If You Can Boil Water, You Can Make Jams, Jellies, Pickles, and Preserves Preserves and Puttin’ Up
Visions of exploding jars, glass shards littering the pantry like a war zone, and thoughts of relatives keeling over from botulism prevent most of us from attempting to make preserves. The whole process seems like some sort of mysterious alchemy, the magical secrets shared only with twinkly-eyed grandmothers in farm kitchens. Let me let you in on a secret: If you can boil water, you can make a pickle. There’s something wonderfully old-fashioned about preserves, which is one of the reasons it remains an integral part of any good Southern cook’s repertoire. I grew up in a family committed to canning and preserving. My grandparents always planted a large garden near the house and kept another plot in the rich,...