Canning: Make Your Garden Bounty Last

If you rushed out and picked the rest of your tomatoes, onions, apples and cucumbers before the weather dropped into the cooler temperatures, you probably have a refrigerator or pantry full of produce. There is a strong desire to hold on to the last remnants of fresh produce from your garden. You know it will be the last for several months. What if you could preserve it and make it last just a bit longer?

A lot of people assume canning season ends with the summer, but that isn’t the case at all. Canning in the fall is an excellent way to make your produce last, while heating your home naturally. One of the major drawbacks to canning in the summer is the heat, but when you do it in the cooler months, it is a welcome activity. Not to mention, it gives your home that comfortable, lived in and loved feel!

Check out some of the canning tips and tricks before you head down to Greenwood Hardware to pick up all your canning supplies.

• If you have a ceramic cooktop, invest in a pressure canner that has a bottom that fits completely on the burner without excessive overhang around the edge of the burner. Measure your burner before you buy a pressure cooker for canning.
• When canning apples or applesauce, considering using a boiling water bath instead of pulling out the pressure cooker. It is faster and you will get a lot more apples canned in a short amount of time. It is completely safe.
• Invest in the tools that make canning easier. Sure you can make do without, but using canning tongs, funnels and a strainer or cheesecloth make your job easier and safer. The special jar removers are especially important. Each of the tools are fairly inexpensive and worth the investment.
• Recipes for applesauce, various salsas and even canned pumpkin are widely available on the internet. Choose a couple that appeal to you and buy the ingredients before you settle into canning for the day. It is almost impossible to stop the process midway through to run out and grab an ingredient. Leaving the ingredient out can ruin the flavor of the recipe.
• Buy more than enough bands and lids for your jars before you get started. Sometimes you end up making much more than you thought, and you don’t want to waste your bounty because you are short on lids. They will store for next year if you don’t use them.

Canning is a fun way to hang out with your friends and family while making food that will last through the winter. Don’t let your garden’s bounty go to waste! Head on down to Greenwood Hardware and pick up everything you need to make it stretch until next harvest season. If you have questions, we are here for you. Come on in, or contact us online.