Hi, I happened to stumble upon this on Facebook and it amazed me. I would like to know everything, what's inside the jar, the process of how it become towards the end, how do you use/eats it. And why does it happen to be tradition in some families. I'm not from the US (which I believe where the OP of the pics come from) I live in Asia so even when we do have something that we marinated / preserve it's never to this extend. Please share your knowledge
by Next_Butterscotch540
4 Comments
Homemade preserved food looks great! They must taste delicious too.
I’ll probably go there when there’s a zombie apocalypse! Look awesome!
This is how everything to used to be preserved or you would cover it in salt.
In the US this is usually done by 3 different types of people in my experiences.
1. Homesteaders- People that live completely or mostly off the power grid and not close to any decent supply town. So they grow their own food and store it for year round use. (Most common these days)
2. Hobbies- People who simply garden at home a lot and like the process of storing and preserving their food. (Least common to have this much)
3. Poor people- This can very commonly be found in very low income families that need this to survive. Possibly done throughout their entire community with different families growing different foods. (Fairly common in the southeastern states)
I am not expert of the processes but it can be any vegetable and also many other things. I do know they are usually pickled with other flavors inside and you would add them to whatever you are cooking.
The only two labels I can make out clearly are “Butternut Squash” and “Northern Beans.” If I had to guess the contents of the other jars; it would be other fruits, vegetables, or legumes.
When canning your own food, there’s a lot of different ways it can be done. Most people will opt for the water bath method which has the chef sterilize and pressurize the cans using boiling water. The jars are boiled and then partially filled with water, while they’re still in the bath, the food is added to the jar and then sealed.
Once the lid is on, the cans are removed to cool down; and as they cool down a vacuum is formed in the can. The combination of heat and pressure kill the bacteria and contaminants leaving behind a long-lasting, shelf stable product.
The flavor is remarkable, very refreshing and full. It tastes like you’re eating something for the first time. If you can your own jam, it tastes like sitting on your grandmother’s porch on a summer day. If you canned your own pickles, it tastes like god himself gave you a salty snack.
Just make sure you can things properly, otherwise the product may spoil or you may get sick.