CANNING AND PICKLING

Carolyn Best peeled the last carrot from the morning's harvest and laid it beside the other vegetables soon sealed in sparkling jars.

Green beans, orange carrots and reddish potatoes made for a touchable presentation of the likes painters have striven to capture in still life.

But this kind of artwork does more than warm the soul. After all, what could taste better in the dead of winter than garden-fresh vegetables served stand-alone or in a favorite recipe.

Canning and pickling has a tradition deeply rooted in rural life. Gardeners have "put up," "put away" and "put by" fresh vegetables and fruits, and even meat, fish and poultry for generations. Many of those well-acquainted with canning practices, like Best, are happy to share their knowledge and readily encourage others to start traditions of their own.

When it comes to canning and such, Best observed, there's no great mystery. Fact is, she noted, a little common sense goes a long way. To top it off, a garden isn't even necessary.

"With all the farmers markets available now, you don't even have to raise your own vegetables," Best said. "Just get whatever that you enjoy and put it away."

Canning is the general term for preserving food in a heated jar, sealing the jar with a two-piece vacuum sealing lid and heat processing the product at a sufficient temperature to destroy any microorganisms which may cause spoilage.

Pickling is the preservation of foods in a solution of brine or vinegar, often with spices added. To ensure all microorganisms are destroyed in pickled foods, the canning process must be completed.

Easy-to-read, detailed instructions available at no cost at offices of the University of Missouri Extension explain when pressure canning is necessary and when a boiling-water canner can be used. Pressure canning is the only canning method recommended for low-acid foods like meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables.

"Low acid fruits and vegetables have to be pressure cooked," explained Cathy Boyd, a family and consumer science instructor in the Jackson R-2 School District.

Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism food poisoning, is destroyed in low-acid foods when they are processed at the correct time and temperature in pressure canners.

Whatever type of canner or process is being used, "just read the directions carefully," Boyd advised.

Best uses her pressure canners extensively. "It's an example of where the modern way is the more efficient way, besides being quicker and safer," she said.

But canning and pickling preserves more than the summer's harvest.

"I'm big on trying to maintain the pioneer spirit," explained Best. "This is a big thing to me ... We're becoming so caught up in the technology around us that we're losing a lot of our basic pioneer qualities," she said. Preparing food for her family to enjoy in the months ahead, she explained, "is a way I show them my love for them."

"It's an extension of doing for my family," and, besides, she said, without missing a beat, "When you have the garden you need something to do with the stuff."

The Bests, Marvin Jr. and Carolyn, and their two teen-age sons continue a family farming tradition in Cape Girardeau County in conjunction with Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Best Sr.

Mabel and Robert Yancey of Jackson have been sharing gardening and canning work for most of their 52 years of marriage. The Yanceys' cucumbers are transformed into crisp, sweet pickles by Mabel's hands and the help of a recipe she obtained from one of her sisters. She also cans staples like green beans and tomatoes. "We do have a pear tree that bears good. I have canned some pears the last few years," Yancey noted.

"It's just part of the summertime work," she summed up.

Though canning has long been an unquestioned part of summer for Yancey, she is sure to attend to detail. "You have to be very careful about the sealing part. If they're not sealed right, they won't keep," she said.

Best, too, carefully reviews canning instructions before each step, though the numbers are already rooted in her memory.

There are other extensions of enjoying the home-canning process. Some canners, like Best, thrive on the competition that comes with entering their products in county fairs. Plus, Best and Boyd both said, home-canned goods are always appreciated as gifts.

High school students can learn about canning in foods classes. For would-be canners that are a bit older, Boyd noted that helping someone else already acquainted with canning processes is always a good way to learn.

"Anyone that has been in a kitchen at all can do it," Best encouraged. "More than likely your mistakes will be edible -- if not competition quality -- and your family will love it."

Canned food checklist

Before eating canned foods, be sure of the following:

-- Food was processed following current recommendations from University Extension, USDA or Ball Blue Book.

-- Food (low-acid) was processed in a pressure canner with a gauge that was checked at the beginning of the canning season.*

-- Time and pressure were adjusted for altitude.

-- Process times and pressures matched the size of jar, style of pack and kind of food being canned.

-- Jar lid is firmly sealed and concave.

-- Nothing has leaked from the jar.

-- No liquid spurts out when jar is opened.

-- No unnatural or "off" odors can be detected.

-- Have your pressure canner dial gauge tested for accuracy at your county extension center.

-- From "Before You Start to Can, Learn the Basics," available through University of Missouri Extension.