It might be a little early to discuss this, but as summer continues, we are approaching canning season which will take us well into the fall.
Some of us are self taught, some of us have gone to university classes, some of us ask our county extension agents for help and for still others, canning traditions have been passed down several generations.
Through it all, one thing is paramount and that’s safety. It doesn’t matter how good your pickles taste or how good your dilly beans look in a jar, if they aren’t safe to consume, it could lead to serious health and even legal issues.
We spent 20 years as commercial gardeners and took up canning because one of our interns was interested in it and since we have always had abundant tomatoes, we started there.
The very first thing we talked about even before we ran that first tomato through the power juicer was safety. That means using the proper lids, maintaining the proper temperature and/or pressure in a pressure canner. The altitude of where we live is even a factor on how many minutes you water bath a product.
I’ve never made a big deal out of it, but I always thought about how the products needed to be safe to consume. I’ve often imagined that if I sold a jar of spaghetti sauce that wasn’t sealed or wasn’t water bathed long enough and somebody got sick, or worse died from it, we would have instantly lost our reputation and our clientele.
That was very important to me because we were quite successful at the farmers’ market and if I got sloppy in the kitchen, that all could have disappeared in a heartbeat.
Years ago I overheard another vendor at the market talk about how she reused lids because it saved her money. No. 1, you can’t guarantee that a second-hand lid is going to seal. No. 2, lids are not expensive and are easily available and No. 3, if you are actually going to do something like that, do it for refrigerator products, not something that needs to be shelf stable.
As soon as this article is finished, my grandson and I are going to pickle about 10 pounds of asparagus, which brings up another point. Vinegar is a workhorse in canning and can help you in more ways than you’ve ever imagined.
Anyway, my grandson is 11 and he wants to dig into this, but before that happens, we are going to have the same chat I had with our intern nine years ago. Yes, he’s 11, but he will understand the points I will make to him.
It goes for anything you put in a jar and place on a shelf for later consumption. You absolutely have to do it right. If not, either throw away what didn’t happen right, or feed it to the hogs.
Take enough time to make sure the steps are correct and that the sequence of steps are correct. If you skip a step, it could be the difference between earning some good money at the market or a total loss.
I know people out there and I’m sure you do too that can for their own consumption and are, well, let’s just say, a bit sloppy. “This is my fambly; it ain’t gonna hurt us.”
Ah, but it most likely will in some capacity.
If you aren’t sure about something in the canning process, go directly to your county extension office and they will not only discuss it with you but will give you brochures and pamphlets on how to do it right.
Canning, despite the workload and amount of time, can be a lot of fun, can be a family adventure and can save you a lot of money over store-bought products. And if you want more generations to enjoy what you know and have done, make sure the proper steps are followed to do it the right way.
OK, now it’s off to the kitchen to start slicing up asparagus to fit in the jars.
