When it comes to food, everything old is new again.
Especially when it comes to putting it up the way grandma did.
“I’ve been with Extension 25 years and suddenly, I’m in vogue again,” said Schoharie County Cornell Cooperative Extension educator Jan Ryder with a laugh.
“It’s funny how things come around again.”
Ms. Ryder is talking about the turnout for a class on canning she led for 28 would-be canners a couple of weeks ago, just as backyard gardens were starting to bear fruit.
Or rather, vegetables.
Marilyn Janicek, who’s also with Extension, said in the past, classes have been lucky to draw a half-dozen people.
This time, 30 people signed up and all but two of them made it.
“We had to cut it off,” Ms. Janicek said.
Ms. Ryder said she suspects there are a handful of reasons for the resurgence in forgotten domestic arts like canning and freezing.
“I think people have more concerns about the food they’re eating and providing their families,” she said.
“They’re concerned about where their food comes from and they’re planting gardens. Combine that with the economy and the question becomes: What do I do with it all?”
Richard Ball of Schoharie Valley Farms seconds those thoughts.
Every time the economy takes a downturn, he sells more plants to backyard gardeners.
“It feels like the right thing to do,” he said. “Grandma always had a garden and always put food up...People are looking for ways to save money and they’re staying closer to home so gardening fits.”
As Ms. Ryder takes her students through the basics of pressure vs. boiling water canning, though, she’s quick to point out it’s likely to be a money-saver only if the vegetables come from your own garden.
“Still, there’s a certain satisfaction that comes from doing it yourself,” she said. “You also know where your food comes from when you put it up yourself.”
It’s that satisfaction—and convenience—Veronica Diamond of Hyndsville was looking for when she signed up for the class.
As she watched her garden grow and grow, Ms. Diamond, who has already played around with pickles and with freezing, decided it was time to take the next step to pressure canning.
“I think I can get there someday,” she said, adding, “My grandmother canned and in a way, it’s touching base with her.
“I guess it’s a little bit ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ too, but I’m intrigued by the convenience of just being able to throw dinner together from my pantry shelves.”
Still, Ms. Diamond’s a realist.
“It has to be easy,” she said. “We don’t want this to be a ‘project.’”
Nancy Chichester of Warnerville said she, too, has done some canning over the years and took the class to make sure she was doing it right.
Ms. Chichester and her husband, Gil, raise and sell their own meat and eggs and for her, the allure of canning is knowing exactly where her food comes from—a concern she’s also hearing from their customers.
“We’ve always had a garden and we always plant too much,” she said.
“I’m not feeling comfortable with the way the government is handling our food anymore and we’re not the only ones. I think there’s going to be a resurgence in things like canning.. I know this is the kind of food I want.”
Looking back on the class, Ms. Ryder said she thinks it fit the need for first-time canners and those with a little more experience, but it was those who’d never done it before who hung around afterwards with questions and she’d like to put together a smaller, hands-on class for them next year.
For those ready to—almost--take the plunge now, Extension loans out its pressure cooker on a first-come, first-served basis .
You have to demonstrate that you know how to use it to borrow it; call Extension at 234-4303 for more information.
And for those intimidated by the whole idea of canning, an Extension Master Gardener will be holding a workshop of freezing later this year.
Call 234-4303 for details.