Here at Munch Monster our goal is to enlighten, entertain and educate. Aside from alliteration there is something important about these things when it comes to food. I am right this moment in the throes of deep contemplation. I daresay that what is on my mind might change how I interact with food and local farmers markets for the foreseeable future. You see, I’m about to take a long walk down the stairs into the basement. Not your basement, which is probably fitted with a home theater system and a bar. No, I’m going into the basement of my grandparents to rediscover the lost art of canning.
Perhaps you think I’m insane because there’s such a wide assortment of canned goods available at the store, and damnit if some of that stuff isn’t actually of decent quality. But what I’m getting at here is a trek back into the world of fresh vibrant flavors being delivered to the table each and every night. As you may have noticed as we approach the site’s official launch I focus my creative culinary endeavors on Sunday dinner. That’s when I’m guaranteed to be free. But what of the other nights in the week when I’m at the restaurant and my wife has to decide between frozen chicken tenders or a bowl of mac n cheese? Shouldn’t there be just as quick and easy an option in the fresh and delicious category?
Canning is viewed as an arcane practice. Perhaps the end of the Cold War is to blame now that we don’t have to load up nuclear bunkers with preserved foods. I’m not entirely sure, but I’d be fascinated to find out. In today’s “I want it now” culture many of us feel that we don’t have the time for canning. Why do so when you can just freeze everything you have? Unless you have liquid nitrogen available when you finish making that pot of tomato sauce, or return home with a nice hunk of beef you’re going to be doing some serious damage to the food you freeze. Since you’re actually freezing the water in your food, and ice is made up of sharp crystals you are only serving to destroy the cells of your food.
But canning is a way to get the food to be just as you’d like and then suspend it there for a long period of time. Yes, canned food generally should be eaten within a year. That is why I’m going to maintain at the outset that you only can what you need. Making up a normal sized pot of your own tomato sauce for enjoyment later is smart. Producing vats of the stuff just in case you need to sustain life just on tomato sauce for five years is foolish.
Like me you’re going to be new to canning and there are a few things to know. Boiling water and placing food in a glass jar to seal it up is not exactly canning. Confusingly that is exactly where I plan to begin. The reason is simple: the basic act of boiling jars with food in it to can is the most user friendly way to get into this whole trend. Be aware that when dealing with vegetables, meats, seafood, dairy and the like you must use pressure canning methods. That’s the next step in our endeavor. For now I think sticking with highly acidic foods like fruits is a fine first step. The high acidity in fruits will naturally prevent nasty bacteria from having a party in your food while you’re upstairs wondering why Fox would continuously greenlight great shows like Sarah Connor Chronicles only to cancel them just as they get good.
So now it’s time for us to begin. I’m not sure what I’ll be canning this week, but rest assured it will be something. And if things turn out as I hope you’ll be hearing about my experiences and get the benefit of learning how to perform this arcane task from someone with just as little a clue as you. There’s always the chance of a hilarious account of burnt forearms and a fruit splattered kitchen as I fumble around with glass jars full of molten goodness.
