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Gizella Tarala, 7, watches her cousin Carter Kusek, 13, put homemade applesauce in jars to be canned and preserved.
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Fawn Lake resident Mary Ann Messing, who was exposed to canning when she was growing up near Nashville, Tenn., enjoys preserving whatever is in season. She makes a variety of jams, relishes and chutneys, In the fall, she and her husband, Fred, make apple and pumpkin butter.
Diane Kuechler was 4 when her parents planted a Victory Garden in suburban Chicago during World War II. They canned enough for themselves and other family members.
Krista Ehlert, a defense contractor, started canning last year. She did online research and soon found out that she was one of many. |
By CATHY DYSON
When Krista Ehlert started canning last year, she wondered if anyone else spent time cleaning, snapping and stuffing green beans into jars.
"I started to think I was the only person who still did it," said Ehlert, a 41-year-old defense contractor at Quantico Marine Corps Base and Orange County resident.
Instead of being the last canner on earth, Ehlert may be the new face of it.
Across the nation, consumers concerned about how their food is grown and processed are taking jars and lids into their own hands.
Like Ehlert, they don't have the time to grow a garden themselves.
They pick peaches at local orchards or buy boxes of canning tomatoes at farmers markets.
Instead of filling pantries with food to get through the winter as their grandmothers did, they preserve pickles and pasta sauce because they want to capture the flavor of locally grown food and limit the amount of sugar and salt added to it.
"That's the new consumer we're seeing," said Brenda Schmidt, a manager at Jarden Home Brands in Muncie, Ind., a company that sells canning products. "It's all about lifestyle choices, and canning is more relevant than ever before."
'AN INCREASE IN INTEREST'
Nationwide, sales of canning products are up almost 10 percent from last year, Schmidt said. This summer is the fourth year in a row the industry has had double-digit growth, she added.
The same trend is taking place in the Fredericksburg region.
The TrueValue hardware store at Lake of the Woods sells canning products year-round and has several employees who can answer questions, said Dan Kalista, manager.
Kim Elkins in the Virginia Cooperative Extension's Spotsylvania County office had so many queries about canning, she scheduled a two-part class earlier this month.
She limited participation to 10 students, who made strawberry-kiwi jam and salsa one day, and preserved green beans the next.
"There's definitely an increase in interest," she said.
When Ehlert started researching online, she was surprised to find blogs about canning. She read about people making jams and jellies in New York City apartments so small, residents had to stash canning supplies under the couch.
"That was definitely encouraging," Ehlert said, about hearing that others were successful. "It didn't sound like such a big deal to do a batch of tomatoes."
OLD VALUES, NEW HABITS
Diane Kuechler was four when her parents planted a Victory Garden during World War II. She lived in the suburbs of Chicago, and her family canned enough to feed themselves, as well as grandparents, aunts and uncles and neighbors.
"They canned everything," she said, "anything they could grow."
Now 73 and living near Thornburg, Kuechler and her husband, Mark, enjoy the satisfaction of preserving food--as well as the fresh taste. They don't grow their own anymore, except for a few potted plants and herbs, but they've clung to lessons taught by those who came before them.
"We try to do stuff that's in season," Diane said. "Otherwise, you don't save any money."
She makes sauerkraut in March, when cabbage goes on sale for St. Patrick's Day. She takes apples she used on outdoor Christmas displays and cooks them down for sauce.
She even makes pickles from watermelon rind.
When a batch of apple cider didn't turn out sweet enough, the Kuechlers didn't pitch the product.
They used it for vinegar and marinade.
"See, we don't throw anything away," Diane said.
SAVORING THE FLAVOR
Ehlert got into canning when she realized the seasons were slipping by her. She spent so much energy at work, or getting there via Interstate 95, she realized a few summers ago that it was mid-July and she hadn't tasted a fresh tomato.
Or visited a farmers market.
She vowed to start "living in the moment." She and her husband, Jason, began a tradition of visiting berry farms and picking pounds of fruit. For years, Jason "bugged" her to make his mother's strawberry jam, and she kept saying she'd get around to it.
"Well, I started, and now I can't stop," she said. "It's very relaxing to be at home and to do this. It helps me reconnect with the season and know what fruits and vegetables are in."
Mary Ann Messing, 61, also enjoys savoring the flavors of the season. The Fawn Lake resident makes strawberry jam in May and peach jam in July, along with cucumber relish and various types of chutneys in between.
In the fall, she and her husband, Fred, make apple and pumpkin butter with items from local farms.
Fred grew up in Brooklyn and wasn't exposed to the production of food, much less canning, the way Mary Ann was in her home northwest of Nashville.
He says it's wonderful to watch seeds develop into plants burgeoning with fruits and vegetables, then see them transformed into food. Mary Ann loves the way jars of red pepper jelly catch the light on the dining room table.
"And I enjoy the heck out of eating it," Fred said.
'HELP YOURSELF'
Even those who garden themselves--and often have buckets of produce waiting to be processed--enjoy the art of preserving food.
Louise Smith of King George County grows everything she puts in jars, except for what other people give her. Doing it that way saves money, but her love of canning goes beyond economics.
"The homemade taste is much better than what you can buy in the store," she said. "I do it because I like doing it, and if I have an abundance, I usually give it away."
Smith puts together about 20 baskets a year as Christmas presents for elderly friends. She also gives to friends and family members, who stop and ask if she's got an extra quart of tomatoes or jar of cherry jam.
"I just go in the cupboard and look," she said. "I say, 'If you enjoy eating it, and I've got it, help yourself.'"
The Messings also like to give homemade goodies as hostess gifts when they go to a neighbor's home for dinner. Mary Ann tells people that if they enjoy the jam--and can't use the jar--give it back and she'll refill it.
She recognizes that everyone doesn't understand the labor of love. They can't see past the peeling and pitting, blanching and chopping involved or appreciate the difference in flavor.
"There are some people who look at you and say, 'Did you know you can buy this?'" Mary Ann said, laughing in disbelief. "They don't get another jar."
Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425
Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com
It's OK to take up the practice of preserving foods the way your grandmother did, but you might not want to use her recipes
"The rules have changed," said Kim Elkins in the Virginia Cooperative Extension's Spotsylvania County office. "We've learned a lot more about microbiology since then."
At issue is the type of food and how it's processed. Fruits, jams and salsas can be processed in boiling water, as well as vegetables that are pickled or have added acid. The pickling helps preserve them.
All other vegetables need to be processed in pressure canners, appliances filled with water and heated to temperatures upward of 240 degrees Fahrenheit. That's the temperature needed to kill the bacteria that causes botulism, or food poisoning.
More information about canning is available from the National Center for Home Food Preservation at uga.edu/nchfp or the Virginia Virginia Cooperative Extension Service at ext.vt.edu. County Extension agents can be reached at:
CAROLINE: 804/633-6550 KING GEORGE: 775-3062 FREDERICKSBURG and SPOTSYLVANIA: 507-7570 STAFFORD: 658-8000 WESTMORELAND: 804/493-8924CORN: Krista Ehlert buys fresh corn on the cob and removes husks and silk. She blanches the ears for a few minutes then puts them in ice water to cool. She wraps them individually in plastic wrap and puts them in freezer bags. When she takes them out to cook, they're as good as when fresh-picked, she said.
HERBS: Diane Kuechler has developed a simple method for drying herbs. She snips away the stalks and wraps the herbs in plastic netting. She stores them in the refrigerator a few weeks until they dry, then puts them in jars. The method retains the plants' vibrant colors, and the flavor lasts about a year. TOMATOES: When recipes call for removing the skins, Ehlert cuts out the cores and makes an "X" mark at the bottom of the tomato with her knife. Then, she blanches the tomatoes and cools them in ice water, which causes the skins to slide right off, she said. SUBSTITUTE: The benefit of canning is being able to come up with your own combinations. When Mary Ann Messing lived in Miami, mangoes were so abundant, she made a variety of chutneys and sauces. Now that she lives in Fawn Lake, she uses the same favorite recipes with peaches instead.
