Last summer my garden was overflowing with zucchini. I did everything I could think of to use up the 12 zucchinis I was harvesting a week, I made endless batches of zucchini basil soup, zucchini bread, stir fries with zucchini and chocolate zucchini brownies. It was at that point that my family was starting to dread having me in the kitchen, in fear that I might start making zucchini pancakes, that I had to try something different. I decided to try canning as a way to preserve the zucchini by making zucchini relish. How hard could it be?
It turns out that it was not hard at all. It is important to obtain instructions about how to can, which can be found at the end of this article under resources. I soon realized it is important to have the right tools, which of course I didn’t, but after a few near misses, I went out and purchased a proper canning pot, a canning rack and jar tongs for my next batch. After about an hour, I had twelve jars of beautifully preserved zucchini relish.
Canning provides a number of great benefits which are relevant to today’s lifestyles. People who grow their own food or participate in a CSA Farm share may find that they have a surplus of produce. Home canning allows you to preserve that fresh, home grown flavor from your garden or farm share, for use all year long, and saving money on your grocery bill. In addition, canning locally-grown produce reduces the carbon footprint created by transporting vegetables around the world in the off-seasons. A study by Carnegie Mellon found that 11% of the average American’s household food-related greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation of foods.
I did not grow up in a house that canned, so I felt like I was on a little adventure as I attempted a time honoured tradition that was done by many generations before me. It made me feel connected to the food and to history. As I began to share my experience with my friends and colleagues, it became apparent that home canning was experiencing a revival. Which makes perfect sense when you think about how more and more people are incorporating elements of a local diet and want to enjoy it throughout the year. While I can’t pretend that I could sustain myself on only zucchini relish over the winter, I did manage to enjoy moments in the winter where it felt like the heat of the summer, as I bit into a dill pickle or scooped my tomato corn salsa.
This summer I plan to expand my inventory to include: vanilla peaches, pumpkin butter, dilled green beans, Herb Seasoned tomatoes, Blueberry jam and apple sauce. So if you are up for a little adventure, you might just find that with a little bit of work, canning can be very rewarding!
Resources:
www.bernardin.ca
https://eatrightontario.ca/en/viewdocument.aspx?id=195
www.canadianliving.com
