Well,
they do, don't they?
Facetiousness
aside, many people have been asking me what
to do with their leftover produce, or in
other words, how do you get those delicious
summer flavors to burst in your mouth during
the long, cold and dreary winter months?
To
be honest, I had no idea. I love to cook,
especially outdoors - at home or when out
camping. But my kind of cooking has to do
with roughing it in the outdoors - nothing
to do with canning or preserving. On the
other hand, come to think of it, a great
little jar of home made preserves can make
all the difference to a meal in the wilderness
- or even your backyard for that matter.
Long
story short, people were asking, so I decided
to get the answer. Research wasn't too difficult
- a short visit to my Mom paid dividends.
She's a renowned conserver of international
caliber, and in a short while I had everything
down straight.
So,
no need for huge quantities - I know you're
busy. But if you'd like to reward your family
with anything from traditional raspberry
jam to jazzed-up jalapeno mint jelly, you'll
find everything is simple - and in your
reach. Just read on, and soon you'll be
preserving like a pro.
Some
basic history to start: Home-canning jars
are commonly referred to as Ball or Mason
jars. This is due to the fact that:
1)
They were developed by American inventor
John H. Mason back in the 1850s
and
2) The best known manufacturer of these
home-canning jars was The Ball Corporation,
which spun off its home-canning products
division to Jarden Home Brands in the 1990s.
Nowadays,
even the newest home-canning jars have the
names "Ball" or "Mason"
molded on them.
Is
that more history than you care for? Well,
I hope I didn't bore you too much, but I'm
a bit of a history buff. Anyway, the home-canning
process boils down to filling clean hot
jars with food, and then boiling them to
sterilize the contents. Sometimes, depending
on what your preserving, you need to sterilize
the jars before you use them. During the
cooling-down process, the food shrinks and
creates a vacuum that seals the lid to the
jar.
Voila!
There you have it - easy as pie.
The
preserving technique is really quite simple,
and once you've got the hang of it, you'll
find it's a breeze.
Clean
and hot are the key words in this process.
Both are necessary to prevent bacteria from
forming, thereby allowing us to preserve
the contents for long periods. This same
process is used for all the different types
of food you'll be wanting to preserve -
jams, pickles, chutneys, fruits and relishes.
Here's
the method my mom uses. I've broken it down
into 10 simple steps to make it easy.
1
|
Ensure
your jars are sparkling clean. You can't
be too careful here. Mom always washes
them first by hand and then runs them
through the dishwasher. |
2
|
Once
they're clean, the jars must usually
be sterilized before use. Some recipes
will require that you boil the jars
for ten minutes or less, some for
longer periods. Do not stray from
the recipe. If you are going to be
boiling your preserves for less than
ten minutes, the jar must be sterilized
first. You do this by placing them
open and right side up in the sterilizing
pot or canner you are using, filling
it (and the jars) with hot but not
quite boiling water to a level about
one inch above the rims of the jars.
With the lid closed, boil the jars
for ten minutes, and then continue
to simmer on low heat until you need
them.
If
your recipe calls for a longer boiling
periods, the sterilization process
is not necessary, as the boiling process
is sufficient to do away with the
bacteria.
Keep
a pot or kettle of boiling water handy
nearby. You may need extra water to
top off the water in the canner, if
required.
|
3
|
Wash
and sterilize the canning jar lids,
in accordance with the manufacturer's
instructions. Leave the lids in the
hot water until ready for use. |
4
|
Prepare
your recipe of choice, and when you're
ready to can it, remove one of the jars
from the canner, empty the water and
place on your working surface. This
should preferably be a wooden board
or some other surface that is not cold,
to prevent the jar form cracking due
to the difference ion temperature. Pack
the food into the jar up to about one
half inch from the top, ensuring that
you keep the rim clean. |
5
|
Stir the contents of the jar with
the handle of a wooden baking spoon
or other nonmetallic rod to remove
any air bubbles from the jar. If this
reduces the height of the food in
the jar, add some more so the level
remains at one half inch below the
rim.
Wipe
the jar's rim and screw-threads of
any residue, and remove a lid from
the hot water and place it on the
top of the jar. Place a screw band
over the lid and tighten it gently.
Be sure not to make it extremely tight.
|
6
|
Unless
stated otherwise in the recipe, return
the jar to the simmering water in the
canner, and repeat the filling process
with the remainder of the jars. |
7
|
Once
you have filled all the jars, if necessary
(and it probably will be) add boiling
water from the kettle until you have
covered the rims of the jars by one
inch, and increase the heat to high. |
8
|
When
the water returns to a full rolling
boil, adjust the heat so you maintain
a gentle boil, and continue the process
for the time specified in the recipes.
No shortcuts here, please. The water
must continue boiling throughout the
process. If it does not, you must return
it to a boil and repeat the process
for the full specified time, from the
beginning. As this may cause a change
in the flavor of the food, my mom recommends
that you keep a watchful eye open. |
9
|
Once
you have completed the process, remove
the jars from the canner and place
on a dry board or other suitable surface.
Allow the jars to cool for 24 hours.
Do not touch the lids during this
time, even if the bands are loose.
Ignore any popping sounds caused by
the vacuum sucking the lids down.
Check
the seals at the end of the cooling
down period. Remove the screw bands,
and check each seal by pressing on
the center of the lid. Properly sealed
lids should be slightly concave. If
the center pops down when you press
it, it should be ok. If it pops back
up, the seal is probably broken and
the jar should be refrigerated for
normal use.
|
10
|
You're
done! Now, just label the jars with
the content description and processing
date, and store in a cool, dark place
for future use. |
|
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