Marisa McClellan – Local Food Writer, Canning Expert, and Blogger Extraordinaire
This Saturday, we are excited to welcome Philadelphia’s own Marisa McClellan, author of the nationally renowned blog Food in Jars, who will be signing copies, in our store, of her debut book of the same name.
Our talented staff member Mandie, inspired by Marisa, gives us this interesting personal vignette of her introduction to canning. We think you’ll enjoy it!
I first became enamored with the idea of canning and home preserving shortly after I started working at Fante’s. I knew nothing about preserving at that time, since no one in my family had ever even considered it, and my interest was piqued when I noticed people purchasing huge amounts of Ball jars, usually at least two to four cases at a time. Curious, I asked one customer what they were planning on doing with all those jars. The customer replied, “I’m canning tomatoes from my garden.”
I was baffled. Why would you do that? You can buy canned tomatoes at the grocery store, I thought to myself. But my curiosity was piqued. As the summer went on, more and more people began buying Ball jars, and I kept asking. “I’m making pickles,” one customer told me, or “I just bought a bushel of peaches, and it’s jam time!” Soon my mind was bursting with inspiration of all the wonderful things I could fill my pantry with.
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Is there anything better than a beautiful fruit tart full of fresh, seasonal fruit? Well, maybe just that delicious buttery crust that can become the vessel for the fruit.
