Home canning makes a comeback

By DAVE STEPHENS

 Food-filled jars line the walls of Jenica Cory’s pantry, much like they did at her grandmother’s house.

Stewed tomatoes, green beans, applesauce, chicken soup, pickles.

Cory, the mother of two young girls, didn’t grow up preserving, or “canning,” food in her home. But now, her summer and fall are filled with days spent packing away fruits and vegetables, harvest from her families’ gardens and the area’s farms and orchards.

“We try to live more sustainable,” Cory said. “It’s better for us, and we grow so much produce in the first place.”

She isn’t alone.

What was once thought to be a dying tradition, practiced by grandmothers and folks living in rural communities, the art of home preserving is making a comeback, both nationally and locally.

Bolstered by a recession that has people hoping to cut back on their food bills, and provoked by a new generation of consumers skeptical of mass-produced, trucked-in produce, home canning - the type that uses Mason jars and pressure cookers or hot water baths - is suddenly all the rage again.

Last month, Martin’s Super Market offered a jelly-canning class at its Heritage Square store. On Saturday, Jarden Home Brands, makers of Ball jars and other canning supplies, held its first “Can It Forward Day,” as a day for veteran canners to teach others about the re-emerging trend.

Last year, sales of Ball canning jars and accessories reportedly increased by 10 percent from 2009, when sales increased 30 percent from the previous year, according to a company spokeswoman.

And several times a week, that trend is ringing in Edie Sutton’s ear.

Sutton, a health and human educator for the St. Joseph County Purdue Extension office, hosts several canning classes each year and typically fields her office’s questions about all things home preserving. In the past few years, she said, the calls coming from new canners have been growing steadily.

“I get a lot of calls from people who want to know about processing times, or to get certain recipes,” Sutton said.

Sutton also gets a lot of calls from people who are concerned that their pressure cookers - necessary to cook low-acid foods like green beans - are properly calibrated, a service her office provides for free.

“A lot of people have never used one before,” Sutton said, “and if they’re using an older model, it probably needs to be checked.”

A lifelong home canner, Sutton said the benefits and joys of preserving food at home are many, but she also cautions it’s not for everyone.

Instructions need to be followed precisely to avoid food safety issues. Although the jars are reusable, the startup costs of canning can be substantial, and yearly costs - for things like lids - can add up.

Phil Sutton, Edie’s husband and also an Extension educator, said that initial startup costs, plus the costs of food - whether buying it or growing it - needs to be factored into the decision to start canning.

“If you’re going to do it, you have to do it a lot to make it pay,” Phil Sutton said.

But while home canners like Cory say they save money by canning - she was able to buy most of her canning equipment at garage sales - there are other reasons to can.