EATING FRESH ALL YEAR ROUND

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Canning

There are two processes we use to store food from the garden: canning and freezing. They both require energy, as in a stove and freezer, which causes them to have an expense that other storage methods don't have. Vegetables do lose some goodness in processing which is why we put it at the bottom of our list of storage methods. Before I go on I should say that we process our pickles. It wasn't done in olden days but using a boiling water bath stops bacteria that can work in an acidic environment and cause spoilage. It also stops enzyme action and insures a good seal on the canning jars.

We only can one vegetable other than the pickles which are pickled and canned. That is tomatoes. The story of our first experience with canning tomatoes is another memorable story. But before I get started, turn to Deanna Kawatski's guide to canning for a complete list of materials and instructions.

It was a beautiful fall day, the most wonderful time of the year in Maine. The kitchen floor was crowded with vegetables that had been brought in the night before as our first hard frost was sure. A couple of bushels of ripe tomatoes were joined by a bushel of green tomatoes, pumpkins, winter squash, and onions. The tomatoes were to be dealt with on this fine day. With the book propped up over the sink, Barbara and her assistant, me, began to learn a new skill, food processing.

We assembled all the equipment: canning jars, canner, assorted pots, knives, jar lifters, pot holders. The top of the stove was filled with the canner and pots all filled with water and being brought to a boil. Cleanliness is given such emphasis in most books that the novice is sure to get the entire kitchen close to operating room condition. Heaven forbid an enzyme should survive.

The tomatoes are washed; I did that. Then they are dipped in boiling water for half a minute or so. This is called scalding. It loosens the skin so it slips off easily. I did that, too, while Barbara read ahead and supervised so that everything would continue apace. As I dropped the peeled tomatoes into a bowl Barbara took them out and cut and packed them into the canning jars. Then she ran a knife around inside the jar to liberate any air bubbles. The tomatoes were packed to about half an inch of the top. She wiped the rim of the jar to make sure it was clean and smooth so the top would seal properly and placed the lid on loosely as directed.

"It says to cover the jars with half and inch of water," she said. "Won't the water get into the jars?"

What did I know, but being a man and being asked a question, I felt I had to come up with an answer. "Guess not. If that's what the book says." By this time the kitchen was so full of steam that we could barely see each other. Barbara put the jars into the boiling water of the tanner and proceeded to add more boiling water to cover the tops. The kitchen had become unbearably hot, especially with my hands full of scalding tomatoes, so I opened a window. Cold air swirled into the room. As the dew point dropped and the moisture-laden air condensed into drops of water not unlike rain, Barbara could see through the fog that the jars were indeed filling with water from the canner. This precipitated another shower in the kitchen, this time of tears.

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