When I was a child, my mother always canned our fresh
produce. I helped pick the fresh fruits and vegetables, and also helped get
them ready for preserving. I snapped green beans, shelled peas, and peeled
tomatoes and peaches. Then I was in charge of sterilizing the jars.
When I married my farmer husband, we lived 100 miles from my
family. My folks bought us a pressure cooker for Christmas one year, and the
next summer, I started canning my own green beans.
It was a little scary being on my own with a pressure
cooker, and for the next few years, I kept the instruction booklet close by.
Fortunately, there were several older women in the neighborhood who were happy
to answer the questions of a young bride.
Canning Vegetables Now More Than Ever
After my children were grown and had left home, I figured I
wouldn’t do much canning or freezing. However, because of the increasing cost
of groceries, we are growing a larger garden, and we’re canning and freezing a
lot of produce.
Sometimes my telephone will ring, and it will be a young
woman who has a question about canning or pickling. I cherish these phone
calls, even though they mean that I’m now one of the “older” women in the
neighborhood. These moments bring back wonderful memories of my younger days.
Mary
Wamego, Kansas
Read more about home
canning in Stories of Food Preservation Methods.
