Canning

Home-canned tomatoes are one of those pantry staples that make you feel genuinely self-sufficient.  Open a jar in the middle of February, and the smell alone, which is sweet, acidic, and faintly grassy, brings summer right back into your kitchen. You grew them, you packed them, and you made them last. Not sure how to …

If you’ve ever stood over a pot of just-picked tomatoes and thought, “I should be canning these,” you’re not alone. Home canning is one of the most rewarding skills a homesteader or backyard gardener can learn… and one of the most misunderstood. The biggest stumbling block for beginners isn’t necessarily the process itself. It’s deciding …