The Canning Kitchen

F
OR
R
UE AND HIS
D
ADVENTURES

THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO WRITE THIS BOOK.

C
ONTENTS

Introduction

Canning Kitchen Basics

Canning Kitchen Equipment

Processing Checklist

JAMS

JELLIES AND MARMALADES

PICKLES AND RELISHES

CHUTNEYS

SAVOURY STAPLES

SWEET STAPLES

Thanks

Index

I
NTRODUCTION

The sound of knives clinking in jars was standard dinner music in my childhood. The fridge door was heavy with jarred flavours, and on barbecue night they all came out to take up residence in the middle of the dinner table. It was that mixing and matching of flavours that began my lifelong love of preserves. Now, through my food blog
FamilyFeedbag.com
and my hands-on cooking classes, I get to share my love of canning with other home cooks and demystify the process of preserving fresh food in jars. It’s this connection with other home cooks through writing and teaching that keeps me motivated and inspired in my own kitchen.

While I also adore making classic comfort foods like stews and pies, one of the most pleasurable ways I spend time in the kitchen is filling jars with homemade jams, jellies, marmalades, pickles, relishes, chutneys and sweet and savoury staples. There’s nothing like getting out my canning supplies and chopping up fresh seasonal ingredients with music swirling above my head to remind me that my favourite place on earth really is my happy little kitchen. This book is an invitation into my canning kitchen so I can share with you some of my favourite homemade preserves.

People can food for many different reasons. For some it’s about preserving a connection to our past or preserving freshness that’s in season to enjoy another day. For some it’s about making a jam or salsa that isn’t in stores, or knowing exactly what goes into your food. For others it’s simply about spending time, apron on and knife in hand, crafting something beautiful to share. Most often for me, making jam with strawberries from my own garden or jelly with apples from my own tree, it is about slowing down to live in the past and the right now at the very same time. Every glossy jar cooling on the counter represents contentment for me; regardless of whatever is going on out there in the world, everything is just as it should be in my kitchen.

It’s a joy for me to help home cooks discover how surprisingly simple canning is. Any home kitchen can become a canning kitchen with the use of a few tools, some of which you may already have. With time you will find your own unique rhythm and method for filling jars with delicious homemade preserves. Whether you’re new to preserving or an experienced home canner, the simple instructions in this book will lead you to delicious results with every batch.

This book blends the traditions of the canning kitchen with the tastes of the modern kitchen. I’m sharing my much-loved classics like strawberry jam and crunchy dill pickles alongside recipes for exciting new classics like delicious barbecue sauces, beverage concentrates and interesting mustards. You’ll find recipes inspired by flavours from the traditional to the international, including the tastes of Mexico, India, China, Thailand and more. With ideas for fresh ingredients in every season, you’ll want to keep your canning pot handy year-round.

In these pages, I hope you find the tasty things, the sticky things, the sweet and the savoury things that you’ll enjoy making in your own canning kitchen for years to come.

Enjoy.

C
ANNING
K
ITCHEN
B
ASICS

Canning is easier than you might think, and once you get started making your own delicious preserves, it’s hard to stop. The sight of sealed jars cooling on the kitchen counter is deeply satisfying, and suddenly you’re buying fresh produce by the case and giving away jars of homemade jams as gifts just so you can make more. However, new and experienced canners alike are often filled with questions about filling jars. To boost your canning confidence, here are the simple answers to some common questions about making your own preserves.

Do I need a lot of equipment?

Most of what you need to make your home kitchen a canning kitchen you may already own. The key piece of equipment is a canning pot with a rack and lid for processing your filled jars. You can either buy an inexpensive speckled enamel canner with a rack where canning supplies are sold, or find a rack to fit a large stockpot you already own. Other tools, both necessary and just nice to have, are discussed in the Canning Kitchen Equipment section (
page 11
).

How much time does it take to can something?

The time it takes to prepare a recipe varies. Jams and pickles often come together quickly with few ingredients, whereas relishes and chutneys generally involve more preparation. Some people love spending time in the kitchen with a knife and cutting board with some music playing, while others like to make use of a food processor to speed up preparation time. The choice is yours.

The processing time also varies with each recipe, ranging from 10 minutes to as long as 40 minutes. Experienced canners can make a batch of jam in about half an hour from start to finish. However long it takes you, the results are always worth it.

How does canning work?

Two key things happen when a filled jar is submerged under boiling water. First, the high temperature kills off any yeasts, moulds or bacteria in the food that can cause spoilage. Second, the contents of the jar expand, driving out air. As the jar cools, the contents contract, causing the lid to seal and preventing any new microorganisms from entering the jar during storage.

It’s important to follow the headspace recommendation for each recipe. The headspace is the gap between the surface of the food and the rim of the jar. Some foods expand more than others during processing, and the proper headspace helps each jar to form a strong vacuum seal. An inexpensive headspace measuring tool can help you check for accuracy.