I seem to have taken to "canning" most of my fruits in the form of around 15% Ethanol, keep the stuff in plain bottles. Frank
Only got 2 quarts of tomatoes for the freezer. I didn't plant many tomatoes this year and we've been eating most of them. I think I'll use one of those quarts in a pot of soup.
When my SIL told me she was canning some vegi's at the home in a mountain area of PA., I was sort of stunned. I really didn't think anyone done "canning" anymore. I remember, back in the mid-later 60's, my step-mom did it and used Mason jars. Our garden was somewhat small, so she couldn't do much. Some things done today I relate as only (should I say the word???) "old" people do and one of them is canning. Of course, a person mentions the word "canning" to some folks today and they say "what the heck is that", while others would say "yea, I remember my grandparents doing that". Not to change the topic, but I do remember my step-dad making Taffy on our back porch using shelf holders to lay the pie-pan of Taffy mixture over and then pull it. He could make it hard or soft. Don't know of anyone today that makes Taffy that way, but have seen Taffy made at Fairs with automated equipment.
There are still a lot of people growing gardens and canning, people of all ages. Twice lately I've sold excess canning jars and it was young ladies in their twenties that bought them.
Well, "canning" sure isn't popular, or even heard of, in any area we've lived in! Many older folks don't even want a garden b/c it can be so much work. Neither of us would find enjoyment in taking care of a garden. Our outside activities include boating and going to local shooting range. For us, the veggies at our local Farmer's Market are fresh enough for us.
But Cody, the farmer's market is only there during the growing season. When you can things you will have them all year. I have a lake and a boat and a canoe in my backyard. A shooting range too. Gardening is not for everyone but it is a good form of exercise that is also productive. Most of my neighbors have gardens. I think there is a new generation of gardeners coming along, at least in this area. All the product recalls and food poisoning scares in recent years makes gardening even more attractive. There are several members of this forum who have gardens.
Not saying canning isn't a cool thing to do, it's just that a lot of folks, young and older, are like us and live in apartments or condo's wth no area to have a garden. In the modern world of today, it just sounds so "old fashion". And, depending on the age bracket a person talks to, some folks have never even heard of canning. I remember when Cracker Barrel Restaurant used to serve iced tea in Mason jars. Seeing that jar really reminded me of canning. Don't know if all the Cracker Barrel Restaurants have stopped using Mason jars for iced tea, but ours has. Yes, there are a number of people on this forum that still do canning, but then again, look at the age bracket of this forum.
We've been canning and/or freezing food from our small garden. Asparagus, both whole spears and cut, French fries and potato soup, sliced squash, and beets in the freezer and yesterday we canned some salsa.
Yesterday, I made a jar of what they call "refrigerator Jam" or sometimes freezer jam, because you can keep it forever (almost) once it is frozen. We do not eat much jam; but occasionally we will have some on a piece of toast, or if we have a biscuit. When I make freezer jam, I use sf jello, so it does not need much sugar to sweeten it like regular jam has. The first recipe that I tried was strawberry-rhubarb, which is crazy delicious; but I have expanded out and experimented with different combinations. After I read about tomato jam, I started making that when I found cheap tomatoes, or blemished ones from the farmers market. When mixed with a little bit of fresh raspberries, and some raspberry sf jello, the jam is hard to tell from real raspberry jam. This time, I had 3 peaches that were getting too old to eat fresh, so I cut them up, and a couple of the older tomatoes that I had in the fridge, and pulsed them in the Vitamix along with the very last of a jar of strawberry jam. (It was kind of a "clean-out-the-cupboards" jam), added a little cinnamon, and cooked everything until it smelled good. Then I added the strawberry jello and stirred that in good, and put it in jars. We have one of those wide-mouth 24 oz jars, and part of a 16 oz jar; so that will keep us in jam for a while.
@Sheldon Scott , have you ever cooked tomatoes, okra, onion and celery? It's delicious. I cook it and freeze it. Next winter, I can thaw out a pack, cook a piece of pork chops or chicken and have a meal. I also like it with peanut butter on Ritz crackers for lunch.
Ummmm, beet pickles. Once in a while I get a pure craving for them. I will eat them every day for weeks.
Our best year in Missouri, my wife picked 20 gallons of Blackberries and Raspberries. They grow there by the acre, wild, overcoming even the big native grasses. Good year, that was, for Berry Wine! YUM! Frank
I had some overripe tomatoes again, so I made another jar of the refrigerator jam. This time, I only had a few frozen strawberries, but I added some pineapple along with the berries and tomatoes, and it tastes delicious. The refrigerator jam is so simple to make and does not require regular canning (which I know next to nothing about doing), and we don’t eat much jam anyway, making a quart or so at a time about the right amount for us.