We Missed National Canning Month! 16 Incredible Recipes
Missing National Canning Month – OOPS
Did you know February is national canning month? It makes sense when you think about it. February is one of the coldest – and thus, sparsest – months of the year in most Northern regions and historically, people would have to gain sustenance from the food they’d preserved during the rest of the year.
What doesn’t make sense – and points to the advent of refrigeration – is that in national canning month, there isn’t much to can. However, we can celebrate national canning month nonetheless and hopefully come up with a plan so that next year, we can pop open a jar of whatever gets your goat and toast, to a cultural foodie month of sustenance.
I’ve done my fair share of canning. There’s just something so satisfying about the “ping” melody that erupts from jars sealing and then stacking them full of food goodness in the pantry. It’s about self sufficiency, about creativity and about being able to savor ingredients that would otherwise be unavailable in their highest flavor and nutrition the rest of the year.
It really is a simple thing to do and a ton of fun and if you have a stock pot, a pair of tongs, an oven mitt and some jars, you’re good to go. No need to purchase expensive canning equipment. Get creative! Both with how you do things and your recipes – after all, the greatest things come from experimentation!
There are a plethora of great resources for canning. Some of which include:
- Well Preserved
- The National Center for Home Food Preservation
- Pick Your Own
- Canning Across America
- Punk Domestics
You get the idea. So instead of teaching you how to can, we thought we’d share some of our favorite canning recipes in an effort to inspire you to start planning now. Seed catalogs are being distributed and farmer’s markets are gearing up soon so if you want to get in on the canning action and join in our toast next year with a nice loud “ping”, now’s the time to plan!
- Sweet & Sour Cherry Jam – Food in Jars
- Candied Fennel Stalks & Fennel Frond Salt – Local Kitchen Blog
- Vodka Peach & Apricot Brandy – Well Preserved
- Quick Pickled Green Beans – Thru The Bugs on My Windshield
- Blackberry Applesauce – Love & Olive Oil
- Homemade Pizza Sauce – Week99er
- Canned Apple Pie Filling – Skip to My Love
- Pickled Smokey Garlic – Hand Jobs for the Home
- Bourbon Soaked Cherries – She Eats
- Spicy Fermented Kimchi – Love & Wild Honey
- Cinnamon Whiskey Jelly – Putting Up with Erin
- Quick Mincemeat – David Lebovitz
- Classic Dill Pickles – Cookbook Recipes
- Pickled Pumpkin – Kitchen Apparel
- Apple Butter – This Little Pint of Mine
- Canned Peaches (and other stone fruit) – Simple Bites
What do you think? Inspired? Do you can? Have any fond canning memories? Share with us below in the comments section or pop over to our Facebook Page to tell us! We want to hear from you!
Come On! Follow Along!
