So you may have heard that I spoke recently with Lauren Devine, Community Marketing Manager for Ball Corporation and the company's public face of home food preservation. Among her many responsibilities are the running of Ball's Fresh Preserving website, recipe testing, and educating salespeople and retailers about home preservation methods. She started her career as an intern and has seen her role expand to it's current very broad scope. She is, basically, the canning world's go-to girl.

I started our conversation by asking her thoughts on what I see as the myth that home canning is too time intense to be useful to the average family (confession: I may have prejudiced her response by using the words "nonsense idea" or possibly even "ridiculous poppycock"). Turns out, Lauren agrees with me that canning needn't be an overwhelming time commitment. "Do your prep the night before," she explains, "And pack and process the next night. Oh, and start heating the canner before doing anything else on processing night so it will be ready when you are."

Moreover, Lauren recommends rethinking the time issue by remembering that home canned products are essentially convenience foods. "When you can food at home you're trading one night of 'babysitting' your food for many individual nights. If you're canning a sauce you're only standing over the stove doing that once, instead of a dozen times throughout the year," she reminded me.

I asked about safety education. Lauren said that she's seeing a greater understanding of the "whys" of home canning safety measures and more of a willingness on behalf of new canners to employ modern techniques. "People who have been canning a long time may not be aware of the latest methods because they don't need to seek out education," she said and recommended that even experienced canners consult with their local extension services or with the members of the Fresh Preserving forums. "There's a wealth of knowledge on the forums, "Lauren said, "And the members are very free with their support and advice." She also recommends that new and experienced canners alike double check the pH of old favorite recipes to make sure they're appropriate for the preservation method. Extension services or university agriculture programs might be of some help for this.

I wondered what Lauren's opinions of the resurgence of home canning. I have my own theories, of course (I have my own theories about everything), about why my inbox sees ever-increasing numbers of questions, but I wondered if my thoughts would be borne out by the experts. Lauren responded, "We think there are several factors causing home canning to be a re-emerging practice. The "locavore" trend is probably one factor. People are trying to eat locally and support their local communities. We see this happening in several ways, one of which is the increasing number and popularity of farmers' markets while another is CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Programs, where people can work with a local farmer to get seasonal produce in exchange for a fee and/or by helping on the farm. Whichever way you get your produce, to eat local during the winter months is more of a challenge so people are preserving their locally purchased food during spring and summer to enjoy out of season."

I mentioned the current inflationary economy, too, echoing some my correspondents' questions about whether home canning is really a money-saver. "Yes, that's part of it, too. We have seen a 30% increase in sales in the last year of large glass Ball® jars which are often used for food storage of rice, flour and sugar," she told me, "With rising food prices, more people are turning to home canning and food storage as a way to save money." I told Lauren that I don't believe that home canning necessarily results in the most rock-bottom cheap food but rather it's in bringing other values into the equation that makes it such an attractive proposition - values, at my house, that include family, environment, community and a certain DIY-ethos. "Yes," Lauren agreed, "Today, we have access to produce in several different ways throughout the year, so we don't necessary home can to survive through winter. We home can for a sense of accomplishment, to create something new or different not available at the grocery store, to create special gifts for others and to control the food which you consume. Home canning allows you to have control over what goes into your food. There are more and more people with food allergies and special diet needs such as low sodium or lower sugar options. With this control, you know you are providing your family the healthiest and safest food possible."

I asked Lauren what she would recommend as a good project for a first-time canner. "For someone just getting started, I would recommend making a freezer jam with Ball® Simple Creations® Freezer Jam Pectin. There is no cooking involved and you only need 2 other ingredients. This recipe can be made in less than 30 minutes and you preserve by freezing up to 1 year or refrigerating for up to 3 weeks. After that, I would recommend moving up to a cooked jam or jelly using one of our three pectin products. Each pectin has an insert that contains tips for making homemade jam and jelly, an equipment listing, and full recipe and home canning instructions. Plus, there are many recipes to choose from within the insert. These recipes are mainly home canned and can be stored up to 1 year in the pantry."

And for someone more experienced? "A more seasoned canner would probably like to try their hand in one of our newer, trendy recipes they have never tried before. Or, they may like to try fermented pickles like our grandmothers used to do. This process can take up to 6 weeks - so this may be more challenging for them!" (For my part, I'm planning on a bit of Lemon Sage Wine Mustard - a bit of that on my shelf would make a long winter much spicier, indeed.)

After 45 minutes of bending her ear, I allowed Lauren to escape both me and her phone. I really appreciated her time - it's not often I get to talk about canning as much as I want - and all of the effort she puts into the recipes in Ball's books and on the Fresh Preserving website. (More than that, she laughed when I said how little esteem I hold for piccalilli - not to be underestimated.) I'd been getting into a bit of a rut, recipe-wise (mango jam again) but with her hard work and encouragement I see so much more inspiration. Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce! Bruschetta in a Jar! Ya'll know what I'll be doing this summer, right? Join me?