Canning Across America is a collective of people that want to revive the tradition of preserving food. I am interested in exploring this skill because it is a way to use local food all year around. Finding ways to extend the use of locally sourced food throughout the year is vital to a functioning local food system. Here, people are preserving food for themselves, their family, and their friends, but I would like to think about possibilities of preserving local food to share with the community. This is a how-to video on their site:
http://www.canningacrossamerica.com/2009/08/26/the-canvolution-on-film/
6 comments:
Hi Leigh Ann,
Thanks for posting the video about canning. It was interesting to see the whole process, including the way that they sterilized the jars in boiling water before filling them, and then boiled the full jars again. Is this to sterilize the contents, to ensure that there are no molds growing?
It seems that there are a number of potential product design ideas here that could make it easier for people who have never done canning before. Clearly, to make this work, you will have to do a considerable amount of additional research, to really understand the chemistry and biology of canning, and to identify areas where your interventions could lead to improvements or new methods. In some ways, this is a very difficult undertaking, because processes like canning are very old and well-understood; over centuries, canners have probably experimented with every possible jar shape, type of seal, water bath, tongs, etc. and the ubiquitous Ball jar is a classic because it works expectionally well. You will probably not be able to design a better jar.
One thing that you have identified that could lead you to a new product idea is the new emphasis on local sustainability. It seems that current events are leading us to reconsider things that were considered hopelessly old-fashioned only a few years back. How could you repackage the idea of canning to make it relevant now? This is a product category that could be commercially successful in the current climate, and I am looking forward to seeing where you take this.
steven
Yes you have to sterilize the cans so that mold does not grow inside after it is sealed.
you are right, the process and products have been perfected over a very long period of time, and i think this is a good thing. while the form of some products could be improved, i am not so much interested in re-designing the form of these tools as much as i am interested in changing the application of this skill. the re-application part is what i have to research more figure out! also, this is just one of many directions i could go into, we will see what seems more promising.
OK, that sounds great. Just don't wait too long to make some decisions, so that you can have enough time to get into the details....
Canning is an interesting topic.
The clip was interesting but I was surprised that the woman was wearing a watch. One of the first things you cooks learn in culinary school is that watches and jewelry are a grade A spot for germs and bacteria. It might throw off the whole batch.
One question is though if canning, the traditional way, is really that healthy. The sodium, sugar and acid levels are mostly very high when it comes to the classic pickle or preserve.
Personally, I feel that both drying and freezing are two methods that preserve a food item over a longer period without messing with its natural chemistry too much.
There is definitely something there in terms of preserving seasonal foods but I feel like that we do not have to be afraid of technology. Just because it has been done this way in the past, it does not mean it has to do this for all eternity.
Maybe it is time for an evolution? This is the only way to lift something like homemade canning out of its novelty-nostalgic status.
The Jar Tops by Jorre van Ast are an interesting design that was inspired by jars. Maybe you could check it out if you haven't yet.
ben
Good point! there may be better ways of preserving food, and making a NEW way might be necessary in order to create interest and support from the public.
I totally agree with Ben's comment. Canning seems like a throwback to a more "innnocent" period. I am wondering if it would be possible to develop an updated version of canning, where you reconsider some of the traditional methods, to improve yield, healthfulness, longevity of canned goods, room needed to store canned goods, labeling that encodes information about batch, dates, ingredients, nutritional information. I am wondering if there could be some kind of internet service to support canning efforts; it might be very interesting to combine high tech and low tech methods in a single product. You could reimagine canning for the internet era, thereby recapturing a part of our culture without having to go backwards in terms of convenience, labor intensiveness, cost, etc.
One of the things that is appealing about canning is that it tends to be a group activity, where people contribute their harvests, their labor and their supplies, and then share equally in the canned supplies they have produced. Maybe there are ways to organize potential canning partners through on line groups, to bring together people who want to pool their efforts. There could also be sites that allow people to sell canned goods that they produce.
steven
Post a Comment