Here’s a problem I never thought I’d encounter: HAVING to can. I HAVE to can. I don’t WANT to can, I have to. Or else I will lose 30 pounds of tomatoes, a precious commodity that only comes around once a year. If I DON’T can, I will be forced to buy the mealy mush that passes for tomatoes at Walmart come February.
What awaits me this morning
So THIS is what it was like in my grandma’s day…when the procurement of food was more of a fulltime job than a fun hobby. And we wonder why grandmas threw their canning pots and Ball jars out the window once convenient tins of processed vegetables became available in grocery stores.
As much as foodies like to malign the agricultural revolution of the 1940s as the time when “real, local food” gave way to the Cheese Whiz and Lunchables food culture of today, it did have its good points: It released women from the drudgery of the stove.
And now I find myself registering all these unused tomatoes with a heavy sigh. It’s no small point that tomatoes are the most labor intensive produce to can because they’re so juicy, and the juice must be cooked down so whatever you’re making has a thick consistency. I’ve already canned pizza sauce, pasta sauce, salsa……and now I’m forcing myself to can roasted tomato chipotle salsa.
First I roast, then rehydrate a mix of guajillo and chipotle chiles.
Then I blacken a bunch of tomatoes, green peppers, onions and a head of garlic under the broiler.
….and….that’s all I’ve accomplished so far. Women’s work sucks!
That looks amazing, though! The labor now will be sweet in January.
I’m new to canning, but it’s definitely interesting to think about things like canning and food preservation (or, my passion, fiber arts like knitting and spinning) in a different context today because we technically don’t need to do these things for survival any more. Of course, much can be lost with the convenience of manufactured food, clothing, etc…
I’m choosing to can (and also “need” to can a certain amount of produce from my garden – I can’t eat it all and I certainly won’t waste it) but I sure am glad that I have a dishwasher.