Putting Food By for Newbies
Saturday, August 2, 2008

Posted in Recipes From the Kitchen

photo by: allposters.com

One of my recent past-times lately is envolving "putting up" for Winter Season. My mom gave me a water bath canner for Christmas one year and I started canning last harvest season. Nothing too much. I just made a series of jams and jellies. Started freezing fresh fruits and veggies and continuing the planning process for our small home garden here at our rental.

There's nothing more gratifying than canning your own Home Grown Fruits and Veggies to put by for the year. One Pro to this thought is that you KNOW whats going in your foods. Most people leave MSG out of their soups and stews, there's no dyes in your foods, no HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP and no concentrate.

What your getting is the benefit of NATURAL foods.

Yes, it takes time, yes, it can be a LONG process when you have a days worth of canning. But the satisfaction it gives from keeping YOU and YOUR FAMILY safe from harmful chemicals and preservatives really outweighs the tedious process it sometimes becomes.

Many women like myself actually LOVE the process. It's a way to kinda get away from the "norm" for a bit and just have fun with the process. You can even have a " Canning Party" like my friend Leslie from the Syracuse Sparks Team on Sparkpeople.

Today I'm making Sugar Free Black Raspberry Jam with the berries I recently picked. After I cook the jam, because I'm using SPLENDA or an alternative sugar (I.E. sweeteners, honey, stevia, Cane Juice Crystals, Sucanat, etc.) I will be adding a pectin with a calcium pouch in order to help the jam take its consistency with alternatives to sugar. In my case, I use Pamona's Pectin, which can be found at the following link:
www.pomonapectin.com/

To Learn more about the basics of Canning and "How To's", The first suggestion is to buy the latest Ball Canning Book. It has recipes and teaches how to can and the methods of canning. You can also find them online below:
freshpreserving.com

Next is another cool website that will teach everything via your computer:
Farmgal teaches canning methods, freezing, drying, and even soapmaking skills.

First thing to know as a newbie is you won't be learning to can EVERYTHING. Unless of course you have both a water bath canner AND a pressure canner.

The difference between them is that all acidic items can be canned in water baths because they have ACID which kills bacteria.

Meats, stews, soups and non-acidic fruits and veggies MUST be canned with a pressure canner in order to ensure proper sealing so you don't have bacteria residing in your food such as Botcholism which can have potentially fatal outcomes.

Now don't be afraid! If you do things correctly, you won't have that problem. Remember Acidic fruits and veggies, anything with lemon in it or tomatoes, vinegar, etc, is acid, THEY can be canned in a water bath. While all other NON-ACIDICS go right into a pressure canner.

You want to be sure that you buy a pressure canner that has a good sound seal. A pressure canner that will LAST for MANY years. They're pretty pricey, but you won't be sorry. One that I'm saving for and that MANY other canning friends have purchased is the All-American Pressure Canner which can be found at the link below:

homesteadharvest.com

Don't faint! As I've said, they're pretty steep, but VERY GOOD for pressure canning and you'll have it for your life-time and can pass it to your own kids if you like later on.

Regular Water Bath Canners can be found for cheap at your local Walmart stores as well as True Value or Ace hardware stores. Lehmans also has all canning supplies as well.

So there's a bit of information on Canning for those that are newbies. I must go for now. I have GOT to get my jam finished.

Much love to you all.

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