Preparing for the Harvest

Last Summers Grape Jelly

Growing up in Utah, canning was just what you did in the summer. You went swimming at the Cabana Club, you went to Lagoon, you stayed out till 11 playing "Night Games" and you help the gown ups can. Mostly what I remember canning was cherries and tomatoes. I remember having the Victorio Mill on the bar and squeezing hot tomato juice out and having it squirt on you hands and in your face. The pulp coming out the end looking like road kill. I remember the kitchen being an inferno and NOT being able to go swimming that day. I remember my fingers stained with cherry juice from first picking, then canning them. When my mom bought a cherry pitter that clamped to the counter and the cherries rolled down to be pitted was the best day that summer. We could pit cherries so much faster. Our storage room was always full of home canned summer goodies. Some my Grandmothers gave us. Apricots and pickles from their gardens. I remember being amazed at the raspberries that my dads mom would freeze all individual like magic. The best part of summer was my moms homemade wheat bread and Grandmas raspberry jam. At Christmas and Thanksgiving we had my Grandmother's homemade pickles. She made every type of pickle know to human kind. From sweet baby, to dill, to my personal favorite Icicle Pickles. I think that when my mom's mom died I got the last jar of Icicle Pickles.

When I reached an age I told my mom I wanted to learn how to can. I had been having some success in my small gardens and wanted to do the same thing that all my Grandmothers had done for centuries. I told her that I wanted to learn all the secrets, because all I remembered was that it was all just grunt work. My step-dad piped in with "Its all grunt work, there is no secret."

I've had quite a bit of success doing some canning, mostly jellies and jams. Last summer I made my first pickles. I had an absolute ton of crook necked squash and doing an Internet search on how to get rid of them other than dumping them off in cars that were foolishly left unlocked, I found a recipe for Bread and Butter pickles using Crookneck squash. I think they turned out great and really expected J. to be more enthusiastic, those being his favorite pickles. Unfortunately it was so late in the season that he couldn't even look at a squash, we had so many. I've given most away and people seem to love them. I was told that my brother-in-law Jon practically ate the whole can in one sitting.I t was hot, hard work that I did in the dead of the night to keep my house from heating up. (El Patrons orders) It was so worth it.

I couple years ago I was at my moms house in Utah for a few summer days. She went out to her garden in the morning and picked a bunch of green beans. By the afternoon she had about 4 small jars of green beans on a clean counter. No hot kitchen, no labor intensive grunt work. I was STUNNED. It was like the canning fairy came and waved a little wand and poof canned green beans. I was so impressed, that is what I am going to try to do this year. (key word: try)

Our garden last year did very well. Some things, like squash, we had in abundance. The corn came out just right. It was frozen on the cob and enjoyed throughout the winter. Others, like the tomatoes and the beans, we had more that we could eat but not enough to can. This year is going to be different.

I've been reading up on how to do it. Mostly, I am intimidated by the whole do it wrong. You know the whole botulism thing. I'd really hate to kill someone with vegetables. I found this great book "Preserving the Harvest" that tells you simply how it is done with wonderful charts that someone like me can read and understand. It covers everything- canning, freezing, and drying. The fig tree is full, full, full and I would love to try to dry some of them for the winter. Most recipes for figs calls for them to be dried.

The best part is that I am providing for my family healthy food all year round. With a successful year round garden, that we can do in our climate, and putting it up right we can do it. By preserving my own fruits and vegetables I control what is in them. How much sugar, how much salt. No MSG or preservatives. Just the harvest and my love.