canning

Foodie Friday Q&A: How to can fruit the right way

Peaches, crab apples, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, black currants, green tomatoes — Karin Neidfelt has canned them all. Jewel-toned jars of jam, jelly and relish line her basement shelves year after bountiful year. A lifelong canner, Neidfelt is also a food safety expert and retired Colorado State University Extension agent for Chaffee County. She recently moved to the Denver area and now offers food-safety advice through the Denver Extension office. With bumper crops of fruit hitting backyards and farmers markets all over Colorado, we had Neidfelt answer some common questions about water-bath canning, the method used for jams, jellies and fruit. Q: What do you need to get started? A: The first thing is you need appropriate canning equipment. Back in some people’s mother&#...

How My Withered Garden Still Inspires Bountiful Preserves (with recipe!)

It’s August and the drought drones on…*heavy sigh*. I’ll admit that the heat beat me up this summer and left me listless on the couch with the swamp cooler on high. The unrelenting heat has so intimidated me that I shied away from gardening this year. I feel guilty.  On top of that, I’m assailed by headlines and news reports declaring a drought induced low supply of fruits, veggies and grains paired with a high demand from the marketplace (that’s me) creating a predicted scenario of high prices and food scarcity in the months to come.  I’m not one to panic over news reports but this news does make me think what a higher grocery bill will do to my monthly budget. It’s a dark thought filled with painful screams from my checking account and an echo in...