I recently attended a class on preserving and canning. I was looking to create a ‘taste of summer’ by way of canning my homegrown tomato bounty.
Well, I was sure in for a lesson or two. It seems that canning is actually quite a process and requires either a pressure canner or water bath canner depending on the pH of the fruit or veggie you are bottling.
I’m glad I took the class, because if I do decide to take the canning plunge one of these days, I will have some understanding of what to do (or not to do) and I certainly know what I need to buy.
Bottom line, based on the class-size, it’s evident that many people are growing their own food and are looking for ways to extend their harvest. Just imagine… on a cold, snowy February day, you reach into the pantry and open a jar of tomatoes that were grown in your garden and use them to make chili. It warms you twice! How nice.
Hi Missy,
Grandma used to can every summer. I remember the wonderful peaches and pears. It was a messy process with lots of boiling water as we steamed up the kitchen on a hot August day. I know that Grandma and Ruth canned beans, I think. Early on in Ohio, Jean came to town and canned tomatoes with me. Wow! Those tomatoes were great in the middle of winter. It’s definitely a two-person job in my estimation. Love, Aunt Mary
Hi Aunt Mary,
I will can someday… just not this year.
It looks like a wonderful way to extend the harvest!
Missy
Did you know you can freeze tomatoes too. Very easy and taste more like fresh. We freeze homemade spaghetti sauce or even just crushed tomatoes to cook with later. Saves on equipment and steamy kitchens and of course time. I do can; even red beets and dill pickles. Enjoy those green ones too, they will ripen off the vine sometimes I have had fresh tomatoes for Thanksgiving dinner from my own harvest.
mary- I have friends who freeze fruits too! it’s a lot easier than canning!