CS-002: Tips & Tricks from Marisa McClellan, Author & Expert Canner

Marisa McClellan, expert canner and author of the book,  “Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round“, joins me for a conversation on how a person new to canning starts.  Whether brand new to home canning or a seasoned veteran, Marisa has great information for all skill and experience levels.

During the podcast, I briefly touch on how I spent my 4th of July weekend “attempting’ to make strawberry jam. With the benefit of Marisa’s epert advice I was able to learn what I was doing wrong and how to correct it for the future.  I end the show with my upbeat and personal take on what I mean when I use the term, “the food preservation lifestyle”.

Beginners will learn:

– Which berries are the worst/best to start canning with.

– Canning terms: Pectin and “A Good Set”.

– The equipment needed for canning (Good news. No fancy equipment needed!).

– The jars needed for canning.

– Ingredient selection and how much it matters to can in versus out of season.

– Amount of berries needed for your first batch.

– Basic steps when creating your first jam and how to add flair to them.

Both expert canners and beginners will learn:

– Understanding the role of sugar in a jam recipe.

– How to safely cut the sugar from jam recipes. FYI, as I learned from my experiment last weekend, cutting the sugar in half will produce syrup, which is not a bad thing if it can be used as a topping on ice-cream.

– 4 different ways to test for set.

– How to add flair to your basic jam recipes.

Marisa McClellan’s website: Food in Jars

Marisa’a Book: Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round

(affiliate link)

Can You Do me a Favor Please?

If you like what you hear, would you please go to iTunes right now by clicking here and leave me a good rating (if you think I’ve earned it, that is!).   It helps a lot and will go far in bringing more people into our canning community.