend their summers at farmers markets, scan labels, and seek out fresh and local food, canning is a natural way to extend the philosophy of eating into the winter months.
“Preserving is an extension of the values that made you shop in the farmers’ market in the first place,” said Eugenia Bone, author of the cookbook “Well-Preserved” in a New York Times article published earlier this year.
Bone is an accomplished cook and her Denver Post cooking blog is a canning authority that includes recipes like Strawberry Panna Cotta, Nettle Frittata, and, of course, canned tomatoes.
“Home-canned tomatoes are superior in every way to any commercially canned product I’ve ever tried,” she says, “They are inexpensive to preserve, shelf stable after being water bath processed, and, when used in recipes, make my food taste better. Plus, by canning tomatoes and eating them in the winter, I support my local economy year round. It’s a win-win proposition.”
Home canning can be more than comfort of a family recipe, that warm nostalgia of eating something authentic, the satisfaction complicit in knowing exactly what you eat. And it’s simply practical. Its the answer for gardeners who’ve spent months watching tendrils sprout and thicken into heavy vegetable-laden vines who face the question—What does one do with such abundance?
Instead of standing behind grandma as she plunges jars into boiling water in order to learn the craft, most first-time preservers are learning from one another. A Facebook group chronicling the trials, errors, and successes of canning includes tips, recipes, and a tally list where members post their can-count. The long list of pints and quarts includes pear preserves, pickled beets, apple butter, deer meat, stewed tomatoes, and blackberry jam.
Locally, canning’s communal roots include Portland-based PRESERVE, an excellent source for anyone looking for information on canning or interested in the philosophy behind it. One of its founders was the subject of this New York Times article on wintering produce in a root cellar—another old-time preservation method that deserves a second look.
And here in Washington, WSU King County Extension is hosting a four-part educational series entitled, “Tools For Resourceful Living”. And its “Simple Methods For Preserving Fruits And Vegetables” class on October 14th will teach students how to safely can, freeze, and dehydrate produce.
The increased interest in preserving our food says something not only about our economy, but what it inspires us to do, what becomes important, what we do with our free time and how it influences what we eat. While our grandparents did it in times of economic woe, and our great-grandparents did it to weather the time between harvests, for many who grew up with frozen dinners and microwave mac & cheese, home canning is a satisfying convenience that--with a little more work and proper seasonal foresight--can offer midsummer’s flavors well into winter’s late frosts.
Photo: Library of Congress WPA collection, Howard Hollem, photographer
