The Practical Art of Preserving

Cathy Hansen is a Canadian Red Seal Chef, owner of Bernway Farm Organically Grown Produce, and Philosopher’s Kitchen in Ospringe, Ontario.

I grew up in a neighbourhood in east Oakville, a place with lots of kids and roomy backyards. One of my fondest memories was watching my parents’ “postage stamp” garden being turned and planted, and ultimately producing dark red beets and juicy raspberries.

These crops stuck with me because they were the two things my mother preserved in sparkling jars to be savoured on special occasions. I had no idea how this happened, probably in the wee hours when her five daughters were tucked away. But when it came time for me to exercise my own green thumb, one of the first things I did was teach myself to create those same wonderful preserves.

That was 25 years ago. Today, my husband and I operate an organic market garden and produce a variety of canned products under the name Philosophers’ Kitchen. Mum’s pickled beets are still a favourite.

Nostalgic ideas about home canning are common. Something from another time: complicated, lovely to look at, but old-fashioned, outdated and too much work. I beg to differ. If you can cook, you can can. Boiling-water-bath canning is done by immersing jars of food in boiling water. The basic steps are the same and can be applied to all your canning recipes.

Around here, we refer to canning as part of our “food strategy.” Local organically grown food is our priority, and preserving food in jars helps us to achieve a level of resourcefulness, thrift and pride that homemakers of all generations can relate to. You will be producing things you can’t buy anywhere else, often elevating humble ingredients to creative new culinary heights.

Not Too Sweet Raspberry Jam

To keep the whole thing manageable, we encourage year-round canning: peaches, pickles and tomatoes in the summer; applesauce, apple butter, beets, chutneys, jams, jellies and sauces in the winter. (Jams made from frozen berries are a wonderful mid-winter project.) Spring finds us sorting out the cold storage and pickling what will not keep any longer. There is no excuse for waste when pickle brine is so easy to make.

I also think of canning as décor. Find a place to display some of your “food art.” It will spark conversation and you will find more canning friends along the way. Canning is a wonderful community event, well suited to collective cooking. But be careful how many secrets you give away. At the end of the learning curve there may be a red ribbon at the local fair for your best jar of this practical art.

Canning Instructions

Follow Cathy’s step-by-step canning instructions in the Dilly Pickle recipe.