Home canning helps stretch grocery budget

Wow. You just found apples for an amazingly low price at your friendly neighborhood supermarket. Times are tough, and the temptation to stock up for a rainy day is high. But how in the world will your family eat pounds and pounds of apples before they spoil?

There is a solution. You can stock up on your bargain apples and your family can avoid eating them for three meals a day (plus snacks) if you can them. Home canning is on the rise in Southern Nevada, as across the country, although whether it's because of the economy remains open to question.

Brenda Schmidt, brand manager of fresh preserving for Jarden Home Brands, the parent company of Ball and Kerr, said sales of canning products have shown "exponential" growth during the past two years, after several years of relatively flat sales.

Schmidt said the company hasn't done research that would tie the upsurge to the recession, but a study with International Resources Inc. to identify new buyers of their products -- people who have never canned before -- found that they tend to have children and higher incomes.

And several trends were noted. New canners, Schmidt said, are concerned with sustainability and reducing their carbon footprints by buying locally, are concerned about the ingredients used in their foods and are generally weekend chefs who are fascinated with cooking as a hobby and want to try new techniques.

"Home canning enables them to try a new recipe and preserve it for later use or gift giving," she said.

Marsha Gilford, vice president of public affairs for Smith's Food and Drug, said the company anticipated the trend.

"Basically, we ordered twice as much as we had last year for all Smith's stores in anticipation of an increased interest in freezing and traditional canning methods," Gilford said. An increase in sales, she said, has followed.

"What we're seeing so far is we're up double digits over last year," she noted, and Las Vegas sales are up about 7 percent higher than the other stores -- a surprise, she said, considering that the area is "seemingly not very agricultural.

"I think maybe people are finding creative ways to save money and stretch grocery dollars."

That's the feeling Sue Lednicky has as well. Lednicky, a nutrition educator with Nevada Cooperative Extension, said she has been getting a lot of calls from people with canning questions. Most, Lednicky said, are what Schmidt calls "lapsed canners."

"Most of the people who call know how to can somewhat, but maybe they aren't quite sure what's the best way to can a certain food, or know how it should be processed or what pressure it needs to be canned at," Lednicky said. "A lot of people have wanted to get their pressure-canner gauges checked."

The majority, she said, have been interested in taking advantage of low prices they spotted.

"Several of the calls I got was because of peaches coming in," she said. "They got a really good buy on peaches, so they wanted to can them to be able to keep them a while."

Whether that's a good way to save money would depend, Lednicky said, on whether you have the equipment or, if you purchase it, whether you'll get a lot of use out of it. Basic boiling-water canners start at about $20, a dozen pint jars with bands and lids at about $10.

Lednicky agreed that food quality is a big part of the motivation for canning your own food.

"There's a lot of benefits to canning it yourself," she said. "You know how fresh it's going to be. There's nothing better than a fresh-picked apple, and if you can it right away, you can keep that flavor. When you're canning it yourself, you know exactly what you put in there."

Lednicky noted that freezing tends to be easier, but that freezing can change the texture of some foods -- notably certain vegetables -- and "if you have a power outage, you've lost it."

If you plan to try home canning, there are several things to remember. While high-acid foods can be preserved in a boiling-water canner, a pressure canner must be used for low-acid foods (see box on Page 1E for more information).

And Lednicky said it's important to be careful about what recipe you use.

"Some people like to take home recipes and just can them," she said. "We can't recommend that. It could be that they've been doing it for years and it's been fine, but we can't recommend that because we only use research-based information" -- recipes that have been proven to be safe for home canning.

With all of the caveats, though, the homespun appeal of home canning offers another draw.

"The economy and recession tend to have people wanting to do activities that are a little bit closer to home," Schmidt said. "Home canning is one of those activities that do go up during recessionary times."

And remember the gift-giving potential. Schmidt said that every year, she makes ketchup using her grandmother's recipe, "and my family just clamors for it."

Here are recipes from Jarden Home Brands. See more at www.lvrj.com/taste/.

BASIL-GARLIC TOMATO SAUCE

20 pounds tomatoes (about 60 medium)

1 cup chopped onion (about 1 large)

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup finely minced fresh basil

Bottled lemon juice

7 pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Wash tomatoes; drain. Remove core and blossom ends. Cut into quarters. Set aside.

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until transparent. Add tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Puree tomato mixture in a food processor or blender, working in batches. Strain puree to remove seeds and peel.

Combine tomato puree and basil in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until volume is reduced by half, stirring to prevent sticking.

Add 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each hot jar. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.

Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 35 minutes, adjusting for altitude, if necessary. Remove jars and cool. Check for seal after 24 hours; lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Makes 7 pints.

BLACK FOREST MACAROON CONSERVE

4 cups sugar

1/3 cup sifted cocoa powder

31/2 cups coarsely chopped pitted fresh or thawed frozen sweet cherries (about 3 pounds)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 3-ounce pouches liquid fruit pectin

1/3 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

4 tablespoons kirsch or cherry brandy

7 half-pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Combine sugar and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Set aside. Combine cherries, lemon juice and cocoa mixture in a large saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add coconut and kirsch, stirring well. Skim foam, if necessary.

Ladle hot conserve into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.

Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude, if necessary. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours; lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Makes about 7 half-pint jars.

BRANDIED APPLE RINGS

4 cups granulated sugar

3 cups water

1 tablespoon red food coloring (optional)

41/2 pounds firm red apples, cored, cut into 1/4-inch rings, treated to prevent browning (see note) and drained (about 14 medium)

1 cup brandy

6 pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Combine sugar and water in a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring to dissolve sugar, about 5 minutes. Add food coloring, if using, and apple rings and return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until apples are slightly tender and, if using food coloring, apples are desired shade of red, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Remove apple rings from syrup using a slotted spoon and place in a large glass or stainless steel bowl. Return syrup to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and stir in brandy.

Pack hot apple rings loosely into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot syrup into jars to cover apple rings, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude, if necessary. Remove jars and cool.

Check lids for seal after 24 hours; lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Note: To treat apple slices to prevent browning, apply a fresh-produce protector (found with canning supplies) according to manufacturer's instructions, or submerge cut apples in a mixture of 1/4 cup lemon juice and 4 cups water.

Makes about 6 pints.

CINNAMON WATERMELON RIND PICKLES

16 cups sliced, peeled watermelon rind (about 2 medium)

1 cup pickling or canning salt

8 cups cool water (divided use)

6 cups granulated sugar

4 cups white vinegar

3 cinnamon sticks, broken in half

4 to 5 pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Day 1: Layer watermelon rinds and salt in a large crock or glass or stainless steel bowl. Add 4 cups of the cool water. Place a large, clean, inverted plate on top of the rind and weigh down with two or three quart jars filled with water and capped (or other heavy object). Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and refrigerate for 8 hours, or overnight.

Day 2: Transfer rind to a colander placed over a sink. Drain and rinse in cool running water. Drain and rinse again. Drain thoroughly.

Combine rind with remaining 4 cups of cool water in a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently until rind is fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Combine sugar, vinegar and cinnamon-stick halves in a clean, large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, until cinnamon has infused the liquid. Add drained rind and return to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, until watermelon is translucent. Discard cinnamon sticks.

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready to use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Pack hot rinds into hot jars, leaving inch headspace. Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover rind, leaving inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude, if necessary. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours; lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Makes about 4 to 5 pints.

OKTOBERFEST BEER MUSTARD

1 cups beer

1 cup brown mustard seeds

1 cup water

cup malt vinegar

cup lightly packed brown sugar

cup dry mustard

1 tablespoon onion powder

5 4-ounce glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Combine beer and brown mustard seeds in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let stand at room temperature until seeds have absorbed most of the moisture, about 2 hours.

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready to use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Place mustard seeds and remaining liquid in a food processor or blender. Process until chopped and slightly grainy.

Transfer mixture to a large saucepan. Whisk in water, vinegar, brown sugar, dry mustard and onion powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until volume is reduced by a third, about 15 minutes.

Ladle hot mustard into hot jars, leaving inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.

Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours; lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Makes about 5 4-ounce jars.

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.