A can-do approach

by Jefferson Dodge

Yes, you can. But are you doing it right? A couple of Boulder County canning experts say there are plenty of simple tricks to make your backyard garden bounty last year ’round. And they may even involve something other than canning. Tom Cree of Longmont, who holds the titles of master gardener, master canner/preserver and master composter, is superintendent of the “Pantry Store” food preservation contest at the Boulder County Fair. He agrees that one dilemma backyard gardeners sometimes face is what to do when their garden isn’t producing enough of a particular fruit or vegetable to fill a jar. While some might suggest buying smaller jars, Cree recommends another alternative: freezing.

Anne Zander, the family and consumer science agent for Boulder County’s Colorado State University Extension office, says that if you won’t be using the produce within a couple of weeks, it’s important to blanch it before freezing it, to preserve color, texture and flavor. Blanching — boiling it briefly in water — kills enzymes that continue the maturation process, Zander says. She recommends immediately putting the produce in ice water after blanching to halt the cooking process, then sealing it in a Zip-Loc bag, being sure to remove all excess air (you can suck it out of a corner with a straw).

Zander says you can also freeze in jars, which is good for things like salsa, especially when you aren’t sure whether the acidity levels are appropriate for canning. (If you are not using a “tested recipe,” you can bring it into the CSU Extension office in Longmont to have acidity levels tested, to ensure that you don’t get any food-borne organisms like E. coli or Salmonella.) When freezing in jars, Zander says, you don’t need to go through the traditional heat-driven canning process, you can just put the produce in fresh.

“The backyard gardener is going to use freezing more than canning,” she says. But for those who choose canning, both Cree and Zander mention something that should be obvious: the importance of washing your hands before beginning the process.

There are a few ways to can, including a new, somewhat experimental one that Zander and Cree don’t quite trust yet. It’s called lacto-fermentation, and it is believed to preserve produce as “raw food” because it uses its own lactic acid instead of heat (see Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon).

“With food preservation, if you don’t do something right, you can get sick or make someone else sick,” Zander cautions when asked about such alternative methods.

She adds that most backyard gardeners use the boiling process for canning, although pressure canners (not pressure cookers or steam cookers) should be used for things like corn, beans, potatoes and squash.

When using the boiling process, Cree and Zander agree that you need to boil the jars (after ensuring that they have no cracks or chips) and put the lids in a separate pot of hot — but not boiling — water. While lids used to have enough rubbery adhesive to allow for boiling and reuse in the good old days, new lids now have a thinner layer of that sealing compound and can’t reliably withstand boiling or reuse.

The rings, on the other hand, can be reused. Zander recommends keeping them with the lids in the pot of hot water.

When making a jelly or jam, they agree that it is crucial to bring the concoction to a boil for exactly one minute after the sugar and other ingredients are added, then remove from the burner.

If the recipe calls for a 1/4-inch gap at the top, fill it up to 1/8 of an inch, because the liquid will shrink down a bit. By the same token, if the recipe calls for a 1/2-inch gap, fill it up to 1/4 of an inch. It only has to be super-exact if you are entering it into a contest, because the judges will pull out their rulers.

Cree and Zander clean any excess food off the rims before sealing. Zander twists the rings only finger-tight. After the jars have cooled and the vacuum effect has sealed the lids, Cree unscrews the rings to make sure there is no food in the threads.

“If you give one to Aunt Millie, you better have cleaned it,” he jokes. “If she sees food on the outside, she’s going to know you don’t know what you’re doing.”

What if a lid didn’t get vacuum-sealed?

“You put it in the refrigerator, and that’s the one you go after first,” Cree says.

Properly canned items can last three to five years, although they begin to lose their nutritional value after the first year.

Write the date, contents and even batch number or spice level (for things like salsa) on the lid.

If something is awry when you unseal the jar months later, Cree says, toss it. If there is mold on the top layer, for instance, either it didn’t seal right or it wasn’t processed long enough.

“Usually, if you’ve made a mistake, you know it as soon as you open the jar,” he says.

For more information, contact Zander at azander@bouldercounty. org or 303-678-6238.

Respond: info@boulderganic.com

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