Putting Food By...Canning Fruits and Vegetables Has Become a Lost Art!

Growing up as a little girl in Mississippi I remember watching my mother, grandmother and aunts canning. The all had lived through the Great Depression in Mississippi with no luxuries.

Times were hard and there was little food to be had except what they could grow ad put up in jars. Those beautiful jars of vegetables and fruits would feed them and their family through the winter until it was time to plant a new garden in the spring.  There was little or no meat to be had. Meals consisted of blackeyed peas, field peas, green beans, butter beans, stewed tomatoes with okra, pickles, cornbread or biscuits. In the spring when fresh vegetables were available the meals would be the same except there would be slices of fresh tomatoes, onions, cucumber and peppers on a plate. A chicken usually graced the Sunday dinner table and would be cut in a way that it would feed 10 people.

In those days it was not uncommon to see an entire family sitting on the porch shelling peas, snapping beans, shucking corn, shelling butter beans, and more. No one complained they knew that hard work meant they would eat during the winter months.

These beautiful, strong, industrious women were my role models. They kept the house, took care of children, did the laundry, worked in the fields, put food by for the coming winter, went to church, and loved their families unconditionally. It was a simpler time. A time when families spent time together and carried on conversations.

While I was raising my family I would put food by. I had a special pantry built in my home just for that reason. My parents and in laws had large gardens. I got anything and everything I wanted to can from them. During the day I would go pick the vegetables bring them home and begin the process of shelling, shucking, and cutting.  Preparation of the vegetables and fruits was time consuming but it was well worth the rewards. I worked all day and night preparing and processing the foods we would be eating. My goal was to completely fill that pantry.

When canning you should always follow some basic rules. Always have a good Stainless Steel Canner or Pressure Cooker Canner. Make sure you sterilize your jars in boiling water, wash and rinse  jars and lids ( do not reuse old lids, you may reuse the jars and rings).

When making jellies and jams I like to use Certo Pectin. Make sure you read the directions and follow the recipe for the desired fruit. Make sure you process the jams and jellies according to the directions.

I still can vegetables, fruits, pickles, jams and jellies. When I look in pantry at my canned goods I have a warm and happy feeling. I also have a sense of accomplishment knowing I did that.

In a future blog post I will go through the canning process of several of the recipes I enjoyed putting up this summer.