(Dis)illusions of Canning

I debated long and hard about canning. I almost talked myself out of it. These were the cons:

• I had too much other stuff to do. Including, but not limited to - work, housework, grocery shopping, laundry, visiting my grandmother, and cleaning out the hall closet (ha-ha, not really).


• I wasn't really sure how to can.


• I didn't own all of the necessary canning supplies.


• The necessary canning supplies are expensive.


• I'm sort of lazy.

But the pros won. The pros were:

• The thought of the beautiful jars of tomatoes in my pantry in mid-winter.


• There is a "woman who cans" inside of me dying to get out. (See blog dated 2/19/09 Earth Mother)


• I could go shopping for the canning supplies.


• If I canned it would get me out of cleaning something to blog about.

I did go shopping for canning supplies. These are the things I purchased:

• A water-bath canner with rack - $23


• A set of canning "tools" - a jar lifter, a magnetic lid-lifter, a funnel, a spatula - $7


• Labels - $3


• One dozen quart jars with lids and rings - $8


• One dozen pint jars with lids and rings - $8


• One dozen half pint jars with lids and rings - $8 (Does this make sense to anyone? Why do the little jars cost the same as the large?) (I know, I know - I already had jars, but I wanted to start off with new ones.)


• A set of three sieves - $12

I didn't have to purchase the tomatoes - they all came out of the garden, the final harvest of the season. Beautiful red and yellow (Lemon Boys) tomatoes. I coerced my husband into assisting me. "This will be fun," I said. We began our simple canning project at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. We had every burner on the stove boiling a pot or a kettle. We began by washing all of the tomatoes, then dipping them in boiling water for one minute and then cold. My husband took over that job. I had the task of peeling and coring the tomatoes, and putting them in the prepared canning jars with two tablespoons of lemon juice and one teaspoon of salt. We filled the first seven quart jars quickly and set them in their one hour and thirty-five minute hot water-bath.

On to the next seven jars. Who knew this would take so long? Two bottles of wine, one pizza and five hours later - we finished, and the kitchen was a disaster. With tomato juice splattered on every surface it resembled a murder scene. We ignored it all and went to bed with fourteen jars of tomatoes resting on a towel on the kitchen counter.

At 5:50 the next morning I bounded out of bed, eager to check the lids on every jar to make sure they sealed properly and to admire my beautiful jars of tomatoes. The sight was not quite what I had expected. Oh, the jars did seal, but they weren't as pretty as I had imagined. Each of the jars held about two inches of clear liquid below a floating glob of tomatoes. A quick Internet search assured me that this was normal with tomatoes. I probably didn't fill the jars full enough.

I guess the point is to have food "put by" for the winter months. I will certainly have a nice supply of tomatoes, but they look nothing like the beautiful color photo which accompanied the recipe.

Peppers. Peppers might be more attractive? Pepper harvest is in full swing. Only one problem - I don't think I'll be able to convince my husband of the "fun" - especially if he's the one nominated to handle the jalapenos.