Learning the art of canning
WAYNESBURG – It was raining last Wednesday morning as vendors scurried to set up their tents, tables and wares for the Waynesburg Farmers Market. But when 10 a.m. arrived, the skies cleared and shoppers were treated to a sight that is eluding most home gardeners due to the rainy weather; piles of vine ripened tomatoes from Harden Family Farm.
This produce was raised in high tunnels, sheltered from too much rain with the roots in the ground and given plenty of warmth to ripen.
Jessie Leidecker, who volunteers to promote the harvest of information available through the county’s Penn State Extension office at 26 E. High St. in Waynesburg was overseeing the market table. She had brought handouts for the proper preservation of garden vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, beans and corn. She also brought along some of the tools of canning that included tongs to remove the hot jars from the canner, wide-mouth funnels, bottle scrubbers and more.
“Every year or so, it’s important to test the pressure of your canner and replace parts like gaskets when they get old and brittle,” Leidecker said. “Hopefully in August, I’ll be able to come back and test gauges that people bring to the market. It’s important to make sure that food is preserved at the proper pressure.”
Leidecker opened the extension handout for preserving tomatoes and began pointing out other equally important tips.
“Because tomatoes aren’t as acidic as they once were, it’s good to add citric acid or lemon juice but that can change the flavor,” she said. “I like to crush up Vitamin C tablets, six tablets to a gallon of water.”
The amount of extra acid recommended is two tablespoons lemon juice or one-half teaspoon citric acid per quart of whole, crushed or juiced tomatoes. The tomato handout, which is free and available at the extension office, also includes recipes for everything from tomato juice to spaghetti sauce with meat, salsa, ketchup and hot barbecue sauce, most picked from the pages of “So Easy To Preserve” from the University of Georgia.
“That’s my favorite, and it really is easy,” Leidecker said as she pointed to her copy of the cookbook on the table. “It costs about $20, and you can order it online at www.soeasytopreserve.com. I also have the address of the only source I’ve found to get replacement parts for pressure canners.”
Replacement parts, including gaskets for Presto, Mirror, All American, National, Sears and Wards pressure canners is Cooking and Canning, 12629 S. Tuthill Road, Buckeye, AZ 85326. The phone number is 800-851-3266.
The Greene County Extension Office is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and can be reached at 724-627-3745 or online at www.greene.extension.psu.edu.
Meanwhile, the weekly Waynesburg Farmers Market will move its day next week to Tuesday, July 28, to accommodate for Rain Day the following day. The market will move back to its regularly scheduled date on Wednesday the following week.