Canning Making Comeback
The two-century-old technique of preserving food—or “putting up,” in canning-speak—is making a big comeback reports The Wall Street Journal.
The worst recession in decades and a trend toward healthier eating are inspiring many Americans to grow their own food. Now the harvest season is turning many of these gardeners into canners looking to stretch the bounty of the garden into the winter.
Canning statistics are hard to come by, but Elizabeth Andress, project director of the National Center for Home Food Preservation, a government-funded program that advises consumers on how to safely preserve food, says requests for canning classes are flooding in at a rate not seen in many years.
Canning has been around since the dawn of the 19th century, when, at Napoleon’s behest, a Frenchman developed a method of sealing food in bottles to prevent spoilage on long military campaigns. The process was later adapted to factory-sealed metal cans, but at home, “canning” is still practiced in thick glass jars.
In the weak economy, others are turning to it as a money saver. A few seeds planted in the spring can yield enough canned produce to last a year. But Andress warns that canning food isn’t always cheaper than buying it from the grocery store.
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Photo by DontBblu.
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