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Want to add just a touch of different flavor to your meals?
Maybe chutney or a special sauce? Maybe you don't have a garden but you have
found some luscious grapes at the local Farmer's market and you want to taste
that flavor in jam?
With our busy lifestyles or working full time, our
generation doesn't have the time or energy to come home and face mountains of
tomatoes or grapes waiting to be put into jars for later. Where would we find an
extra day for canning? Here is the perfect answer - make small batches!
There is nothing wrong with canning small batches of
produce. In fact, there are many favorable points in creating small amounts of
jams, sauces, pickles, and salsas.
More Variety
When you make smaller batches,
you can tweak the flavors or make several different kinds of preserves from the
same produce. Maybe you would like to add some rhubarb to your strawberry jam,
or maybe make strawberry lemon marmalade?
Reduce the Risk
When cooking large batches of
tomatoes, apples, or other higher acid foods there is a chance of scorching.
This can lead to the ruining the whole batch. Or maybe you didn't add enough
pectin to your batch of jam and the nothing sets. With smaller batches, you get
a chance to try again to get it the "set", the flavor, the color, and the
texture just right!
Less Storage Space
In warmer climates, you can
obtain fresh produce much of the year which allows for canning year round at
your convenience. In colder climates, you will have to take advantage the
produce at the local grocery or special deals at warehouses nearby.
Less Time and Energy
Smaller batches means smaller
pots, fewer jars, less time, and less work! Using a smaller pot means heating
less water, peeling less fruit, blanching fewer tomatoes and less sweat! Check
out our stainless steel mini canning set or our steam canner. With these types
of tools, you save time, energy, and a messy kitchen!
Yes, small-batch preserving takes a lot of the work out of
home preserving. So yes, eat some of that tasty jam, and "can" it too!
