Canning/preserving

[Anonymous]

Does no one in metro DC preserve anything? I never, ever see posts about it. Am I hopelessly provincial because I still like to make applesauce, jams, etc.? And would you foodies think it gauche to be served such items at a dinner party? I try to use updated favors and spices but at the end of the day, it is still "processed" and out of fashion, I suppose.

[Anonymous]

Sorry -- flavors, not favors.

[Anonymous]

I would love to but I don't have the time or storage space for it.

[Anonymous]

I love looking at canning books, but sadly don't have space to store the supplies and canned food. It's just the two of us, so I also worry about the food being wasted.

[Anonymous]

I make strawberry jam and peach jam when I have access to cheap fruit. I don't have enough garden space to grow a lot of it myself, and it's too expensive to buys lots of fruit at local farmers markets.

But my peach jam is really good!

[Anonymous]

I just started this year & I'm pretty much obsessed. It might be processed--by me--but definitely has fewer oreservatives & unpronounceable ingredients than store-bought jam. Plus, I love going to the farm with DC to pick the fruit I'm planning to preserve. (Costs less that way, too.)

I've made peach, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry jams, among other preserves. My husband has made more savory preserves, too. And if any "foodies" turn their noses up at a cheese plate with my homemade fig-balsamic jam...well, I don't want to be friends with them.

[Anonymous]

I can, and have put up salsa, marinara, pickled banana peppers, and all sorts of jam. I give jam and pickles as holiday fits each year and while many are surprised by homemade food gifts, they are pleased. Nobody has ever turned their nose up. I want a pressure canner, but storage is really tight.

[Anonymous]

Gifts, not fits. Amazing what autocorrect can do these days...

[Anonymous]

Sure we do. I did peaches last year. My in laws always do pickles and beets and blueberry jam. It's totally not gauche in my book and I'm always grateful for gifts of homemade things. There are of course people who think its a waste of time and old fashioned and totally unnecessary (my parents for example, i just don't gift or serve my goodies to them)

[Anonymous]

Canning's back in fashion, you can buy all the stuff at Williams-Sonoma (at a premium price). The hipster high end kitchen store near my house has tons of canning equipment and offers classes. And farm-to-table places always serve their own pickles or preserves. I think any real foodie is going to be delighted to get home canned stuff (I prefer traditional recipes to updated ones). I grew up canning, but unless you have access to large amounts of free or cheap produce, canning is just another expensive hobby.

[Anonymous]

I did not grow up in a culture where home canning is popular, but I have embraced it since moving to the US! None of my friends seem to turn up their noses at a gift of homemade peach or strawberry jam I also can pear/ apple butter, salsa, jalapenos, etc.
To the PP concerned about the cost of fruit at farmers' markets - have you tried going to a pick-your-own farm? It's a fun activity with kids, and you get to pick fruit that is really at its peak of ripeness, at prices lower than farmers' markets. There is always a bit of a scramble to deal with all of the fruit quickly, but it's worth it in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Oh, yes, I can. What else are you going to do with all that CSA food? I also dehydrate some veggies and I freeze a lot of tomato sauces, the kids you can't can because they are not acidic enough (i.e., with lots of olive oil and onions and garlic. Yum). And I make jam and pickles and relish and give it away for Christmas presents. And yes, I serve my preserved food to guests ALL THE TIME! Dilly beans and pickled garlic and "sun" dried tomatoes for apps, roasted tomato sauce over pasta, currant jelly as a side to roasted meat. Its good stuff! Preserved is not the same as industrial food...its actually the opposite.

[Anonymous]

PP here - sorry, the KINDS you can't can, not the KIDS you can't can. Of course you can't can kids - not acidic enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did not grow up in a culture where home canning is popular, but I have embraced it since moving to the US! None of my friends seem to turn up their noses at a gift of homemade peach or strawberry jam I also can pear/ apple butter, salsa, jalapenos, etc.
To the PP concerned about the cost of fruit at farmers' markets - have you tried going to a pick-your-own farm? It's a fun activity with kids, and you get to pick fruit that is really at its peak of ripeness, at prices lower than farmers' markets. There is always a bit of a scramble to deal with all of the fruit quickly, but it's worth it in my opinion.

Right--that's what I mean by "when I have access to cheap fruit" either pick your own, farmers' selling seconds, friends with fruit trees, etc. Right now we have a small child who is too young for pick your own farms, but when she's a little older we'll definitely be doing that. But there is a time commitment to that which sometimes makes it impossible with our schedules. SO, some seasons it happens, some it doesn't.

Oh--but definitely check out refrigerator pickles. No equipment needed and hardly takes any time (other than sitting in your fridge). So much better than store bought! We mostly do dill cucumbers and pickled onions. So good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to but I don't have the time or storage space for it.

I do small batch preserves. Takes less time (because you don't have to do batch after batch) and less space (because you only make small amounts).