Our friend @kotturinn made a really great post about how to start canning. In her true fashion, the post is well-written, beautiful, and is a great place to learn about canning tasty food with good friends. She and I decided to make a canning date a couple of weeks ago, back when it was 18C and fall seemed to be upon us. But things changed and so while her post was on what to do, mine will be on what not to do.
First, she was right about going to a farmers' market to get affordable fresh produce. I mean, just look at these tasty fruits.
Now when we set this whole things up, it was cool and comfortable. Fall was in the air and the time felt rife with canning fair. But things suddenly changed, which brings me to the first canning taboo:
Don't can food during a record-breaking heat wave!
For those who aren't located in the mid-west United States and Canada, you may not be familiar with our lovely seasons. Usually at this time of year, the summer heat breaks and we get to relish cooler weather, the beauty of senescence, and a cornucopia of harvest goods. But this year, climate change (yes, I believe in science) had something else in mind and gave us 30C heat when the norm is closer to 21C. Suffice it to say, it is hot out there, but this could easily be mitigated if it weren't for taboo number 2.
Don't can without air conditioning during a heat wave!
@Kotturinn is lucky because she has a gas range, which makes it easier to get things hotter and faster. This is ideal for canning because you have greater control of the heat, reducing the potential for boiling over or burning sugar (an often critical ingredient when making preserves). It also helps get your water bath nice and hot in a short period, i.e., it helps you get your canning station good and hot in a timely manner.
This means that when we made:
...EVERYTHING involved boiling pans full of emulsified produce or vinegar in addition to keeping a stock pot on a rolling boil. This all took about four hours, but hey, at least we got some passive cardio out of it. That's important for me personally because of taboo number 3.
Don't can with a busted knee!
@Robrigo and I went backpacking after Labor Day and at the end of day one, my knee ballooned up. While I'm still waiting to see my doctor, it looks as though it's sprained, which isn't terrible and there are far worse things in life. However, standing for about five hours probably wasn't the best idea; stairs hurt like hell the next day.
But this is alright because of a very important qualifier for these taboos...
Canning is always worth it!
It doesn't matter what the conditions are, hot or cold, gas or electric, healthy or injured, canning with friends is one of the best ways to spend a day. You can be creative in the kitchen in ways that'll last you months. Your friends and family will relish (canning pun!) in your creations and you'll just have some good old fun.
Plus, you'll wind up with things like this.
If you're interested in canning, but don't know where to start, I highly recommend http://pickyourown.org/. While the recipes can sometimes go overkill on sugar, it's really detailed, has loads of recipes, and has always served me well as a how-to resource.
*Much thanks to @kotturinn for the great pictures and the great time!