It is funny how family traditions shape you into who you are. Learning how to love the land and how to provide for the family by hard work and a great imagination. It is something I can’t imagine not having in my life and it has made me feel confident
as I get older that I will be able to one day provide for my own family. The joy of having some piping hot tomato soup and grilled cheese in the frigid wintery months right out of our summer garden. It is a blessing that keeps on giving.
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Grandma lost her mother when she was 8 years old so she learned the canning process from an older sister Anna (who all three of the Cottage Girls are named for and she is named after her Aunt with the same name and, we were born on her birthday). There are no photos of them canning but I can imagine there were hours of sweat and laughter involved. Hard work glues the family together and these are precious times and lasting memories.
I am not sure where our great-grandma learned the art. Her own momma died when she was just a little one. They must have learned from other women in the community. Anna had a huge garden and always canned the bounty from it to provide for her family. Pickles and peppers, tomatoes and beans there was never a shortage of goodies there and a rainbow of beauty on her kitchen shelves. She and her husband dug out a basement under their home to make a kitchen for canning.
Grandma loved the garden and she was always out in it. We, girls, loved to plant seed packs in the plastic pony packs and we would help grandma water and care for them. She taught us how to treat them and love them so they would provide for us. She had a green thumb to be sure, but she understood that a garden was not just for enjoyment and canning food was not just about enjoying jelly on a biscuit but was about putting food up for the future. Canning food was what got her family through very lean times. Through peace and wartime. Many times if you didn’t grow food yourself and spend time canning food while you could and while it was plenty on the hot summer days, come wintertime you went hungry.
So, grandma passed that love to our mom too. She taught her the secret of a great home-canned salsa, how to plant a seed and watch it grow. How to nurture that plant and harvest its fruit and then how to can food and provide for her own family
We too were taught about canning food right there at her knee. Mom and grandma never kept us away from the kitchen, we were cooking and baking very young. It was a gift. We thought it was just normal, every child was raised this way. As we grew up we learned that not everyone learned to plant and grow and about canning food.
Questions About Canning:
What Foods Can Be Canned?
- Fruit
- Tomato Products
- Meats And Sea Food
- Vegetables
- Soups
- Jams, Jellies, and Preserves
- Pickled Foods
- Juices
- Pie Fillings
Is Canning Your Own Food Worth It?
Yes! Especially if you get your jars, pots, and other items at yard sales or given to you by a friend or family member. It is an amazing way to take what you have grown and make it last all year.
Can You Make Canned Food At Home?
Yes! We are going to be talking about that in this article.
What Foods Cannot Be Canned?
Things like pureed pumpkin, refried beans, rice, pasta, and mashed potatoes.
What Are The Easiest Things To Can?
Jams and jellies are the easiest things to preserve when canning food.
What Can Be Hot Water Bathed?
Jams, jellies, preserves, fruit, high acid foods, pickled foods.
What Foods Require Pressure Canning?
Low acid foods, meats, fish, most vegetables (except tomatoes).
So here we go! Ready To Can? Let’s start canning!
How To Can Vegetables
Canning Tomatoes
Vegetables
- Canning Green Beans
- Canning Green Chilies
- Delicious Three Bean Salad
- Best homemade Giardiniera (hot or mild)
- Pickled Brussel Sprouts
- Pickling Peppers The 2 Best Ways
- Canning Corn; The Ultimate Guide
- Canning Carrots
- Zucchini Relish
- Delicious Three Bean Salad
- 6 Secrets To Making The Best Crisp Pickles
- The #1 Best Homemade Claussen Pickles Recipe (refrigerator pickles)
Canning Soup
Canning Fruit
Canning Jams, Jellies, And Preserves
Canning Pie Fillings
Canning Meat
Canning And Preserving Videos:
- Pickled Okra
- Canning Carrots
- Canning Beef Stew
- How To Can Raw Packed Beef
- Preserving Cabbage
- Homemade Apple Pie Filling
- Homemade Canned Cranberry Sauce
- Claussen Style Refrigerator Pickles
- Canning Chicken Broth
- How To Make Sourdough Starter
