Ah, shit. There will be no asparagus pickles this year. Those crisp, garlicky dill bundles of joy will not be gracing my table this winter, will not brighten up my snowy days with a hit of spring lightness, and all because I forgot about canning until last week. And why did I forget about canning this summer’s early harvest of deliciousness? Because I still have this many cans left from year:
Awesome idea, Leena. Way to put up locally grown, organic food to eat in the winter and then NOT EAT IT. Awesome. What a great idea. GENIUS. I had brought shame to the art of canning, a method of preservation that has helped keep cultures alive since the early 19th century. Canning was invented by Nicholas Appert in response to a French newspaper contest. They were looking for a way to preserve large quantities of food to help feed French soldiers during the Napoleonic wars, and Appert realized that foods cooked in glass jars would be preserved if the seal was leak-proof. Appert won some money, and civilization won another way to preserve food (although further fine tuning was definitely needed). If you remember from last year, I heart canning. I find it a great way to procrastinate on anything important in your life, so much so that I sort of overdid it. It is not even that I didn’t want to eat the canned goods…I’m just a hoarder when it comes to good food. I have always loved savoring delicious food, making it last. Growing up, I still remember being able to make my Halloween candy stash last until Christmas (unless my older brother got to it), and my Christmas stash until Easter…I would even shred my turkey bacon at breakfast into tiny pieces, forming a mountain of turkey bacon bits, and then I would S L O W L Y eat it with a spoon. Unless my older brother got impatient watching me and would steal handfuls. OF MY BACON. How could I not be scarred? I think I secretly liked rubbing it my brother’s face when he ran out of delicious candy or turkey bacon and I was still savoring mine. I also think I now hoard in fear of others taking my delicious food. So when my husband insisted I clean out the canning closet BEFORE I started my 2009 batch, I was a bit ashamed to see so many cans left. But not so ashamed that I stopped canning. But I am trying to control my addiction. I am using a book focused on small batch canning, and I think I have a better idea of what my canned good needs are. I don’t think I will go as crazy as I did last year, but I did have fun experimenting and would like to continue trying new recipes, if only in one or two can increments. Thus far I’ve made: 5 spice pickled sweet cherries apricot jam pickled beets Would like to can: garlic dill cucumber pickles ketchup tomatoes a few different veggie relishes And within a week, these canned goods WILL be consumed, damn it! Even if I have to give the shit away. Ain’t no old cans gonna hold me down! ~LTG! ************************* Other articles and sites about canning I found in the Internets: Bon Appetit’s Article on Canning The National Center for Home Food Preservation Washington Post article on canning The History Blog’s History of Canned Foods
