Literary masterpieces including Anna Karenina have devoted entire scenes to it. You may have begrudgingly helped your grandma do it on a hot summer's day when you would have rather been swimming at the community pool. It's canning, and not that it ever truly went away, but it's back in a big way and surprisingly cool. Jarden Home Brands, makers of the Ball family of preserving products, noted an almost 30% increase in sales of food preserving products from 2007 until June 2008, and it's likely that trend has only continued.
Reportedly popularized after Napoleon Bonaparte offered a reward to anyone who could dependably preserve food for his army, canning quickly has continued evolving, making it a boutique item as well as a supermarket staple.
Orchardists and farmers have long relied on canning to preserve their harvest for their personal use, as well as a way to make extra money and lengthen their selling season. But amateur home canning is becoming trendy for several good reasons.
After all, the freezer can only hold so many surplus kernels of corn and excess zucchini from the summer garden's bounty. And since the fresh tomatoes you can get in the winter, if you are willing to ignore the fact that they likely came from thousands of miles away, generally taste like tomato-flavored water, canning makes a lot of sense.
It makes even more sense considering the current global financial situation. Fancy, schmancy organic jam or preserves can run between $5-15 per jar. You can make your own and season it to taste for far less. Supporting the local economy is more important than ever. Even if you aren't growing what you are canning, you can cut carbon emissions by purchasing fruits and vegetables from local farmers instead of the supermarket.
Beth's Farm Kitchen, jam and preserve makers since 1981 and a mainstay at the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan, does just that. In 2007, they purchased over 22,000 pounds of fruits and veggies from local farmers and have expanded their line from jams and jellies to pickles and chutneys.
You may want to start your adventures in canning and preserving on a smaller scale, and the good news is that there's little investment required on your part. While you can find some high-tech canning equipment on the market, the basic necessities of canning have remained true and humble over the decades: glass jars, lids, a big stockpot, some freshly picked produce, and a little time are really all you require. Oh, and definitely a read through a canning book or website to make sure you have a grasp of botulism and bacteria and appropriate cook times. In the United States, cooperative extension offices and adult education centers often offer classes on canning and preserving foods.
So financial and environmental practicalities aside, how did canning become cool? Perhaps it has simply become another means of creative expression for foodies. Etsy.com's list of canned edibles includes hundreds of jams, preserves, marmalades, and jellies, not to mention dozens of syrups and sauces. The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving features traditional recipes alongside more ambitious creations such as cranberry ketchup and raspberry chipotle freezer jam.
And for those of you who recently got, ahem, canned as a result of the economy, canning might offer a change in your professional life as well. You could soon be selling at the farmers' market, through a CSA, or perhaps find an online home on a site like etsy. Starting a cottage jam industry using local, organic produce could be the start of a new, sweet life.
Related Reading:
'Locavores' Unite: Head to the Winter Farmer's Market
How to Slash Your Grocery Bill and Feed the Hungry
