"Yes, you Can Can!"

I know. It's cheesy. But "Yes, you Can Can" is the name of the class I took today to work on one of my new goals of learning to can. It was taught by Jill Jacoby at the Cooks of Crocus Hill, and while going into the class I wasn't sure if it was worth paying for (after all, there are so many books and websites on canning, plus so many people who already know!) I was thoroughly impressed. I learned more in this class than I have in probably any other cooking class I've taken. I'm sure it helped that I knew absolutely zero about canning going in, but now I have enough of a foundation to feel like there's a possibility I could successfully make something this fall. The instructor was really knowledgeable, excited about what she did and very clear. The only drawback I saw to the class was that it was only scheduled for 2 hours, and with the amount of material she covered we could have easily filled a normal 3 hours session.

It was a "methods" class, so it focused much more heavily on how to can than the recipes to use. I did get a few fantastic recipes, which I'll share when I hopefully successfully make my batches of plum jam and apple butter, but more than that I went from knowing zero about how to safely put food in jars that will last for a year or so to having a pretty good idea. Some of the most important things I learned were that you need very little equipment, really--a really tall pot, a few more heavy pots for boiling the ingredients and sterilizing the jars and lids, a ladle, the jars themselves and a good colander. I also came out with a list of cool gadgets that would be handy, but it's nice to know that I can start experimenting small and cheap. I also learned the the basics of canning are just timing (so the food doesn't boil to short and not kill all the bacteria, or too long and not jell correctly), enough acid to keep botulism from being a problem and a whole lot of sterilization by boiling water.

My last few weeks have been pretty disgustingly busy with little stuff that keeps popping up, but I'm really hoping that in the next 2-3 weeks I'll be able to set aside a weekend day and try to make a batch of plum brandy jam. Cross my fingers (and yours, if you want to get any!) and I'll make sure to take some pictures and write some specifics if that day happens.