Fresh food in a jar
INTRODUCTION
Some of you may have helped someone else can or preserve food when you were young, but many of you are at least a generation away from knowing anyone who defended some of his or her diets. You may be interested in knowing how to keep food but don’t know how to start. This book was written to give you a quick and accessible introduction to the basics of protecting your food.Our ancestors preserved food because it was the only way to ensure that their family had a tasty variety of food—and enough food—over the winter months. People grew their produce or bought it locally and spent a great deal of the summer preserving it for winter. It was survival.
Then freezers, refrigerated trucks, and chilled grocery cases were introduced, which made finding fresh food in the grocery store easier. Women increasingly worked outside the home, and there was less time to preserve food at home. Grocery food was cheap and available, and most people stopped keeping food at home.
In the 1970s many people became interested in survival and back-to-the-land movements, and canning and other methods of home food preservation enjoyed a brief spike in popularity. That soon ebbed as people found that living off the land was harder than they planned, and those who did see it comfortable began to age and looked for more natural “harvests.”
Forty years later canning and other methods of home food preservation are again drawing interest. This time it’s not because we can’t get cheap food of almost any kind in any season, but because we want to control the quality and safety of the food we eat.
We want better, not cheaper, food. We want to eat locally and seasonally, which is ecologically sound, but not feel deprived when some foods are out of season. We also want to be able to preserve that healthy, local food, so we don’t have to resort to chemical-laden food, picked green, handled by who knows who, and shipped thousands of miles when the season is over.
When you preserve food at home, you control the quality of the food, the cleanliness of its preparation, and its seasonings. Because you and those you love are going to eat that food, you will do everything you can to make sure the food is safe to eat.
Some of you are also frugal and feel that preserving food is an excellent way to save money. After your initial investment in a canner or freezer and other supplies, you may save money, especially if you have an abundance of homegrown food. But saving cash shouldn’t be your only motivation.
If appropriately prepared, home-preserved food is as safe, if not safer, than purchased food. It has more vitamins, fewer chemicals, and a smaller chance of causing food-borne illnesses than commercially prepared food. And most important—it tastes better! You can customize the home-preserved diet to your taste preferences.
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Equipment & Supplies
- Types of Canners
- Jars & Lids
- Specialized Equipment
- Food-Prep Equipment
- Other Food-Prep Tools
- Preservatives & Spices
Chapter 2: Canning Techniques
- Canning Safely
- Preparing Food
- Methods of Canning
- Filling Jars
- Processing Jars
- Remove, Cool & Store
Chapter 3: Preserving Food
- Pickling Supplies
- Pickling by Fermentation
- Quick-Process Pickles
- Freezing Supplies
- Freezing Techniques
- Food Drying
Chapter 4: Canning Fruit
- Peaches in Syrup
- Pears in Juice
- Citrus in Water
- Cherries in Syrup
- Mixed Fruit in Syrup
- Spiced Apple Rings
Chapter 5: Fruit Fillings & Sauces
- Apple Pie Filling
- Pink Applesauce
- Green Tomato Pie Filling
- Cherry Pie Filling or Topping
- Cranberry Sauce
- Peach Dipping Sauce
Chapter 6: Jams & Jellies
- Strawberry Jam
- Grape Jelly
- Apple Butter
- Peach Preserves
- Bacon & Tomato Jam
- Orange Marmalade
Chapter 7: Fruit & Vegetable Juices
- Apple Juice
- Grape Juice
- Apricot Nectar
- Cranberry Juice
- Tomato Juice
- Mixed Vegetable Juice
Chapter 8: Tomatoes
- Whole Tomatoes
- Crushed Tomatoes
- Tomato Paste
- Italian Tomato Sauce
- Diced with Onions & Peppers
- Basic Tomato Salsa
Chapter 9: Roots & Corn
- Canned White Potatoes
- Canned Sweet Potatoes
- Canned Carrots
- Canned Beets
- Whole Kernel Corn
- Creamed Corn
Chapter 10: Other Vegetables
- Canned Spinach
- Canned Pumpkin or Squash
- Canned Peas with Pearls
- Canned Green Beans
- Canned Beans
- Vegetable Soup Mix
Chapter 11: Pickles
- Kosher Dill Pickles
- Sweet Pickles
- Pickled Pepper Rings
- Sauerkraut
- Perky Pickled Beets
- Fiesta Pickled Vegetables
Chapter 12: Relish & Condiments
- Tomato Ketchup
- Quick Hot Sauce
- Sweet Pickle Relish
- Corn & Pepper Relish
- Honey Barbecue Sauce
- Old-Fashioned Weiner Relish
Chapter 13: Meat & Broth
- Canned Chicken
- Canned Beef, Pork or Venison
- Canned Ground Meat
- Canned Mincemeat Filling
- Canned Fish
- Canned Broth or Stock
Chapter 14: Freezing Fruit
- Strawberries & Other Berries
- Sugar-Packed Cherries
- Peach Puree
- Sliced Apples in Syrup
- Melon Balls & Grapes
- Tropical Fruit Blend
Chapter 15: Freezing Vegetables
- Corn on the Cob
- Grated Zucchini
- Basil Pesto
- Green Beans
- Broccoli
- Homemade French Fries
Chapter 16: Freezing Meat & Dairy
- Poultry
- Ground Meats
- Red Meat Cuts
- Fish in Lemon Glaze
- Milk, Cream & Cheese
- Eggs
Chapter 17: Drying Fruits
- Dried Tomatoes
- Making Raisins
- Banana Chips
- Dried Apples
- Dried Cherries
- Fruit Leathers
Chapter 18: Drying Vegetables & Meat
- Dried Potatoes
- Dried Peas
- Dried Onions
- Smoked Turkey Jerky
- Beef Jerky
- Venison Jerky
Chapter 19: Special Diet Recipes
- No-Salt Dill Pickles
- Bread & Butter Pickles
- Low-Sugar Peach Jam
- Reduced-Sugar Grape Jelly
- Low-Sugar Very Berry Jam
- Snappy Pickled Onions
Chapter 20: Resources
- What Went Wrong
- Where to Get Help
- Books & Websites
- More Recipe Variations
- Sources for Equipment, Supplies & Ingredients
- Weights & Measures
- Metric Conversion Tables
- Glossary
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