I got my first taste of canning as a wee lass, watching my grandmother "Nanny" (a sassy thing, turning a young 86 in August!) transform her garden cukes into bread & butter pickles and her grapes into violet-tinged juice. If canning wasn't part of your family's culinary background, however, and the recent resurgence of interest in this means of preservation has got you intrigued, I've got just the thing for you. The fine folks at Jardin (the maker of Ball canning products) sent me a complimentary assortment of their wares, including all of those pictured above. In case you can't make them all out, there's: an impressive jar lifter; a 'nifty' (one of my Pop's favorite words!) canning funnel; a great book of recipes from Ball; sample packets of pectin and salsa seasoning; and a "Home Canning Discovery Kit", which includes a plastic basket used for lifting jars safely in and out of the boiling water bath and 3 pint jars with lids and screw bands. These items will help transform all of you canning dreamers out there into doers.
And I'm giving it all away to one lucky small measure reader. Even if you're already deft with a water bath and can wield a jar lifter with the ease that comes from experience, feel free to enter the giveaway. These items will equally inspire, and assist, newbies and old-schoolers alike.
To enter the giveaway, simple leave a comment below describing what tempts you about canning. If you're already canning, what brings you back? If it's something you've longed to do, why? I'll go first.
For me, it's time in a bottle. When cherries are on sale here, or I pick a mess of blueberries from wild bushes up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, or a bumper crop of cucumbers show up at the farmer's market (or, even better, in my garden), I know just what to do with them. Freezing isn't much of an option for me. Not only do some things not freeze well, but, having been privy to one too many extended periods without electricity out here, and not owning a generator, a freezer just wouldn't cut the mustard for my preservation needs (when pine trees fall on power lines during snow storms and you live one mile down a snow-covered dirt road, the utility companies out here, I've learned, sort of think you're the type of person who can handle power outages longer than the "city folk" can). Canning these items, though, holds them in suspended animation, keeps 'em fresh and delicious, and ensures I can enjoy pickled cherries when the snow falls, or slather blueberry jam on my Christmas morning toast. That's why I answer the siren song.
Et tu? What beckons you? Please be sure to leave a means of reaching you, either by listing your e-mail address or website/blog, in your comment (if your profile link contains that info, that'll do). I'm open to international commenters if you're open to considering splitting the shipping costs. The giveaway will run through next Friday, July 29th, at midnight EST.
269 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 269 of 269I canned with my mom, so many years ago. Recently went to the farmers market and bought some blueberry lime jam. It was oh so good. With mom, I never remember doing jam. I have the bug to go buy a canner and try my hand at it.
Nice giveaway! I have been canning forever...my hubby grows a huge garden so I can to have the wonderful veggies in the cold winter time. I love the colors of beets and pickles in the jars all lined up on the selves on display. And love jams and jellys from my grapes and blackberrys!
Happy Canning!
debbie@mobil1.net
My wife and I have only canned once and it was fresh blackberry jam a few weeks ago. When I was a kid I remember my grandmother always has jars of greenbeans and tomatoes in the pantry. Her nieghbor had a huge garden and they always had extras. These days you dont see it as much and I long for the days of a simplier life. Canning makes me feel like I'm going back in time a little bit.
I'm pretty new to canning and am so excited by it. For me its an increase in a sense of pride and even self-esteem. This summer I have a shared garden with a friend. And as we are getting cucumbers, tomatos, and peppers, it feels like such an acomplishment to taste them right away and also to can them, knowing that I will be able to eat them and share them with friends througout the year. Additionally its a fun challange! Figuring stuff out, what recipies work or that I enjoy most, and then thinking creativly about what I want to make. When a jam or pickle comes out just right it feels like a REAL accomplishment!
BEETS!! Pickled beets are my favorite, can't get enough! I have fond memories of canning with my mom when I was a kid; tomatoes, salsa, corn, green beans. YUM! I would love to win my own set of canning tools.
rachel(underscore)pantos(at)yahoo(dot)com.
We've been canning for just a year, but are smitten and planned our whole garden this year around things we can can (ooh la la!). We've already put away a half bushel of pickles and have our eyes on red onions for relish, blackberries for jam, and of course tomatoes for sauce and ketchup. We're also learning to make the most of our freezer, putting away basil, garlic scapes, squash and more.
I love that canning allows us not only to extend the season and remind ourselves of what a beautiful thing it is to garden and preserve, but also to share all that tasty goodness with friends as host or holiday presents. Hooray for canning!
i think i've got good handle on water bath now.... just gotta get the garden growing again.... i NEED a pressure canner... is it christmas yet??? lol...
I have been canning for years. There is nothing more satisfying than spending a couple hours chopping and filling jars and then hearing that ping of a successful seal!!!
Canning's a great excuse to invite a friend (or friends) over and catch up on our lives while making loads of delicious jam or tangy pickled goods. Fun and tasty, how can you go wrong?
I love canning. Because I always get slammed with a surplus from my small garden and huge CSA share, I love to can and preserve so I can have a taste of summer in the dead of winter. Plus, home canned things just TASTE better!!! Thanks for the giveaway!
amymisha at comcast dot net
I've never been able to can. I've always lived in extremely small spaces, or too many roommates, or moldy corners in the kitchen, etc.
Now, no more excuses!
I can realize my canning dreams. We now live in a small space but that has very little mold issues and with no roommates.
I dream of making Borage and Elderflower jelly and pickled Chanterelles with Day Lillies and Raspberry Marmalade and Plum and Lavender Honey Syrups and and and.
With the freezer packed with experimental popsicles and the last of Springs chicken stock. And the fridge now full of fresh greens and our Kombucha and Chia seed concoctions.
I need to connect with my inner canner and get pantry with it all.
I'm loving this opportunity.
Peace!
I'm new to canning, but I really like the idea of being able to resurrect a skill that has been lost by so many people in our current society. I'm also eager to save money by canning my own foods as well as put food away into long-term storage. Plus it all just seems like fun!
Filling a pantry with something I've touched every portion of is what draws me to canning. I like knowing what's going into my kids and keeping healthy foods available year round :)
I LOVE LOVE LOVE canning! Already underway! Peaches, apricots and pickles in the pantry. Ginger beer brewing! And 60 lbs of peaches coming next weekend! YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can't wait! I am always looking for more good recipes and canning tools! Making due with what I have thus far :) This is a great giveaway and would be greatly utilized!
Many thanks!
I'd love to win this! My sister is my inspiration for canning - she's been making her amazing jams, pickles, etc. for about a year now, and loves to share. We recently moved across the country from her, and luckily she still mails us jams. But I'd love to learn how to make some of my own, too!
I love winter but the food options in the winter always make me sad. I'm hoping that canning the summer bounty will give me something to look forward too during those months. I love eating seasonally, but I can't quite do that all year round and my storage options are limited. So, canning it is!
This is the first year I've ever canned but my Mother always did. I remember as a child she would make us stand outside of the kitchen when she put on the pressure canner! She was so afraid it would explode on us! (it never did thank goodnes)...Because of this I was always scared even bother with canning. I have since learned that there is so much you can do without having to use one so...So far this year I've canned blackberry jam, zucchini relish, hot cucumber relish & lots of pickles.
what a great idea for a giveaway! I'm new to canning this year, mostly to preserve the stuff we're growing in our garden. I'm so looking forward to making preserves now that I'm past the pickle stage. :)
It reminds me of wonderful times in the kitchen with my now 94-year old grandma. I have all her hand-written canning recipes and instructions... now I need the hardware. Thanks for this opportunity! XOXOXOXO
i love pickles! and i like knowing exactly what is in my jam!
Love to can to try to make cooking easier and to eat healthier. Been trying more recipes for instant meals lately.
I've started getting serious about gardening and would love to eat my bounty all winter long.
What beckons me to canning is the accomplishment of taking the produce from plants that I have nurtured and watched grow. It is about knowing you are offering of yourself. It is very satisfying to open up a jar of sauce, pickles, peaches, jam or whatever it might be and share that. It feels good in the middle of the winter especially!! Canning is back to basics for a huge reward. Love it!
I just started canning around May. I never imagined that I'd get addicted to it. I've even convinced my Lovely Hubby to install storage shelves in the basement for me! I can't wait to watch it progress through out the years!
I can...do you? What a dreamy give-away! New equipment...oh such a lovely thought. Watch out corn, it's almost time...
So interested in what you have to say about canning,chickens,homesteading and just gettin' along. Keep bringing the info and the ideas. My rural roots love reading it!
I think it's the comforting idea of having all that food there. It's also comforting memories.
I try to eat fresh, local and seasonal as much as possible, but I really miss the summer tomatoes and berries in the winter! I love the idea that canning lets you have all the good stuff without sacrificing the principles. But I've been too intimidated by canning to actually try it yet!
mberghaus(at)hotmail(dot)com
I have some equipment but have not yet started canning - I am waiting for my garden to give up its bounty. What I think I will love about canning, is preserving the yield from my garden to eat in the dead of winter - the freshness and flavor will bring back the memory of those hot summer days spent watching my garden grow. I also love the idea of being self-sufficient, and would love to move to a nice big piece of land where I can grow everything we need.
I can because I have 35 fruit trees and berries, grapes, vegies, etc.
Even though I grew up with gardeners and food preservers (mom and grandma) I never really was into canning until I retired at 65.
Beside all the usual benefits of canning is the canning containers themselves, i.e. glass jars that can be used and reused over and over, and not having to worry about what may be leaching into food that is stored in plastics and metal containers that will also clog our landfills.
There is such an abundance of fresh garden produce where I live - it seems a waste not to preserve it for the "off season."
Martha
mfm22[at]juno.com
My mother was an avid canner/preserver when I was growing up. We all seem to take away certain gifts from our parents as we grow, and this has been mine. I am constantly looking for new recipes and experiences for canning.
I love to can because it brings family together. Nothing is better than canning with my sister-in-law and sharing stories of her canning with her grandma and mom when she was growng up (and sharing secret canning recipes!).
Ok, maybe there's another reason why I love to can...when the seals go pop! so does the wine cork!
I started canning last year trying a few recipes, but without most needed equipment, specifically a jar lifter...caused a few burns! Your book has been a great help Ashley! Thanks!
Canning draws me because I love the idea of being able to create healthy, delicious food from locally grown produce!! Thank you for an opportunity to win a great prize, I am hopeing to start canning this year - I did my first batch of pickles last night :)
jlmorcom at msn dot com
Finally the first year with my very own little garden and I'm ready to preserve this summer bounty! I've never done it before but I too love the idea of a little jar of goodness - a little time machine - back to summer during the long new england winters.
Strawberry season always gets me itching to can! I'm hoping to try making marmalade later this year.
Part of why I'm drawn to canning is the sense memories of putting up jam with my mom & grandmother. Part is that I think that homemade foods just taste better! And another big part is that it's becoming more important to me to know what's in what I eat. "You are what you eat" -- and where what you eat came from -- seems truer than ever to me. I've only done a little canning, but would like to do more -- and have the tools to do it!
I want to learn how to can so that I can make treats like applebutter (yum), pickles (salty, yes!) and strawberry jam (oh my!) :) I can't wait to learn!
Would love some kick in the rear to get me canning with some ladies in Rutherford. ( ya wouldn't even need to mail it.... I could just meet up in Ashe-vegas)
In the past few years i've gotten serious about mason jars. My minimal 'canning' attempts (squash pickles (fail) and jalapenos (win)) need some practice. In previous years I decided that with my 20x20' plot in the community garden, a farm share would provide me with too much food. This year I'm determined to preserve that bounty if it's the only thing I do this summer!
I love growing things in our garden and then turning them into something my family can enjoy all wintry long. There's nothing like having toast with home made strawberry jam in the middle of a cold December morning. Or fresh tasting tomato soup during a time of year that our garden is under four feet of snow.
We love canning, love to give my family and kid the fresh flavor with out all the additives. Love in the middle winter watching the snow come downa and be eating the fresh taste of summer out of a jar. Adds a tad of warmth and love to the house
It's something my husband and I do together. We started with discovering an 'Early Richmond' cherry tree on our little hobby farm when we moved here. Then the garden came and I resurrected some old canning books I had, but never used. Now, we are canning addicts!
Wow! I would love to win this. I grew up with a family that loved canning. Oh the smell brings back so many happy memories. I have never tried it yet but been wanting to for the last few years. I got my canning pot but thats all. I wish and hope more people would start canning. To me its history from our grandparents and just knowing you did something healthy and good for your family , well that just says it all. Thanks. :)
I'm planning to start canning this summer! My mom and grandmother are city folks (myself as well at the moment), so I'm starting from zero and would love some encouragement along the way. Mostly, I want to can tomatoes. We eat them all winter and I expect so many from my little community plot.
courtney[dot]a[dot]behrens[at]gmail[dot]com
I am the mother of 6 children.I struggle with feeding my children commercially processed foods.I want more for them. I have also become obsessed with stocking up and having a "surplus" to easily access.Over the years my family has been slowly moving towards the self sustainable movement.I recently, and by recently I mean like 3 days ago canned for my first time. so I started canning after a lot of thought and planning. The canning process seemed so overwhelming to me. so many steps and if you mess up you could make your family sick. so I procrastinated for about two months. but 3 days ago my blueberry bushes were over filling with blueberries. so me and the kids picked them and I decided I had better do something with them. as I skimmed through my book I saw that Blueberry Jam was a very easy recipe. I figured why not. It took us a total of 2-3 hours I think but I ended up with 4 pints of Blueberry Jam.It was late and all the kids had fallen asleep except my 11year old son. he stayed and canned with me like a trooper. I am so proud and excited. I have showed everyone and of course no one is as excited as me. so now I am constantly thinking of all the things I could can.If only I could win some time too...
I love this giveaway! I am a novice canner as I've canned about 4 or 5 times and what I love about it is time w/my young daughter while we learn together. She a great helper at 6 years old! I would love to make enough to last the winter from tomatoes in my garden.
I began my affair with canning 8 years ago when my husband and I moved into his grandparents house. I never got to meet them, they passed about 15 years ago. However, I felt his grandmothers spirit in this house. Her canning room is now my laundry room. Her shelves were ceiling high and the length of the house. I felt her need to take care of he family, the love and tenderness she had. I learned to can only this june but had always been fascinated by the process and supplying my family with all natural, homemade, chock full of love canned food that they could enjoy whenever. Her spirit is is in me, im possessed with passion to learn more and do more! I want to teach others and become certified in this art! Thank you so much for the knowledge and courage to do this!! -sherice
I have made 1 batch of jalapeno jelly. It turned out really jelled.
I just started canning this summer and love the challenge. I decided to can as I learned more about whole food cooking and emergence preparedness.
To me, canning takes me back to my childhood. I watched my entire life as my grandma lived on a dairy farm and canned everything you could possibly think of. vegetables, fruit, veg soup...everything was delicious! When I bought my first house last year with a decent sized yard, the first thing we did was put in space for LOTS of garden and started growing. I used my grandma's canner (who passed away 4 years ago) to make my first batches of pickles, salsa, and hot sauce (habeneros)which turned out to be a huge hit with family and friends. I have people requesting more salsa already this year! I pretty much learned as I went. Some turned out, and some didn't, but I'm excited to can again this year and try some new things!
mel24dog@yahoo.com
I have been canning for many years and I love knowing what exactly is in the jar. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I hear the "pings". And I love looking at my beautiful shelves filled with jars of all kinds of goodies. Mostly though I love that my family thinks it is actually all called "love in a jar"
nono916@gmail.com
My 100 year old great grandmother is my biggest inspiration. Even at 100 she's still gardening and canning. I remember as a child being amazed by her wall of jars on the basement shelves. As a new gardener myself, I'm hoping to carry on the family tradition of growing and preserving quality foods. I think that's what's kept Gram going all these years!
I would love to win this! I have made a few jars of peach, apple and grape jelly. A couple jars of tomato sauce and pepper butter.
Email:suprwman316@yahoo.com
Peggy Little at peggy@rickylittle.com
I love to can. The taste of food is so much better and I dislike all the chemicals used. Most of the chemicals are not even needed. The manufacturers also have the need to add too much salt and always sugar. Why do they do that?
I love canning! It skipped a generation in my family; both my grandmothers canned but not my mom so I am self taught! I've been doing lots of peach and blackberry jam and different kinds of pickles!I always say it's summer in a jar!
Hello, neighbor! I am new to all this canning stuff....and could use all of the above. I just had someone give me a water bath canner..but that is all, I have nothing else. I live in mills river, NC which is only a few miles from you. Would absolutely LOVE to chat with you and pic your brain about canning since I am just getting going. Thanks, Ashely
Tanya Nareau tnareau@gmail.com
I have been really curious for awhile now, started researching, then bought your book! I mostly want to can because I want to take charge of what my family and I eat, and know where it comes from. So after growing our 1st garden this year and making homemade meals, I realized what better way, than to also can own foods! Wish us luck!
I'm just learning how to can and this would be a huge help!
I want to learn to can because I have so many old family recipes that I would love to try. We're getting more proficient at gardening on our little plot and it would be great to be able to make the harvest last. Anyway who wouldn't want peach salsa or blueberry jam to brighten up the doldrums of February? Summer in a jar! Thanks for the fun giveaway! :)
i have 24 tomato plants in my garden - so i am hoping this will be my year to start canning. i love your book! thanks for the giveaway!
I am planning and hoping to start canning this summer-- I have frozen a lot, but never canned. I'm trying hard to make some changes in our environmental impact and putting up more of our own food is one of the solutions to that. My mother in law is lending me her canning kettle so there's a start. :)
The reasons for my love of preserving are numerous, but I shall name a few: I find comfort in knowing exactly what is in that jar of relish, peaches, etc... The taste is unbeatable. But even more, I think it's about preserving a way of life, not just food. You can find out more on my blog: The Coop
I started cooking 17 years ago with my high school sweetheart. Together we dived headfirst into cooking soups, pasta dishes, and desserts. His mom grew up on a farm, and he frequently talked about visiting his grandparents' house which was full of wondeful preserves and sauces that were stored year after year in their cellar, all made fresh from their harvests each year.
Ever since he painted such a beautiful picture I have been wanting to try creating my very own stock of preserves, sauces and pickled items. We are now happily married and what a wonderful thing to be able to bring out some fresh tomato sauce one night to make us his spicy meat sauce he taught me over 17 years ago.
Wonderful blog btw! Check out my new blog:
sugaroverlord.blogspot.com
I just took a canning class in Austin with Kate Payne and Stephanie McClenny! We made fig jam and now I'm hooked! I'm having dreams about getting a group of people together here in Austin to pick up fresh fruits and veggies on Saturdays at our local markets, prepping the fruits and such overnight, and having canning parties Sunday mornings! I'm so excited about all the possibilities!
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