Home Canning

My grandparents always had a large garden which provided the whole family with all kinds of fresh produce throughout the summer months. Then as summer waned and fall approached you could find them bright and early every morning in their kitchen canning either vegetables or fruit of some kind. The family then continued to reap the benefits of that one very productive garden throughout the winter months. My sister and I were often coerced into helping out with the canning preparation. After all we did enjoy eating Grandma and Grandpa’s garden bounty too. Grandma was always very particular about her canning. At the time as a pre-teen or teenager I couldn’t understand why everything had to be chopped and prepared just so, but Grandma knew that you have to go “by the book” and have the proper equipment when canning to keep home canned foods bacteria free. I remember back then thinking I would never want to can anything ever again. Now, I would give anything to be sitting back in Grandma’s kitchen peeling a large tub of blanched tomatoes as she prepares the jars and chats about what’s happening with the neighbors.