Yes we can!
by DavidQ
I have decided that my summer project will be canning and drying: preserving as much food from the farmers' market and garden so that I might eat local throughout the year. Books like The Omnivore's Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle have inspired me to try to reduce the amount of food that I eat that comes from far away.
I figured that I could allay my fear of food poisoning by finding the right books and just diving in. A farmer friend recommended Putting Food By: a classic which I am glad to say was also suggested in Preserving Time in a Bottle (or a Jar), a recent New York Times article. The Times talked to Eugenia Bone about her new book: Well-Preserved (there are many holds on it which proves how many AADL patrons read the Times).
While scanning the shelf for Putting Food By, I came upon The Joy of Pickling and Keeping the Harvest which I think will also give me some good ideas. I'll blog again at the end of the summer about what I've discovered. In the meantime, see you at the market!
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That was my goal last
That was my goal last summer--and it worked out! I took a class on canning at WCC and ended up canning strawberry jam, blueberry jam, salsa verde, tomatoes, tomato sauce, apple sauce and a batch of mixed veggies. I also froze quite a bit--lots of berries, peppers, rhubarb, chopped onions, celery and pureed pumpkin. My only total disaster was a few jars of jam...make sure you fill it to the top of the jar or else you might get mold, as I did. Also, be sure to label bags if you decide to freeze. I ignored this advice and had a few "what the heck is this?!?!" moments with bags of frozen things.
Good luck :)
PS: I picked up a flyer at the Produce Station the other day, and they are having some preserving classes, too!