Canning Season Podcast: Canning | Food Preservation | Lifestyle | Community

This is part 2 of a 3-part series on pressure processing.  Pressure processing is one of the most rewarding, yet intimidating, methods of home canning.  To help remove the mystery, while keeping things completely safe, today I am joined by Nancy Becker, a Home Economist and manager of the Test Kitchen for National Presto Industries. Presto manufactures the canner I use in my own kitchen.  Today's show gets into canner maintenance followed by a step-by-step walkthrough of the entire process to safely process and preserve all kinds of meats, fish, poultry, and low acid vegetables.Along with a...

This is part 1 of a 3-part series on pressure processing.  Pressure processing is one of the most rewarding, yet intimidating, methods of home canning.  To help remove the mystery, while keeping things completely safe, today I am joined by Nancy Becker, a Home Economist and manager of the Test Kitchen for National Presto Industries. Presto manufactures the canner I use in my own kitchen. Those who learn pressure processing open wide the world of food preservation.  More than simple jams or pickles, the pressure processor allows the home canner to safely store all kinds of meats, fish, poultry...

With today's show we take pause to mark the Winter Solstice and step back from the frenzy of the holiday season.  To help I am joined by Cynthia Fazekas, Master Blender and Primary Tea Taster for Adagio Teas.  Along with a great background on teas from around the world, Cynthia gives us helpful tips on tea selection, experimentation, and preparation so you too can join me in regularly enjoying a great mug of tea.  I end the show by sharing some perspectives on gratitude, as well as a reading of a poem to mark the Winter’s Solstice. As an added bonus Adagio Teas gave us a link to a special...

Today I am joined by Kevin West to discuss his new book, "Saving the Season".  This is a great interview about a book that I highly recommend.  Later in the show I also give tips on shipping canned goods this holiday season. Lastly, I unfortunately have to give a thumbs-down product review on the recently introduced Ball FreshTECH Automatic Home Canning System. Interview with Kevin West, author of “Saving the Season”."Saving the Season, A Cook’s Guide to Home Canning Pickling and Preserving", is a recently published book.  Anchored in safety and good science, its author Kevin West shares 220...

With the holidays and their related feasts fast approaching here in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time we talk about one of the foods widely associated with those meals:  Nope, I’m not talking turkey.  Today, we are going to learn all about canning cranberries.  In today’s show we are going to start with the basics of what it takes to make a great, traditional cranberry sauce.  I then talk about the other things I tried this year - a cranberry/apple relish, and something called a cranberry conserve.  I’ll walk you through the recipes, the differences among them, and I’ll tell you what to...

Today I’m going to teach you how to make mustard – how cool is that?  This week''s show offers a wonderful diversion from mainstream canning.  I will also introduce you to the most awesome recipe I've ever found for making your own soft pretzels - That’s no small thing coming from this Philadelphia native where soft pretzels are a cultural and culinary staple. Whether yellow, spicy brown, Dijon, or whatever, a slathering of mustard has become a favorite for people around the world.  Making it myself is something I’ve wanted to try for the past couple of years.  This year was my first attempt...

Apples.  There are so many wonderful things we can make with apples.  In today’s episode I start with a foundation apple item that is easy to make and nearly everyone likes; homemade applesauce.  I then introduce you to a most-delicious Apple Cider Jelly recipe I found.  Lastly, I share with you an adult beverage of my own creation that I call the "Johnny Apple Kick".  Before getting into the Main Event, in the Garden Talk/Canning Talk portion of the show I talk about a quick and easy recipe I came up with for making your own version of the branded V-8 vegetable juice using jars of your home...

Today I am joined by Master Canner Shirley Camp to answer your questions, provide you with canning tips, and help enhance your technique for recipes.  In addition to being a consultant for Mrs. Wages, Shirley is veteran educator and retired University of Illinois Extension specialist who helped develop the canning education curriculum for Illinois and taught for almost 40 years.  During the nearly 40 years that she worked for Extension, Shirley received a Masters of Extension Education degree from the University of Illinois and completed the requirements and examination to become a Registered...

Over the years I’ve tried making salsa many times, using many different recipe variants.  I never really liked any of them.  They were too hot, too mild, none were just right.  Finally, I got it right!  Today we’re going to talk about how I did it, how you can too.  I’ll also answer a bunch of questions you’ve sent in. In a future episode I'm going to walk you through making applesause.  To get you ready, in today's episode I introduce you to a tool I came across some seasons back that makes peeling, coring, and slicing the apples incredibly easy.  It's called the Norpro Apple Master.  This...

Peaches are one of the easiest things to preserve while offering some of the highest rewards.  Though labor-intensive, home canning peaches requires no specialized knowledge, recipes, or technical prowess.  Over time I have learned some tips & tricks to canning my own peaches that can make canning peaches that much easier for you.  Once you learn how simple canning peaches really is, you are sure to be a fan for life. In today's session  I also speak to a concept I call "canning burnout" wherein we grow tired of home canning this late in the season. The Main Event is an in-depth, step-by-...

Learning how to can tomatoes provides the foundation to any cook's well-stocked pantry.  Doing so is not only easy, it also takes advantage of the fact so many of us already grow tomatoes in our own gardens.  In today's episode I walk you through the basics of canning tomatoes.  I also include updates on my own canning  and gardening efforts as well as some format changes you can expect from the podcast and newsletter going forward.  [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"132","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"270","style":"width: 450px; height: 253px;","...

Placing jars of freshly canned goods into a pot of boiling water as a means to safely preserve your goodies for later consumption is one of the primary recommended ways to safely do home canning.  In today's episode I get into the step-by-step you go through to process your food using the bolling water method.  I also give you some tips and techniques for handling your jars from the moment you put them into the water until the day after when they are cooled off.  Listen to this episode and you will learn -- When to use the boiling water processing method. Step-by-step guidance for successful...

Today's episode continues the Canning 101 theme by identifying and discussing the two recommended methods for safe home canning of foods.  Those methods are:  Boiling Water Bath and Pressure Processing.  I also discuss unsafe and outdated methods of home canning experts recommend should no longer be used. Listen and you will learn: - A review of the basic concepts of preventing botulism and food poisoning, - Principals of safely processing low-acid versus high-acid foods, - How boiling water processing works versus pressure processing. - Unsafe methods of home canning no longer recommended by...

Today's show features an interview with Ted Allen, the host of the Food Network's very popular series "Chopped".  Meeting Ted and getting to interview him about home canning is a special treat I am delighted to share with my listeners. I think you will all enjoy it. In the first of two audio clips, Ted gives his tips for how to best pick tomatoes for canning.  In the second clip Ted and I discuss trends he sees in in home canning with tips for beginner and veteran alike.  Ted concludes with his own story for ways you too can celebrate and share the abundance that comes through home canning...

In today's session we get into preventing botulism and food poisoning. This is the third in my Canning 101 series.  I put this series together to give those new to canning as well as those more experienced a good review of the concepts central to the wonderful world of safe home canning and food preservation!  In this session we will learn the answers to these questions -- What is botulism? How do you get it? What are its signs and symptoms? How do you prevent botulism or other food poisoning? What is meant by a low-acid versus a high-acid food? Why is it so important to understand acidity...