Where can I learn more about home canning and food preservation?
The Iowa State University Extension office in Johnson County has DVDs and videos on home canning that can be checked out. For more information, call (319) 337-2145. In addition, the University of Illinois Extension Service offers a Master Food Preserver course at various locations around the state. The course certifies home food canners in the latest canning techniques. For more information, contact Camp at (309) 836-2647 or e-mail scamp@uiuc.edu . Before the 19th century, foods were dried, smoked and salted, or preserved in sugar to keep from spoiling, so the advent of fruit jars offered huge potential for food preservation. Early jar-sealing methods included waxed paper, leather or skin topped with cork stoppers and sealing wax. This all changed in 1858 when a New Yorker named John L. Mason invented you guessed it the Mason jar. Mason invented a machine that could cut threads into zinc lids; add a rubber ring and, voila!, a simple, reusable and affordable screw-on lid. The jar includ
