In this age of digital everything, sometimes it’s just nice to work with your hands—bake a loaf of bread, knit a sweater, curate your cottagecore aesthetic. In that vein, we at the pod have been curious about canning food.

And we’re not alone. We recently reached out on social media to learn what listeners wanted to know about canning.

For answers, we turned to John Barbie, owner of Tip Top Canning Co. Through his Tampa-based business, John sells pickles, mustards, jams and fruit butters. He also offers in-home canning and pickling classes.

Dalia met up with John at Pickford’s Sundries, a historic lunch counter/gift shop in West Tampa that sells Tip Top Canning Co. products. In this conversation, John explains the difference between canning and pickling, shares the health benefits of both, suggests foods to pickle and goes over the basic equipment you need to start canning food at home.

Big thanks to listener Kenya Woodard for suggesting John for the pod.

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