Comments on: Talkin’ ‘Bout a Can-volution

By: Repinning Can-a-rama 2012 : A Cantastic Giveaway – Canning Across America

Repinning Can-a-rama 2012 : A Cantastic Giveaway – Canning Across America — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:14:08 +0000

[...] We’re trying something a little different but true to our social media roots. [...]

By: Mark Your Calendars: Can-A-Rama 2010 – Canning Across America

Mark Your Calendars: Can-A-Rama 2010 – Canning Across America — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:52:08 +0000

[...] the growing season underway in most parts of the country, we are ramping up for Year Two of the Canvolution and hope you’ll join us at the canning kettle once [...]

By: Welcome to the Canvolution « There’s a hipster in my latte

Welcome to the Canvolution « There’s a hipster in my latte — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:44:00 +0000

[...] A few months ago, the ridiculous yet continuously inspiring thing that is Twitter sprouted yet another movement: The Canvolution. Essentially, one person asked if others were interested in learning more about canning and the art of “putting food by.” The response from all corners was resoundingly positive, and the result was a summer and fall full of classes, events and blogging on canning and preserving. The Canning Across America homepage has more details, and mastermind Kim O’Donnel has blogged about the Canvolution’s full history. [...]

By: Kim O'Donnel - Licking Your Chops – Meatless Monday: Parlez-vous Pickles? - True/Slant

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:57:33 +0000

[...] But everything’s different now, ever since the Canvolution. Let me explain. [...]

By: Kim O'Donnel - Licking Your Chops – Learning to Can, Lid by Lid - True/Slant

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:20:35 +0000

[...] As reported to you a few weeks ago, I got a crazy idea inspired by this groovy project in the Bay area and shared it with my peeps in the Twitterverse. The idea: to organize a day or series of days focused on the revival of the lost art of “putting up” food, a coast-to-coast can-a-rama, if you will, with folks around the country joining a grassroots canvolution. Bread and butter pickles. Photo by Viv/Seattle Bon Vivant [...]

By: Brandied Cherries Offer Sweet Way to Toast NW's Bumper Crop | Daily Blog Posting

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:23:39 +0000

[...] by veteran food writer Kim O’Donnel, former Washington Post-er whose work can now be found on TrueSlant.com. The “Canning Across America” is a work-in-progress involved in setting up [...]

By: brenherrera

brenherrera — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:29:42 +0000

I’m not sure what cooking method everyone is proposing to use in canning, seeing as though I’ve never done it. However, if you approach canning using a pressure cooker, which is what I assume most people used in the 60s/70s, then I’m for the argument that it is in fact more energy efficient and saves money. Pressure cooking alone saves up 70% of cooking time, so that anything that would normally take 4 hours (dry beans) takes no more than about 45 minutes (w/out soaking). You could take those same beans and freeze them (for those arguing for freezing). By the same token, if you take veggies, fruits, etc.. and can them using the pressure cooker, you’re saving time and money as you’re not cooking conventionally long times and your gas/electric bills (stove, oven, fridge) go way down! I promise. I have about 6 pressure cookers, combo of vintage and new, and just bought two more this weekend! Talk about a lost art! I’m on a mission to reintroduce it to the masses! So, count me in for the canning project! I’ll be the Atlanta rep!

By: fran426

fran426 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:37:02 +0000

The only problem with freezing is that we live in an area where electric blackouts do happen. Last winter there was a terrible ice storm that knocked out our power for 4 days!

We do freeze some berries, but we can jam and tomatoes. I’m so glad we did a lot of crushed tomatoes last year – this may be the year of no tomatoes because late blight, the cause of the Irish potato famine, has spread throughout the Hudson River Valley due to the cold, wet weather and possibly to infected plants that home growers bought from Home Depot and Lowes (at least according to the NY Times).

By: lineargirl

lineargirl — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:54:36 +0000

Canning does save me money. I’ve evaluated the costs of the seeds, water to grow them, initial out-lay for cans (depreciated each additional year I use them), new lids each year, and the energy to run the stove. I still come out (just barely) ahead of the store prices (water is expensive in Southern California; without that high cost I’d be far ahead of store prices). For the record, I just can fruit, tomatoes and pickles. I freeze all my vegetables and I save even more money here.

Your argument that it comes at a low wage rate presumes that I would otherwise be producing income with the time spent canning. That’s just not true for me. A better argument would be to compare the cost of alternative entertainment I’d be pursuing if I wasn’t gardening and preserving.

Yesterday was a perfect example of this principle at work. I spent an hour in the garden picking corn and green beans. I spent another hour washing, blanching and freezing the beans and some of the corn. I only ended up with five quarts of produce so it was a very small return for two hours of labor. Later in the day we went wine tasting for about two hours and we spent $300. Wine tasting and buying may be an extreme example, but I might have gone to the local minor league baseball game ($15 for admission and beer) or to the new Harry Potter movie ($12 for admission and red vines) and either would have cost a lot more than my food preserving activity.

By: Russ Walker

Russ Walker — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:03:52 +0000

Botulism and sterilization … scary stuff. But you’re overstating the threat. Little old ladies mastered the art of canning before penicillin. Methinks the DIY’ers of the 21st century can learn how to can safely.

As for industrial agriculture providing cheap food — “cheap” in absolute pricing standards, but not in total costs, which involve energy and public health costs.

And in a recession, putting money into the pockets of local farmers sounds a heck of a lot more stimulating than sending money to Cargill or Tyson’s.