We have greatly enjoyed our explorations of seasonal cooking and love the variety and freshness offered at our farmers markets in the summer and fall. However, there are certainly times in the dead of winter when we crave those fresh tastes of the summer - tomatoes, peaches, basil, cucumbers, etc. - but don't want to purchase foods from far away. Not only are these imports harmful for the environment, they tend to be more expensive and much less flavorful. While it seemed daunting at first, we decided to give preserving and pickling a try to capture our favorite flavors of the summer for enjoyment later in the year.
We tried canning for the first time last fall and made apple sauce and pickles. The apple sauce was delicious and we enjoyed it all winter long, but the pickles were lacking the crisp and bite normally associated with dill pickles. These experiences left us wanting to explore more this year, but also made us realize that we had a lot left to learn.
After attending a canning class in August and purchasing a canning cookbook, we felt like we had a much better sense of the process. Last weekend we made four recipes from the cookbook to experiment with different types of foods and flavors (look for the recipes in coming weeks). After sampling each of the recipes we are very happy with the results and eagerly look forward to enjoying them in a few months. Not only that, we loved spending the day in the kitchen with each other and enjoyed the fun and rewarding weekend project.
Canning certainly is not just for your grandmother and great-aunt, so follow our suggestions and give it a try before the summer produce runs out!
