Canning Essentials. Jackie Callahan Parente

markets are an amazing resource for fresh, healthy produce of all kinds. When canning and preserving, just-picked produce like this is best.

      STEP 2: WHERE TO GET IT?

      If you aren’t growing your own fruits and vegetables, look around your area for “pick-your-own” farms or farmer’s markets. Don’t forget that you can negotiate; if you are buying a large quantity, be sure to ask if there’s a quantity discount. As tempting as it may be, don’t buy seconds or drops (produce that is not top quality or produce that has dropped to the ground). They are sure to be less expensive, but there is a greater risk of spoilage with bruised or cut produce, and older produce has already lost much of its nutritional value.

      STEP 3: WHICH METHOD TO USE?

      Based on what you know about the product that you want to preserve, decide which method is best. Use the safest recommended method available to you. For example, if you’re going to preserve green beans and you don’t have any freezer space (and you don’t want pickled beans), then your choice will have to be pressure canning.

      Check on the fruits and vegetables in your yard often to gauge when you may need to schedule a canning day.

      STEP 4: WHEN’S THE BEST TIME?

      Try to synchronize your “canning calendar” with Mother Nature’s ripening calendar. It can be tricky, but aim to schedule the time for your food-preservation project and mark it on your calendar. For example: The tomatoes are starting to ripen. Enough of them should be ripe on Saturday to make a number of jars of stewed tomatoes, so plan to devote a few hours on Saturday afternoon to can the tomatoes. Making the time to put them up now means you’ll reap great benefits later.

      Just how much time you’ll need depends upon the quantity of food that you are processing, how large your equipment is, and how experienced you are. If you’re just starting out, plan on two to four hours. It really won’t take long before you become a pro and can zip through your food-preservation projects!

      STEP 5: EQUIPMENT AND INGREDIENT CHECK

      The instructions for each type of food preservation will give you a full list of equipment that you’ll need. Likewise, each recipe will spell out the exact ingredients. Read both of these ahead of time to make sure that you have what you need on hand. Nothing is more frustrating than starting a food-preservation project and realizing that you don’t have enough sugar for the jam or enough lids for the jars.

      STEP 6: CONSIDER THE LOGISTICS

      Check out your kitchen or other preparation area to make sure that you have enough space to work in. You don’t need a commercial-size kitchen or a sanitized science laboratory. You just need a clean and uncluttered area for staging and preparation. In general, you’ll need a place to gather the produce, a sink for cleaning and draining it, a place to clean and line up your storage containers (jars, lids, plastic containers, and so on) before filling, and a place to cool the processed jars. In addition, be sure to look at your long-term storage space. Do you need to make some room in the freezer or on your canning shelf?

      Organizing your food and equipment before you begin helps ensure a successful and enjoyable canning experience.

      STEP 7: JUST DO IT!

      Your preparation is done. Now comes the fun part of actually starting your home food-preservation project. Each of the chapters to come provides step-by-step instructions, details, and recipes for:

       freezing

       water-bath and pressure canning

       jams, jellies, and soft spreads

       pickles, relishes, and salsas

      INVITE A FRIEND!

      In earlier times, “putting food by” was often a social affair. Folks worked together cooperatively at and after harvest to fill each other’s larders. It was a time to work and a time to “gab,” as my mother would call it. At the end of the day, friendships were stronger and food stores were swelled. This can work just as well today!