When life gives you tomatoes…

Can’Em!

Photo by Mark Czajkowski
Each fall, Howell Living History Farm in Titus­ville hosts canning and pickling
demonstra­tions providing instruc­tion on how to create flavorful preserved
foods like these, right.
Kim Daly, a program assistant at Howell Living History Farm, cuts ripe tomatoes
in preparation for canning, above. Right: Toma­toes, spices and herbs are brought
to a boil on stove before they are placed in jars.
iKim Daly adds filled jars of fruit preserves to boil­ing water to complete
the canning process.
—>
By: CHRISTIAN KIRKPATRICK

   So much food, so little time.
   It starts as a trickle, thawing gastronomic memories frozen
since December. One day, some lonely stalks of asparagus appear on grocery shelves.
Soon watchful shoppers notice that the strawberries may have been grown within
a day’s drive of the store. Farm stands start to show signs of life, and
many New Jersey residents feel themselves compelled, almost against their will,
to plant a few tomato seedlings. Nothing extravagant. And maybe a few peppers.
The next thing they know, their kitchen counters are covered with the zucchini
they have no room for in the refrigerator, and neighbors they once called friends
are leaving bags of cucumbers at their front doors, ringing the bell, and running
away.
   Yes, it is harvest time in the Garden State. And nobody has
taken the kids apple picking yet!
   So what can a reasonably frugal, mildly creative person do with
all this darned bounty?
   Can it!
   "This time of year, you’ve got to do something with
all the tomatoes," says Kathy Brilla, program coordinator for the Howell
Living History Farm in Titusville. She helps to organize its Saturday programs
illustrating farm life at the turn of the last century. A canning and pickling
demonstration is one of those programs. The Morrisville resident also cans at
home for pleasure. Her favorite solutions for too many tomatoes include tomato
sauce and a spiced tomato jam that tastes wonderful on English muffins.
   This year, in addition to tomatoes, she is canning peaches and
making apple sauce and strawberry jam. She will work outside on a gas grill with
a side burner. Using her yard as a summer kitchen allows Mrs. Brilla to keep heat
and smells out of the house. It also simplifies clean up. She just rinses the
grill with a garden hose.
   Mrs. Brilla says she cans because she enjoys capturing the flavor
of local fruits and vegetables at their peak. "It’s like money in the
bank," she says of the shelves of produce she puts up each year. It is a
rainy — or snowy — day fund of tastes she can enjoy until the next harvest.
   Those who would like to start their own savings account of flavors
should consider preserving fruits. Because they are naturally high in acid, which
is itself a preservative, fruits are much easier to can than vegetables. Fruits
are usually preserved in slices covered in liquid or as jellies or jams.
    Mrs. Brilla suggests making jam or apple sauce. The easiest
jam to make is freezer jam, because jars of this jam need not be sterilized in
a bath of boiling water. They are just popped into the freezer, where they can
stay for as long as one year.
   A big decision in making most jams is whether to use store-bought
pectin, which necessitates the use of extra sugar, or to forego this product.
Jam made without pectin usually has less body and takes longer to cook. It is
also much more flavorful, because large quantities of sugar can overwhelm the
taste of preserved fruit. Some pectin manufacturers, such as SURE JELL, try to
combine the best of both approaches with products that require reduced amounts
of sugar.
   Would-be canners whose Day-Timers are filled until January should
take heart. Already canned fruits can be used to make some delicious jams. Princeton-resident
Melody Richards prepares her bitter orange marmalade with Seville oranges packed
in England and purchased at Williams-Sonoma. Her cousin gave her a jar of this
jam when Ms. Richards visited her in Surrey seven years ago. Once home, she decided
to try the recipe with the same English-canned oranges her cousin had used. The
secret, she says, is to use extra orange peel.
   In addition to jams and applesauce, beginning canners should
consider pickling cucumbers or other vegetables. Pickled produce need not be heated
in the pressure canners ordinarily used to preserve low-acid vegetables. The vinegar
used in pickling eliminates the need for this equipment. Instead, jars of pickled
produce may be boiled for a prescribed time in a large, ordinary pot. Special
kettles with a rack to hold jars can be used, but a large pot will suffice.
   During the late summer and fall, canning supplies are available
in most large grocery stores and sometimes in discount department stores such
as Wal-Mart and Kmart. Canning recipes can be found on the Web, in general-purpose
cookbooks and in books on canning. Mrs. Brilla also recommends church cookbooks
and the recipes in pectin boxes. Beginners should carefully consult such guides
for instructions on how to prepare foods and jars for canning and how to detect
spoilage.
   Properly canned fruits and vegetables preserve just-picked flavors
and happy memories, but improperly canned jars can be dangerous. If a jar
   looks suspicious, advises Mrs. Brilla, "use it to feed
the compost pile."
   APPLESAUCE
   Wash, quarter, and core 6 to 7 pounds of apples. To prevent
the
   apples from turning brown, dip them in a solution of 2 tablespoons
of salt and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in 1 gallon of water. Take out the apples.
Put them and 4 cups of water in a heavy enamel or stainless steel pan with a flat
bottom. Cover and bring to boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until apples are
very tender. Smash the apples by hand, press them through a food mill, sieve or
ricer or put them in a blender, skins and all. Return sauce to pan with about
2 cups of sugar (or to taste). Cook at a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring
to boil, stirring to prevent the mixture from sticking. Pack the mixture into
hot, sterilized jars, leaving ¼-inch of headspace. Adjust the lids. Put
jars in a large pot or Dutch oven with enough water to cover the jars with by
at least an inch. The jars must not touch. Bring the water to a boil and allow
it to continue boiling for 10 minutes.
   TOMATO SAUCE (Kim Daly of the Howell Living History Farm Museum)
   Use firm, fresh tomatoes. Discard any soft, old fruit. Cook
tomatoes about 20 minutes, then rub them through a strainer or mash them if you
like pieces in your sauce. Add onions, peppers, or other ingredients to taste.
Add bay leaf, sprig of thyme, basil, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Add sugar
or baking soda as needed to decrease the acidity of the sauce.
   Bring the mixture to a full boil and pour into hot, sterilized
jars. Put the jars in a large pot or Dutch oven with enough water to cover the
jars with by at least an inch. The jars must not touch. Bring the water to a boil
and allow it to continue boiling for 35 minutes if the jars are pint-sized, for
45-50 minutes, if they are quart-sized.
   If desired, thicken the sauce with flour or cornstarch before
you use it.