Today, we're excited to announce an amazing canning giveaway that we're sponsoring on the fabulous blog, "Food in Jars." We were thrilled to have an opportunity to work with Marisa McClellan, author of the must-have Food in Jars cookbook and Food in Jars blog. While Marisa is hosting our giveaway of Weck glass jars and canning equipment, we're hosting a giveaway of her new cookbook!
With a growing awareness and concern about additives in processed food and continued momentum towards DIY, the process of canning is a popular trend. It's no longer considered just folk lore you remember hearing from a grandparent. Just like people have enjoyed learning (or re-learning) to sew, bake their own bread and brew their own beer, canning food is certainly all the rage!
For many, canning also provides more control over the foods eaten at home. Preservatives, HFCS and even food dyes are the norm in most supermarket food options. These "short-cuts" are prevented with home canning. And the investment in time is another lure--maybe not for everyone, but the break from ordinary routine to do a project is high in my book!
And finally the prize: the romantic vision of a pantry filled with glass jars lined up and labeled, containing the blueberries my family had picked on "that perfect summer day" or the tomatoes that seemed impossible to eat fast enough through the growing season, would now be lovely reminders throughout the long winter.
I was fortunate to have a moment with Marisa during her VERY busy book tour/canning class schedule to ask her a few questions....
Q: When did you start canning?
MM: I grew up canning with my mom. We always lived places with fruit trees or wild blackberries, so we'd make jam and applesauce every year. I started canning on my own when I was 26. I went blueberry picking with a friend and came home with a mountain of berries. Jam seemed like the obvious thing to do and as soon as I'd made that first batch, I was hooked.
It was something we did on a yearly basis, though not too intensely. I had a suburban childhood, not a rural one, so it wasn't about putting up enough food to get through the winter. It was strictly pleasure canning. I credit my mom for always keeping kitchen projects like this fun for my sister and me.
Q: What is your favorite food/recipe to preserve?
MM: I really enjoy having dilly beans, apricot jam and whole peeled tomatoes in my pantry. Those three and I'm happy.
Q: Do you can in large batches? Small ones?
MM: These days, I'm really just a small batch canner. My husband doesn't like pickles or fruit, so most everything I can is my responsibility to either eat or give away. Small batches keep me sane.
Q: Do you do anything else that's process-oriented? Do you make anything else?
MM: Canning is really my only crafty, DIY activity. I don't knit, sew or make art. I'm just a writer and cook.
Q: Where do you get the food you can?
MM: Over the years, I've developed a number of terrific relationships with my local farmers and so I get everything I can from them. I live on the 20th floor of a high rise, so I don't have any growing space of my own.
Q: Is this a good activity to do with your kids? Any recommendations?
MM: I've honestly never canned with kids, so I'm not sure how it is to make jam or pickles as the adult in the room. However, I really loved doing food preservation projects with my mom when I was a kid. Pickles are particularly good, because you can get them involved in filling the jars. Little hands are awfully good at getting all those veggies packed tightly into the jars.
Now, TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY FOR A COPY OF THE "FOOD IN JARS" COOKBOOK .... here's the BIG QUESTION: WHAT PRESERVE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO PUT IN A WECK JAR? AND WHICH JAR?
Note: This giveaway has closed. THANK YOU to everyone who entered and Congratulations to Tammy who was selectd at random #41.
To enter: Please make your comment on THIS BLOG.
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