Search

Mid Summer Kitchen Canning!

kathleen3001
Aug 30, 2017
4 min read

Yesterday I did some canning. I had a ton or so of apples from my neighbor, and wanted to can some applesauce. Also, a few weeks ago I made a batch of apricot jam that never did set up. GRRRR. So, I decided to do this all at once, with the thought that I would not have to heat up the kitchen for more than one afternoon. As I was working, I was reflecting on the changes in canning, and all that I have learned over the many years I have been canning as a mode of food preservation.

My grandmother and my mother both had what we called a Fruit Room in the basements of their Michigan homes. This was a sort of closet in the basement that was lined with shelving. The shelves were filled with home canned food. I guess it looked a little like this.

When I was quite young, and a newlywed living in Tucson, I began canning as a way of preserving food - usually food that was FREE to me. I love getting free food - like my neighbors who give me apples, peaches, pears and apricots. I, in return, take over zucchini, and sometimes tomatoes.

I did not have a freezer that would hold all the food I wanted to keep, although freezing did seem like a good way to preserve food. So, I learned to can the food. As the years went by, I became so used to canning, I never did get a deep freeze. Sometimes I still think I would like one, but if I did not have one when I was feeding more people (read: children), then I certainly don't need one now,

Anyway, I was quite clueless when I began. Although I had on occasion helped my mom and my grandma to can food, I was starting at ground zero. I think my mother must have sent me this book.

It was an old canning book, which I think belonged to my grandmother. It has not had a cover, or the first 2 and last 2 pages for some time, but I am pretty sure it is the 1948 book that Kerr put out on canning and freezing. I love the photos!

Later I was given a Ball Blue Book from 1972. I used this one for a long time. But, now I can't find it. Don't know what happened to this one.

The Good Housekeeping Cookbook I got for a wedding gift in 1981 has a section on canning, and I still consult this too!

Over the years I have used a lot of books. Now, I turn to this one first.

Canning methods have changed over the years, though. That is why I do not use my old 1948 book. When I first began canning, I only had this old kettle, which I used as a hot water bath method.

The thing is, you cannot can everything in a hot water bath. You need a pressure canner. So, with some of our wedding money, in 1981, we bought this large pressure canner. This is the one I still use today.

I did not need pressure, however, for the apricot jam, and the applesauce. So, I just used the large kettle as a water bath canner.

For many years, I thought you could can just about anything. And you can, but not always safely. For example, for many years I used to can pumpkin puree. See? It is even here in my 1948 book.

But, later I learned that the only safe way to can pumpkin is to can the cooked chunks. The reason is that the puree is too dense to reach a safe temperature in home canning. So, now I can up the chunks of pumpkin, to be pureed when it is time to use it.

Some things are the same from 1948, though. Like sterilizing jars. This has not changed, and was as important then as it is now.

Also wiping the edge of the jar before sealing.

I understand that you do not need to sterilize the lids in boiling water anymore. But, I still do. I pour boiling water over them. A note on lids: I found out years ago that the generic and off brand lids do not work as well as Ball or Kerr lids. Found out the hard way when half of my canned goods did not seal correctly. You can tell if they are sealed right if, when you press on the lid, there is no noise, and no "give". You want these to be sealed, after all that work canning, right? Well, yes!

Also, I learned about this organization: The National Center For Home Food Preservation.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/index.html

Absolutely everything you need to know is here. There are webinars, and self study courses.

I did a few of these a few years ago, and learned a lot. There are safe and approved recipes there for almost anything. Ball and Kerr have recipes on line too.