A new generation is embracing canning homegrown produce as a step toward self sufficiency.
And it tastes good, too.
Corinne and Danley Gray, of Nixa, started canning green beans, jams, jellies and pickling items after completing a beginner’s canning class by the University of Missouri-Greene County Extension in June.
“For us, it’s about trying to learn something that our grandmothers knew how to do – getting back to being able to provide for your family on your own and not relying on a grocery store so much,” says Corinne Gray, one of 21 rookie canners in the class. “It’s a small step in the right direction toward being self-sufficient.”
The Grays and others in their age group – she’s 30, and he’s 42 – are discovering the benefits of canning that generations before them knew. According to Springfield-based The Food Channel, fruit and vegetable canning is the No. 1 food trend for 2011, and it’s gaining popularity for economic and health reasons.
“Being able to take what we grow in our garden and then save it for later in the year – not having it go to waste – that’s the biggest appeal,” Corinne Gray says.
Homegrown Food owner Amanda Millsap Owen counts on consumers’ beliefs that home-canned foods are better tasting and healthier.
The Springfield niche grocery store stocks about 15 percent of its inventory with home-canned produce, says owner Owen, herself a canner.
The percentage would be higher, but she says state regulations keep her from selling some canned produce. Owen says state health regulations consider low-acid foods – most vegetables – as potentially hazardous unless the canner has taken a state canning class and has a state-inspected kitchen.
“People are more interested in what they are eating than they ever have been in my lifetime,” Owen says. “I see people interested in eating local foods year-round, and the best way to do that is to preserve it for yourself either by canning it or freezing it.”
Knowing the ingredients of the canned product gives consumers peace of mind, Gray says.
“You’re putting fresh vegetables into it, and that freshness stays with it,” she says.
According to
www.pickyourown.org, a site devoted to harvesting homegrown produce, there are four methods of preserving food: canning, pickling, freezing and drying. The processes remove micro-organisms in the food:
- canning boils the produce in jars or in a pressure cooker to destroy micro-organisms;
- pickling is another form of canning for produce with a high acidity rate;
- freezing slows micro-organism growth; and
- drying removes the food’s moisture, stopping growth of micro-organisms.
At Springfield’s Westlake Ace Hardware, pressure cookers cost about $100, says Bob Bowman, assistant manager and a canner.
“It’s not that expensive to get into. You can get what you need for $20, maybe,” Danley Gray says, referring to the boil-in-pot method.
Considering a pack of seeds to grow produce throughout the summer costs only $1, Corinne Gray says canning vegetables from a home garden is worth the effort and investment. Storage is the biggest reason the Nixa couple didn’t can more this season.
“Our pantry isn’t as big as we’d like it to be,” she says. “We probably did between 75 and 90 jars of produce.”
Owen says her bounty two years ago before opening the store included about 90 quarts of tomatoes and four bushels of apples as well as blackberries and raspberries.
For the Grays, canning not only is a way to preserve produce for the winter but also a hobby to participate in as a couple.
“Cooking is always fun. It’s something for me and my wife to do together,” he says.[[In-content Ad]]
