Economy

In the not so distant past when the only food available was what was in season the act of canning food in the summer for use in the winter was probably undertaken as a necessary chore. I imagine that most people today, if they are aware of canning at all, think of it as pointless work since almost all fruits and vegetables are available year round. But there is a deep satisfaction that comes from making food (preferably from produce grown in your own garden) and storing it away for the future.

Jars of pizza sauce cooling. Happiness and contentment.

Canning is not an easy task, there is preparation to be done including picking, washing, cutting, and maybe cooking. There is lively discussion, "Is that Basil or Parsley?" "Should the water be boiling when the jars go in, or just simmering?" And finally waiting for that tell-tale pop from each lid that indicates a jar is sealed, and that all the work that went into it was successful. The best part about canning is the feeling of satisfaction. Satisfaction that you have filled a basic need. Satisfaction that in the dark and cold of February you can open a jar of pears that you canned in the fall and those pears remind you that spring must come again and it is not so far away.

When the canning is finished and the equipment washed there is a contentment and peacefulness found in contemplating the jars cooling on the counter. Canning is a positive act that engages the best human characteristics: nurturing a garden, caring for living beings, patience as the plants grow, skilled work processing the produce in the jars, storing the food for the future, and finally enjoying the hard work when a jar is opened. In closing I must thank my parents for my introduction to canning; even the memory of those days when I came home from school and the house was filled with an almost over-powering smell of vinegar because relish was being canned has not been enough to prevent me from doing the same (canning that is, not making relish).