As gardens begin to deluge us with fresh vegetables, we may wonder what to do with it all. Give it to the neighbors? Throw it out? Feed it to the chickens?
Don’t despair: one solution is to can foods in canning jars for later use. Most foods will last at least a year when canned; some will last much longer.
Last weekend, we made salsa from our tomatoes, peppers, onions, and parsley. Add a little garlic, cumin coriander, and vinegar. Throw it all in the Salsamaker. It’s so much better than store-bought bottles! It’s even better than fresh salsa made with cardboard tomatoes from California.
Canning may seem intimidating, but there are plenty of reliable resources on the web. Check out PickYourOwn.org for example, or the National Center for Home Food Preservation. About.com offers this list of resources. Your local Universty Extension Service probably has tips and recipes. And don’t forget the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, available most places canning jars are sold– it’s filled with instructions, recipes, and tips.
The main thing about canning is, leave yourself plenty of time. You don’t want to skimp on the hot water bath, because that’s what kills all the bacteria. And as long as you’ve got the water hot, you might as well make more than one batch. So take an afternoon, download some recipes, and go at it! Come March, you’ll be glad you did.
