Canning Time

At the farmer’s market you’re entranced. The stalls swell with the season’s natural bounty—corn, tomatoes, peaches, peppers—all the foods that taste right only when eaten at this time of year. You buy pounds and lug the harvest home. But as the shortening days slip by, those special $2 bags of veggies risk going to rot in your fridge. It’s enough to make a gourmet’s heart sink. What do you do? Can it. That’s what some people in the city are learning to do. It may seem like a lost art, but canning could be coming into a revival. “Putting up” food has an old-fashioned homey appeal, not unlike that of knitting, another noble homestead craft that has spurred a recent craze. This summer the Unitarian Church in Brooklyn Heights threw a couple “jam sessions,” and the Park Slope CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group gave a tutorial for members last week. If you’re a believer in the importance of buying locally, canning gives you a way to have your cake and eat it too. Stock up on berries now, cook them into jam, and eat them in January without any guilt. Preserving food at home can even feel a little revolutionary in this era when industrially produced food is the norm.

Learn to can this Sunday at 2pm at the Wyckoff House in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, where the organization Just Food is sponsoring a free class. The same teacher, Classie Parker, will lead another workshop on October 7 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for a $31 fee. In Manhattan, you can register (for a whopping $90) to attend “Holiday Gifts from the Harvest” at the Institute of Culinary Education, held on September 30.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Chris Steighner in Food on September 14, 2006 2:26 PM

Comments [rss]

bklynborn

Can the haterade! I don't think the writer is stating that a canning sensation will sweep the city. Of course peope who'd rather go to Ranch 1 instead of make their own lunch won't be interested in canning. But for people who really care about finding new (or old) ways to eat well, canning seems like a cool alternative.

dug

it's not just space, people in nyc don't typically can because they don't have gardens and the spike of produce they give. csa aside, most buy their produce and it comes in year-round. if it makes sense to city folks to buy $50 worth of retail-priced blueberries only to can them... it's their dime.

Bing

People in NYC can't even be bothered to make a sandwich for themselves to have at lunch and will gladly pay $7 for one. I seriously doubt canning will ever become much more than one of these bogus 'trend pieces' that people love so much.

dan soda

i thought the title of this post was "caning time". i got excited there for a second.

nick

cool. gothamist posted about a fun event a couple days before it happens. follow suit, other writers of gothamist.

also. pickle festival this sunday on the LES. dont miss it.

Homesick Texan

I think a key reason people don't can in New York City (if they would be so inclined elsewhere) is the space issue. Most New Yorkers can barely store enough food to last a week, never mind enough food to last a winter. That said, if you're looking, I've found that Fishs Eddy is the best (and cheapest) place to get Mason jars.

Thanks for the tip on the classes!

sophia

If you're squeamish about canning stuff because you're afraid you'll end up with a bad case of botulism in January, you can also freeze most fruits and vegetables...keeping your freezer filled to capacity keeps it running more efficiently and can help keep everything colder longer, say, if the power goes out (not that that ever happens around here....)