Canning History
Canning began its illustrious history with Nicolas Appert of France who in 1795 discovered that food sealed in glass bottles under heat was an effective food preservation method. However, it was Englishman Peter Durand who patented the tin can packaging process in 1810. At the time, Napoleon, knowing that his army marched on its stomach, offered a handsome cash prize for anyone who could come up with an improved apparatus for preserving food. Appert won the competition with a system of precooking, air-tight sealing and final processing in a newly designed glass canning jar. His wide-mouthed pint "bottles" were filled with hot cooked foods, stoppered with hand-cut corks fitted to the irregularities of the blown glass, sealed with a compound made of lime and skim milk and then finished in a boiling water bath. Appert declared that the meats, vegetables, fruits, soups, and gravies thus prepared would last for at least a year in the same excellent state. And he thus inspired a new industry. Did you know canning is all new the rage among food lovers? There’s a host of canning blogs, including my blog, jamsgonewild.blogspot.com, and new cookbooks to choose from, including “Put ‘em Up” (Storey), “Canning for a New Generation” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) and “The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook” (Andrews McMeel). Late last month, a new national organization called Canning Across America kicked off a series of demonstrations and workshops to help promote the art of “putting up.” In the future, Jams Gone Wild, will present workshops and classes on canning. In the last two years, I have learned so much to share with all of you. It will be fun!I have a hunch, newbie canners are seeking guidance because with canning, the casual approach doesn’t work. Canning is time-consuming; mess up a batch of jam and you’ve wasted an afternoon. It also can be expensive. Sugar is expensive and if you are using fruit from the farmer's market, you might be paying out the ear for fresh peaches and berries. In the old days, people canned because they had an abundance of crops and because they had to. You could waste an entire afternoon if you don't have your mind on your canning. It is a very labor intensive process and things can go wrong, such as: runny jam, jars that don't seal, or adding too much sugar. My next advice is you will want to can according to the United States Department of Agriculture rules on canning and preserving foods. I purchased their book from Amazon.com to make sure my methods were precise. I use these methods in this guidebook, which are also the methods taught to me by my mother and my grandmother. I am sure the methods taught to me have been handed down for at least 4 generations. Canning is sorta like a science experiment.. Screw it up, you could blow something up and end up having to repaint your ceiling because the prickly pear juice stained it.:)
How did I learn to can?
I have always wanted to preserve foods since my grandmother taught me as a little girl. I loved the meditation process she seemed to possess in the making of beautiful jams…My memories of my grandmother, Lovie Jewell in her Oklahoma kitchen, are of gazing up at her canning all kinds of vegetables and fruits. She seemed so tall to me and I loved the smell of fresh fruits boiling in her big copper pot. Lovie Jewell was the mother of seven children and canning was not a luxury for her but a necessity. Don't you just love my grandmother's name? Her family would eat the canned goods all winter and even into the spring. I especially remember the beautifully canned pickles and green beans and her shelves were full of peaches, corn, tomatoes, sauces, beets, peppers, apples, strawberries, cherries, and many other fruits and vegetables in her garden. I can see them now lined up in rows on those wooden shelves.
When I am cooking my wild grape jelly I am reminded of my Aunt Geneva's house in California. She lived near a Kraft canning and manufacturing plant and I think this plant mainly produced jellies and jams. The whole neighborhood smelled of grapes cooking and the air was like none I have ever smelled. Those smells of jams and jellies cooking, well, it feels like home and really heaven to me. As a child, my mother also canned grapes and wild plums and those smells, again, would take me back to California and to my grandmother’s house in Oklahoma. Today, each time I cook a new batch of jam or jelly, my soul becomes very happy and I feel like I am with my grandmother and my aunt, who have now passed on. Canning is a dying art, but with companies like Jams Gone Wild, perhaps we can preserve the traditions of our grandparents and pass on to others. Beautifully decorated jars of jams remind me of days past and sweet, fond memories of my family. I hope our jams bring back fond memories for you as you are covering your biscuit with some caramel apple butter. My future plans are to host workshops to provide future generations with skills to can and preserve foods. Since I am a former educator, I want to inform and educate others about canning and preserving foods for their families. We are wild about canning at Jams Gone Wild.
