Canning

August 1, 2023

To follow up on my first attempt at canning, it was both rocky and smooth.  The biggest problem was the seven last words that kill most projects (we’ve never done it that way before).  My inexperience added to the constant reminders that if you do not follow the recipe precisely, it could have a toxic result.  Despite feeling the pressure, I reminded myself the process has been successfully accomplished for over 200 years.  I ended up making the pasta sauce on Saturday night after placing the ingredients in three successively larger pots to find enough room.  I simmered the sauce for the required 20 minutes and then pureed the mixture to reduce the large pieces of tomato and help pulverize the seeds.  Melissa and I usually like our sauce chunky style, so we add our own sauteed vegetables and hamburger.  This should be no different than doing the same with my homemade sauce.

By Sunday it was time to get serious about canning.  Melissa reminded me I had given her a pressure cooker when we lived in Kansas, but I remembered a pressure cooker was different than a pressure canner so that was out.  We had a large pot Mellissa’s dad had used for cooking, but it did not have the bottom grate to allow the water/steam to get under the canning bottles.  Rather than purchase online or do the returns I decided to go to the store and buy what I needed.  The market’s website indicated they were available for pickup so I should be able to go inside and find what I needed.  I was wrong.  I could not find anything I needed.  I asked an employee (who asked the manager) where the canning tools might be and was told these were online items and not stocked in the store.  Back to the drawing board for more research and a second night of the sauce sitting covered in my refrigerator.

By Monday I was getting desperate as I knew I had to at least freeze the pasta sauce and a three day delay for shipping was no longer an option.  I checked the local hardware website and found they also carried canning supplies.  I asked the clerk and was shown the row of supplies, pots, and cooking aids I needed to accomplish the job.  I selected the needed tools and after much hesitation decided on the pressure canner rather than the water bath canner.  I no sooner got home than I regretted my decision.  Not only was the pressure canner three times more expensive, but it was also a different process than I had been researching.  I went back to the hardware store and replaced it with the water bath and a recipe book and finally forced myself to start the process.  I filled the canner to sterilize the bottles, put on another pot to sterilize the lids, and put the sauce on the stove to simmer.  After sterilization I filled the quart bottles with the hot sauce (and lemon juice for acidity) and hand screwed on the lids.  After forty minutes in the boiling water and five minutes rest it was time to remove the bottles so they could cool.  My fears were alleviated when we heard all four lids vacuum seal with a slight “pop” as they cooled.  My first attempt at canning was complete.  Now I have a year to enjoy my pasta sauce.       

Thoughts:  As I think back on my three day canning project, I realize it was not all that difficult.  The problems arose with my indecision and not having the right equipment before I started.  Even blanching and removing the tomato skins to make the sauce was easier this time than last week.  When I finally threw myself into the canning process it went smoothly as I followed the written and pictorial directions in my newly purchased canning book.  Having completed the process once I am ready to switch from making sauce to salsa with no fear.  Who knows, maybe even fruits and vegetables?  Life is often about overcoming our fear of the new and unknown.  We can allow our fear to keep us from trying, or we can overcome our fear and move forward.  We often find opening ourselves to new experiences and perspective add enjoyment and new friends.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.