Preserving Options for Garden Riches: Canning and Pickling

Canning and Pickling: Preserving Possibilities

Two popular, and related, methods of preserving the bounty from the garden and/or the farmer's market are canning and pickling.

Canning is preserving fruits or vegetables by partially cooking them, putting the cooked produced into sterilized glass jars with tight-fitting lids, and then processing them in a hot-water bath or pressure cooker until the lids are hermetically sealed to the jars.

Fruits and vegetables that have a high acid content, such as tomatoes, or where vinegar is added (such as in  my recipe for green salsa) can be safely canned with the hot-water bath method.

Vegetables with a low acid content, such as green beans or corn, should always be processed in a pressure cooker: the hot-water bath method is not safe for these kinds of vegetables.

Pickling is preserving vegetables, such as cucumbers or onions, with a a strong vinegar or brine solution.Some pickles preserve slowly in the refrigerator, as in this recipe for Refrigerator Dill Pickles. while other pickles are processed in a hot-water bath, as in this recipe for Garlic Dill Pickles.

By Dvortygirl (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

With all of these methods, it is imperative that you sterilize the jars and lids beforehand. Also, plan to take your time with the processing: devoting half a day to canning and/or pickling is not unheard of. Do not try to hurry the process.

What are your thoughts about canning and pickling? Are these preservation methods new to you, or are you a seasoned veteran? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. Bon appetit!