So now that you’ve started seeds, planted a garden, harvested some veggies, and made every fresh dish imaginable, what do you do with the excess? By now, you’ve alienated the majority of your friends and family because they know it’s you that leaves piles of produce on their porch, attracting fruit flies and raccoons, simply because you have no clue what else to do with 56 bushels of tomatoes.
That exact scenario may or may not have happened to me my first year of gardening. No one can prove it was me that left those tomatoes. I’m sure I left no evidence. Oops, I’ve said too much.
Actually, I froze the majority of our harvest for the first few years. Why? Because I read every bit of canning information I could find, including everything available from the FDA, the USDA, and any other alphabet-laden authority site I could find. As a result, I was positive that any venture into home canning would result in my entire family being paralyzed by botulism. Or, at the very least, spending excessive amounts of time in the bathroom and owning stock in a toilet paper company.
Sure, my grandmother canned, and none of us died. But comparing the canning methods she used to those deemed safe today, it was probably a matter of luck that I survived childhood.
Thankfully, the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving fell into my lap. The instructions were easy to follow, and the recipes scientifically tested, so I decided to give it a try.
I started with simple things, like jams and jellies. After all, no one ever died from blackberry jam…I think.
Success with jams and jellies led me to pickles. I was rocking this canning thing.
I moved on to tomatoes and simple water-bath canning, the easiest method and least likely to result in kitchen-decimating-explosions. Before I knew it, I was making tomato soup that would make popular canned tomato soup makers hide their faces in shame, all from ingredients grown in my own yard (and a bit of bottled lemon juice to balance acidity).
I made hearty spiced tomatoes for whipping up a batch of winter chili, and zesty Italian tomatoes for spaghetti. I made pizza sauce and dipping sauce. I was the queen of all things tomato.
My Christmas list every year still consisted of canning jars and lids, though I now own cases and cases of canning jars. In fact, it’s a running joke in my home that there are no drinking glasses once canning kicks into overdrive. It’s true. An excess of empty canning jars end up in the cabinet and used as drinking glasses, and once canning is underway, those jars disappear on a daily basis.
“Are you finished with that drink? I need that jar,” has been said more than once.
I was gifted my first water bath canner by a friend, and still keep my eyes open for more at every thrift shop and yard sale.
I even bought a food mill once our tomato production bypassed the food processor stage. We could grind 20 pounds of tomatoes into crushed tomatoes, sans peel, in no time flat. I later bought a motor for the food mill, once my youngest decided turning that crank wasn’t fun anymore. Don’t laugh – that kid used to love cranking the food mill, and teaching children where their food comes from, as well as the storing process, is important. Besides, it saved my arm from cramping up.
I realize that I’m missing all that canning this year, having a tiny garden for the first time in many, many years. But the garden is doing well, and there are actually excess tomatoes in the dehydrator as we speak. It’s a less labor-intensive way to preserve the harvest, and I can still make all of my favorite winter dishes with dehydrated tomatoes. Also, there are still drinking glasses in the cabinet as a result.
I promise more on dehydrating in next week’s column. In the meantime, don’t be afraid to try canning. Pick up a reliable source, like the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, follow the directions carefully, use the tested recipes, and you’ll be just fine.
If you are worried, start with something simple, like jam, where the only injuries are likely to be a burned tongue from sampling too-hot goodness.
And if you feel you need expert advice, or just an in-person overview of preserving the harvest, be sure to sign up for NECIC’s upcoming class: Guide to Preserving and Storing Foods.