canning
Hello there! My name is Maggie. I am currently a student in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems at Trent University. I am interested in sustainable food production, food systems and issues surrounding food sovereignty. When I heard that there may be an opportunity to do a placement internship at Nourish this fall to do research about canning, I was so excited! I’ve always had an interest in home food preservation and the ways that we can extend the local food season into the winter. But I was also nervous!
Last week with held a workshop with a group of fabulous women from Lovesick Lake Native Women's Association & other enthusiastic community members to learn about water bath canning. We purchased bush beans and blueberries which were both in abundance at the Peterborough Downtown Farmers' Market and worked together to can pickled beans and blueberry jam!
There are no databases, librarians, or actual books, but Nourish is unveiling a new library in town that offers a range of resources for extending our community’s connection to good food.
Building on the increasing popularity of at-home food preservation, Nourish's Canning Library operates much like a regular library, but, instead of books, provides free public access to a wide variety of household canning equipment.
~July~
I have a serious weakness for green beans. A steaming bowl of tender beans melting on a dollop of butter reminds me of my childhood.
I love the sweet smell and delicate taste of beans. I wish I could enjoy them year-round. Every year I find that their season goes by way too quickly. I never seem to be able to get my fix of them!
Gleaning traces its origin to an old French word glener, which is itself rooted in the Latin verb, glan(n)are, meaning to gather. In modern English, gleaning boasts three different meanings: (1) to gather produce left from the main harvest, (2) to assemble slowly, bit by bit and (3) to discover something new.
“Summer provides the food for winter,” - will say many Ukrainians while pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, squashes, beetroots, salting cabbage and mushrooms; preserving salads made of summer vegetables or even making a wide variety of fruit jams and juices or bottling compotes.
