I haven't posted anything here in a very long time. My definition of local ecology has remained the same, but my interest has become more focused on food than on politics. And specifically, I'm going to be exploring the fine points of preserving local harvests. I wish my grandmothers were still here to teach me. They both canned extensively from their large gardens. But they've been gone for many years, so I'm going to have to learn on my own.
For the past two years, I've canned beets. Last year, I also canned dilly beans. And I froze strawberries, blueberries, pesto, and roasted tomatoes. This year, I've been making tomato sauce and (peach) chutney for canning. I switched recipes on the beets (fermented vs pickled) and lost the entire effort. I had hoped to can salsa as well, but after reading through the reference materials I found on the web, I've found that it's different from tomato sauce and needs to have the acidity balanced. But why? I need to understand the science behind those instructions.
