I've always been intrigued by canning. I would linger by the prize winning canned good entries at the county fair, admiring the jewel tones of the jams and the neat stalks of canned green beans.
Yet I was afraid to try it for myself. I was terrified I would poison myself. About ten years ago I went so far as to buy a canning kit, complete with jars, jar lifter and funnel. I stowed the box in the hall closet and resolved to give it a try.
Then the local grocery store had jars half off and I cannot resist a bargain. I loaded up on a dozen each of half pint, pint and quart jars. I bought some pectin and at the next farmers' market I bought a few pounds of apricots. I came home and made four jars of heavenly apricot jam. It was alot of effort and I didn't save any money, but oh, how proud I was when I surveyed my wares!
Since then I've canned salsa, peaches, more jams of various varieties and then, in a fit of insanity, I went to a local pick your own farm during their annual Pick Your Own Romas (I call it Romapalooza) and within 90 minutes had picked 62 lbs of Romas. I spent two days making red sauce, canning whole tomatoes and even spent four hours and 10 lbs of tomatoes making a grand total of 12 ozs of tomato paste. I even dreamed of killer tomatoes one night.
My hoard is now kept on a shelf in the hall closet. I take a peek from time to time, gloating over my treasure. When Man of the House took a precious jar of red sauce to whip up an ordinary weeknight batch of spaghetti, I nearly wept. The remaining two jars are now being saved for special occasions when we have guests. I dole out jars of jam to particularly dear friends, enticing them to return the empties for more jam. I am also evangelizing canning, sharing my supplies with anyone who shows an interest.
A great resource for getting started with canning is http://pickyourown.org/ They have lots of great recipes, tips on canning and preserving produce and lists of pick your own farms.
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