Canning

I have wanted to give canning a try for a little over a year now and I was finally able to do it! I adventured out with 3 little men and a friend of mine this weekend to collect strawberries. Today, I turned the 8 pounds that we collected into 10 half pints of Strawberry and Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam. I couldn't be happier.

Have I sold you on this yet? Trust me, you will be so delighted after all is said and done. It is an easy, relaxing way to provide yourself and family with an outdoor activity along with quality food you can feel good about.

Don't know where to start? I'll tell you where I did.

First, go to Amazon.com and pick up Canning for a New Generation, by Liana Krissoff. She uses a unique method of preserving that I really like. The book is very thorough, easy to follow, and packed with recipes. While you're browsing Amazon, add canning utensils, an enamel-coated cast-iron dutch oven (6-7 quart capacity), and a pressure canner. Everything will set you back around $175.00 but you will have quality, universal equipment that you will most likely never have to replace.

Okay, you are equipped. Now, go to your grandmother's house and ask if you can have some mason jars that you know she has just sitting in her basement from her canning glory-days. Then, go pick up new lids and water-soluble labels from your local store for those vintage jars.

Now, pick out your very first recipe. Go ahead, take your time. I will wait.

Found it? Good. Now, go to your local farm, farmer's market, or your own garden and select your ingredients. Make sure you get enough! Bring it all back to your kitchen, make yourself a cup of coffee, turn on some good music, and preserve your harvest.

After only canning once, I am hooked. I love it. It's a skill that will never be of no use. It's simple. It' genius. It's healthy. It's fun.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam - using the water-bath canning method
(this is a modified version of Liana Krissoff's Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam on page 41)

2 cups rhubarb: trimmed and diced
7 cups strawberries: rinsed, hulled, and diced
2 cups of sugar

Clean and sterilize your mason jars in boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Leave jars in hot water until you are ready to fill them.

Combine the above ingredients along with 1/2 cup of water in an enamel-coated, cast iron pan. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Separate fruit from liquid by straining. Return liquid back to pan and set fruit aside. Bring the liquid up to a boil and continue to cook over high heat for about 20 minutes (until the liquid reduces to about 1 1/2 cups), stirring occasionally.

Return fruit and accumulated liquid to the pan and simmer on low for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes. Skim off foam if necessary and then stir one more time to be sure the fruit is evenly distributed among the liquid.

Carefully, remove your mason jars from the hot water, pour the water that is in them back into the pot and then place the empty jars on a towel laid out on your counter.
 
Ladle mixture into sterilized mason jars, leaving 1/4 space at the top. Clean the rims of jars with a damp paper towel and cover with lids (don't put them on too tight though). Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Remove from water and leave undisturbed for 12 hours but check the seal after 1 hour.