Canning and Connecting to the Past

July and August are canning months at my house. I keep a perpetual kettle of tomatoes stewing on the stove and can dozens of pints of tomato sauce and salsa to be used throughout the winter months. Not only do fresh tomato products impart the deliciousness of mid-summer even in the grayest months, but they don’t have the added sugar that all but the most expensive commercial products contain.

Canning also brings me back to my Nana’s kitchen, where I learned the science of safely canning home-grown vegetables, jams and broths. From the time I could reach the counter on a stool, I wiped the rims of the jars and tightened the lids (although I suspect my grandmother gave them a second turn when I wasn’t looking). All those summers spent at my Indiana grandparents’ home come back to me every time I smell tomatoes boiling down to rich, red sauce.

It was my grandmother who bought me my first pressure canner as a high school graduation present. I still use that kettle almost 50 years later (how can that be?). The kettle looks like it will easily stand up to another 50 years’ use.

Later year I ran out of tomato products mid-winter, just when you crave them the most, so I best get back to the kitchen.