Anybody who says you can’t bottle up sunshine and save it for a winter’s day hasn’t tasted my canned tomatoes. You see, now is the best time to preserve summer fruits and veggies for later. You won’t spend an arm and a leg for the cream of the crop at the grocery store because fresh fruits and vegetables are at their cheapest. And if you have a garden, your crop is likely to start overflowing, which is why I want to share a few tips with y’all about canning. Canning 101 will teach you everything you need to know about canning and preserving, especially when it comes to those plump, juicy tomatoes. This time of year I eat ‘em like apples. Tasteless winter tomatoes don’t hold a candle to the summertime ones that I call “elbow lickers”—when I sink my teeth into ‘em, the juices run straight down my arm.

It would be like going back on my raisin’ if I didn’t can. I remember my Aunt Peggy making homemade pickles and serving them at every meal. They tasted as fresh as the day she canned them, and us kids would see how many we could stuff into our mouths before she noticed. Sometimes she’d get mad, saying how much work went into making ‘em. She’d slave over huge pots of boiling water for days and days. It was hot enough to peel house paint in that little kitchen. Come wintertime, we were sure glad she did.

But I’m here to tell y’all that canning doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, once you get the hang of it, it’s as easy as pie. Right now I’m in the middle of making jams and jellies for my niece Corrie’s wedding in November—the perfect gift with just the right touch of home.

I want to bring the lost art of canning back so that families can keep on it for generations. And I’m happy to do my part by sharing what I know with y’all here on the site, including a bunch of delicious, easy recipes like Strawberry-Apricot Preserves and Blueberry Lemon Preserves. And if you’re still hungry for more, be sure to check out the July/August issue of Cooking with Paula Deen where we’re running a big piece on canning and preserving with 12 more recipes that I know you’ll be dying to try.

And if you’re still hungry for more, be sure to check out the July/August issue of Cooking with Paula Deen where we’re running a big piece on canning and preserving with 12 more recipes that I know you’ll be dying to try like:

Canned Tomatoes
Strawberry Balsamic Jam
Blackberry Jam
Raspberry Fig Preserves
Suzie’s Peach Pickles
Green Tomato Chutney
Strawberry-Apricot Preserves
Blueberry Lemon Preserves