A Different Time

Part of the principle of local eating is the notion that one is supposed to preserve foods while they are in season, for eating later when they're out of season. But not everyone thinks this way. This evening I was at our local big box grocery buying the one brand of local pork they carry, and I also picked up two boxes of jelly jars for canning. "Canning? Different time for it," one man remarked as I wheeled my cart toward the door. Well yes, it is a different time for canning if you're only talking end-of-summer produce, but that's not what I'm after just now. As it happens, our area is now fully into asparagus season, and I just found a deal on asparagus for $1.59 per pound. Last night, I used up half of the one box of tall jelly jars I had on hand while pickling some of the slender asparagus spears, and if we expect to have any jars for strawberry jam in late May or early June, I need more jars. Would you want to wait until the last minute to get your jars, right when the same idea occurs to other would-be jam makers, and then be unable to find any jars just when you need them most? Of course not. I doubt this guy noticed they were jelly jars and not just any old type of canning jars. Most people really don't have a clue what things ripen at what time of year.

So last night I pickled six jars of slender asparagus spears, and blanched and froze the ones that were too fat for pickling. It was a long several hours of work, but when I was done, I had five of my six jars seal, with the sixth going into the fridge to finish pickling in safety. No biggie on the failure--we still get to eat them, and this way we can decide whether we actually like pickled asparagus or not. If not, we can always give the other jars away as gifts later--like fruitcake. But I'm betting they'll be great. In fact, I may do a few more before the season's over, just for good measure. It's the first time I ever canned or pickled anything by myself--i.e. without an experienced canner there doing the bulk of the work while I "helped." This time, it was all my show, so I'm proud of myself. I made a bunch of mistakes, but still ended up with five jars out of six sealing. And I learned a lot, so maybe I'll be more organized next time. The jars of asparagus pickles look so great, I can't stop staring at them. I feel like the little kid running to mommy with a really great piece of artwork saying, "I made this!"