canning 101, part 1

I've been sitting on these pictures for quite some time (since June) but have been wanting to post about a new skill we have acquired: canning.

First though, a story. All of this rhubarb came from Mom and Dad Groves. From an enormous rhubarb plant that someone planted on the side of their house without asking their permission. That someone was me. And I did it in haste when we were housesitting for them and my mom brought over a rhubarb plant for my house. Unfortunately we were moving to Alexandria the next day and I didn't have time to drive to Minneapolis to plant it in my own yard. Not wanting it to waste, I decided to dig up my inlaws yard instead.

Heh.

But somehow in the mix of moving, I forgot to tell them that I had dug up their woodchips and planted a large and growing leafy fruit (or vegetable? What is rhubarb?!!). It wasn't until the next year that, while the family was gathered, Mom Groves asked if anyone had any idea where this large plant had come from. And then I remembered that I had forgotten to tell her.

Thankfully she's a good sport and even lets us harvest from the produce-I-planted-without-permission. :)

Now you'd be surprised. Canning is not all that tricky. My bff Heidi let me in on this secret. In my head canning was a huge process that required hours and hours, patience and precision. And maybe this is still all true, but its just not all that complicated. It is a process, and it does require some patience and it does take time, but it's not really super hard. 

Don't count on the following as a complete tutorial. If you're looking for the nitty gritty I'd recommend the Getting Started Guide on the Ball fresh preserving site. It's got pictures and spells out each step in great detail.

But in an effort to debunk the difficulty of canning, let me show you my pictures.

First, you don't need a huge kitchen to can. It might be nice, but it's not necessary. It is necessary that keep everything organized though. As is true with everything, it's more fun and less stressful if you have a nice system in place.

The jars need to be clean and then really, really hot. Some do this in the dishwasher, but this flat skillet worked like a charm for me with the boiling water steaming up the insides of the jars.

I got this handy mcdandy canning gadget kit from Walmart for $6. Every tool in blue that you see was included (the jar grabber, funnel for filling, magnetic lid majigger, and head space measure thingy)

Meanwhile, the lids need to be simmering so they are hot and ready to seal.

Using the funnel you fill your hot jar with your hot food to be canned. Each recipe will tell you how much "head space" to leave. Most of the time it's just 1/2 inch of air at the top.

This magnetic grabber is similar to that fishing game where you have a magnetic pole and try to catch the plastic chomping fish who open and close their mouths as they circle round and round. It's good to find the grown up version of toys you love.

Then you wipe the rim, ensuring no food got in the seal, and screw down the ring (which is not hot so your fingers will not get burned.

You put your cans in the water, making sure they are covered by at least one inch of water. Each recipe tells you how long to boil them, how long to let them rest without any heat. Then you take them out of the water, set them on a towel and wait for the sweetest sound of your life.

The ping of success.

Each jar's lid will ping if it has been sealed correctly. When I first got instructions on how to do this my Aunt Annie said you'll keep track of how many pings you hear. I didn't believe her. How would I keep count of all 12 cans if some of them ping right away and others not for an hour or so?

But guess what? You do. Because they are like your little babies now, and you're proud of them and somehow you do keep count all night long and you say excited things to your husband when he comes in the house like, "We've got NINE pings!"

Of course, if you do lose count, you can also check them. If the lid clicks up and down then it didn't ping (which means it didn't seal properly) and then should be eaten within the next few days. But so far, I've heard that sweet sound for every jar I've canned.

I think the greatest trick is this: don't be afraid of canning in small batches. I have canned three times this summer/fall and none of it felt overwhelming. My Aunt Louie cans enough to feed Martin County, and I may get there. Hennepin County has a lot of mouths to feed though, so it might take some time. But until then, as a newbie, start small. It's still seriously satisfying.

Secondly, the bigger challenge in canning is that you are basically prepping a whole recipe AND THEN going through the process of canning. I think it might be smart to split it into two days. Make your sauce and then reheat it the next day for the canning. It's the cooking and canning in the same day that makes it a process. Either task on its own is not that huge of a deal.

Hope you're enlightened. We are so fortunate to have a grocery store with all the canned goods we could ever want. Can you imagine our grandmothers canning to ensure enough food for the winter?!! Now that would be stressful! But this is fun and empowering. Give it a whirl sometime.