Preserving the Harvest

Autumn has a way of reminding us of that winter is just around the corner: crisp mornings that make you want to crawl back under the warm blankets, shortening days, breezes that aren't quite as summery as we remember them.

But it's also harvest time for the gardeners...or at least, those of us who frequent farmer's markets hunting for good deals on fresh produce! Autumn is the last hurrah for warm-season plants like tomato, onion, peppers, eggplant, apples, and squash. Such color, such flavor, such variety! But now that you're sufficiently swimming away in produce, what to do with it?

Can it!

People have been preserving food for thousands of years. Before the 18^th century, foods were usually smoked, dried, or salted after being harvested. In cold climates, food could even be frozen in the winter, or stored in a root cellar to keep cool. 

The idea of canning fresh produce came about in the late 1700s, when Napoleon Bonaparte of France offered a large cash prize to the man who could develop a reliable method of food preservation. Napoleon needed a way to feed his armies in the far-flung battlefields of Europe, and shipping fresh food across the continent wasn't a very reliable option...especially during winter when fresh food was scarce, and travel was treacherous.

Fifteen years after Napoleon presented his challenge, a wine-maker named Nicholas Appert had perfected the technique of preserving food by heating it and sealing it in a glass bottle, like wine. The idea worked because it was simple and workable, but it had some major flaws. The food was heated so much that the flavor was destroyed, and there was no concrete time duration for food to be considered “fully cooked.” Glass bottles also presented problems for transportation, as they could break.

C. botulinum bacteria, cause of Botulism in foodstuffs

In the early 1800s, an Englishman named Peter Durand perfected Appert's method by using a tin can to store food instead of a glass bottle. This method also worked well, but didn't gain widespread popularity until 100 years later...when someone came up with the bright idea to invent a can opener. Other problems plagued the canning industry, such as using lead solder to seal tin cans...and food processing times in excess of 6 hours. The growth of the deadly C. botulinum bacteria in canned food was also a problem, especially in low-acid foods like vegetables.

Fast-forward 150 years: wide-mouth glass jars gain popularity in home preserving. They start with just a smooth mouth opening, like a wine bottle; then in 1858 a man named John L Mason invented a jar that had grooves around the mouth like a screw. Of course, he named it after himself...and the concept is still used and printed on the sides of canning jars today. But there was a little problem with that jar; the lids were metal, which could rust and break the seal, or contaminate the food. In 1882, this problem was fixed. A clamped glass-lid jar called the “lightning jar” was developed, which had no metal contact with the food, was fast to open and close, and created a seal by using a rubber ring. This jar type was very popular, and remained in usage until the 1960s. By 1915, a fruit jar manufacturer named Alexander Kerr was credited with the development of the flat, disposable lid that we are now familiar with in home canning. This flat lid had a rubber seal permanently fixed to the bottom, which could be thrown away after the jar had been used. People could now reuse their old jars, and only have to purchase new lids every year! BIG cost savings, and even better for food safety!

Today, we understand how we can preserve foods safely via canning. Low-acid foods must have lemon juice or vinegar added in order to prevent the growth of the botulism bacteria, or these foods can be processed in a pressure cooker. And of course, the importance of kitchen cleanliness is paramount.

A few days ago, I taught you to make your very own apple butter in my post “Enjoying the Harvest”. Now, I'll teach you to preserve it!

HOW TO CAN APPLE BUTTER (WATER-BATH METHOD):

Canning Kit

There's a couple things you'll need to get started: a soup ladle, a box of regular-mouth pint jars, a canning kit (complete with jar tongs, head-space ruler/stir stick, wide-mouth funnel, and lid wand), and a large soup pot or home water-bath canner. If you don't have these at home already, you can buy them at your local grocery store for less than $20 each.

Sterilizing Jars

First, you'll want to sterilize your jars. You can do this in the dishwasher, or by hand. I recommend using the dishwasher, if you've got one. Simply place the jars and bands on the top rack, put in some detergent, and turn it on! By the time the machine is done with the dry cycle, your jars will be clean and properly sterilized. Just don't wait too long after the dry cycle is complete; your jars should still be warm to the touch when you start putting food in them!

If you don't have a dishwasher, don't stress. Simply pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees F, wash your jars with warm, soapy water (don't forget to rinse them), and place them upside-down in a couple of glass baking dishes. Bake the jars for at least 10 minutes before putting food in them. They should be warm to the touch by the time you're ready to use them.

Sterilizing Lids

Sterilize your lids next. This can be done in two ways: put your lids in a small saucepan and simmer them over low heat until you're ready to use them, or put them into a mixing bowl and pour in a pot of boiling water. I've done it both ways, and they both work well.

Meanwhile, fill your water-bath canner with water and bring it to a rapid boil. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil too; you never know when you might need some more boiling water! It never hurts to be prepared...

Filling Jars

Now that your water is boiling, begin filling the jars. You'll want to do this one at a time; canning does NOT work well in assembly-line fashion!! Grab one warm jar from the dishwasher or oven, and fill it with the hot apple butter. Everything MUST be warm, or the glass jars will shatter when they go into the boiling water for processing. You'll want to use a soup ladle and wide-mouth funnel for this, or else you'll make a mess all over the counter. To keep things clean, it's also nice to have a dishcloth under your workspace. 

Measure Head Space

Use the head space ruler to measure a ¼ inch head space between the top of the jar and the apple butter. If you have too much apple butter, scoop it out with a spoon; if you don't have enough, add some more. “Head space” is the term we use for that gap between the food and the jar mouth, and the height differs for what product you're canning. Some foods have ¼ inch head space; others can have up to 1 inch. Be sure to double-check the head space in your recipe, or in the Ball Blue Book, the home canner's bible. It is very important to do this accurately, because your jar could seal badly...or not at all! 

Cleaning Mouth

Wipe the jar mouth clean with a wet dishcloth. Make sure there's no food on there that could interfere with the rubber on the lid from making full contact with the mouth of the jar. Once that's done, use the lid magnet to get a lid from the simmering water and place it on the jar mouth. Use a finger to keep it in place, and use a band to tighten it down. Finger-tight is more than enough; the idea is just to keep the lid from flying off during processing...not to make it tamper-proof!

Use the jar tongs to grab the jar and place it in in the hot water bath. Repeat this process until all your jars are filled, or your canner is full with jars having enough space for water to flow freely on all sides.

Once the canner is full, cover the jars with 2-3 inches of water, and boil the jars for 10 minutes. The water pressure of the boiling water forces the air inside the jars out through the lid, so that's why that band is so important! This is also where the head-space comes into play; if there is too much head space in the jar, not all the air will be forced out during processing, leaving some bacteria behind to spoil the food.

Use your jar tongs to remove the jars from the boiling water. Place the jars in a out-of-the-way spot on your kitchen counter, preferably covered with a dishcloth to absorb any water drips and prevent the hot glass from shattering on a cold surface. There will be a little water pooled on the lid, but do not tip the jars sideways to pour it off!! This could break the rubber seal, and you'll have to re-process the jars.

Let the jars cool on the dishcloth for 12-24 hours, until they have reached room temperature. The glass and rubber heat up and forms a molecular seal as they cool, which makes a perfect vacuum seal. You'll know you've gotten a good seal when you hear a metallic “pop” coming from the tops of the jars. The jar lids will also look as if they're being sucked into the jars, which is a good thing! If you're unsure whether or not you got a good vacuum seal, test it by pressing down on the jar lid. If it moves or pops, re-process it...or plan to eat that one within the next month.

Remove bands and store jars in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year. Once opened, use the bands to keep the lids in place, and store the jars in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. For convenience you could store the jars with the bands on, but be sure to loosen them a bit so water won't dry in the threads and make them rust.

Enjoy your apple butter!!