Love in a Jar!... To preserve, means much more than meets the eye!!

Summer is coming and so is an abundance for your home grown and/or locally grown and available veges and fruits.  I never seem to be able to eat what I buy!  Eyes too big for my stomach when it comes to buying beautiful in season red juicy tomatoes or just ripe tender, small squash, or bright, crisp green beans.  I also love to have on hand my home made tomato sauce, asparagus, and roasted peppers.  Preserving gives me a feeling of accomplishment and a feeling that I have not wasted.  The feeling that I have savored all that the abundant Earth has supplied and used it in a healthy, whole, way.  It gives me a feeling of gratitude for all that we have, and can create.  There is also the feeling of neighborly fellowship when I am able to share, my favorite part!

Love in a Jar!!
A few tips will be coming starting now...
** Sterilizing Jars

Properly handled sterilized equipment will keep canned foods in good condition for years. Sterilizing jars is the first step of preserving foods.
***Sterilizing Tips:
Jars should be made from glass and free of any chips or cracks. Preserving or canning jars are topped with a glass, plastic or metal lid, which has a rubber seal. Two piece lids are best for canning, as they vacuum seal when processed.
Before filling with jams, pickles or preserves, wash jars and lids with hot, soapy water. Rinse well and arrange jars and lids open sides up, without touching, on a tray. Leave in a preheated 175 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Or boil the jars and lids in a large saucepan, covered with water, for 15 minutes.
Use tongs when handling hot sterilized jars, to move them from either boiling water or the oven. Be sure tongs are sterilized too, by dipping the ends in boiling water for a few minutes.
As a rule, hot preserves go into hot jars and cold preserves go into cold jars. All items used in the process of making jams, jellies and preserves must be clean. This includes any towels used, and especially your hands.
After the jars are sterilized, you can preserve the food. It is important to follow any canning and processing instructions included in the recipe and refer to USDA guidelines about the sterilization of canned products.
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html ( National Center for Home Food Preservation)