A twist on 'putting up'

Author balances tradition with science-grounded safety measures

If a person can boil water, he has the ability to can foods, says Steve Dowdney, and do so more safely and efficiently than Grandma.

Dowdney, of Mount Pleasant, opens his recipe box of relishes, preserves, soups, sauces and know-how in a new cookbook, "Putting Up — A Year-Round Guide to Canning in the Southern Tradition" (Gibbs Smith, $19.99).

He is a familiar face at the Charleston and Mount Pleasant farmers markets, where he sells jars of foodstuffs under The Colonial Charleston Kitchen label. He also canned for several years under the Rockland Plantation name, after his grandparents' home on Wadmalaw Island. It's the place that fostered his lifelong appreciation for fresh, local foods and the desire to keep Southern traditions alive.

Preserving food is as relevant to the contemporary cook as it was for generations past, says Dowdney, but the reasons have changed.

Canning in the 20th century was driven in part by frugality, the need to conserve, especially during tough economic times. Also, there simply wasn't a variety of "fresh" foods available to buy throughout the year.

Today, consumers are coming full circle. As American taste buds become newly discriminating, more people are reconnecting to the appeal of "locally grown" and appreciating the art of making food, especially homemade.

"It's something traditional in our past, but something that's coming back because with fresh fruit and a little bit of time, you can prepare a gourmet dinner for your family," says Dowdney. "You cannot go to a store, no matter how much you pay, where you get the flavors in home canning."

Dowdney, who threads the book with personal stories and observations, tries to make the process better and easier for experienced and novice canners alike. A few examples include:

--To ensure absolute safety, the canning practices in the book follow FDA requirements. "Old-time canning was not safe," Dowdney says. He clearly and thoroughly explains steps that will eliminate the risk of deadly bacteria being able to grow in a jarred product. Some of the steps will be new to veteran canners, such as testing for pH levels.

--"Boiling water to sterilize jars is a 20-minute waste of time," he says. Instead, he simply submerges jars and lids in a bleach-and-water solution. Drained, they are ready for canning.

--Processing jars of hot-pack items — such as the accompanying recipe for peach chutney — in a boiling water bath is a "redundancy," Dowdney says. By measuring temperature and the pH level (if necessary), food can be put in sterilized jars that are sealed and turned upside down for two minutes. That further sterilizes the lid and softens the seal for a tight vacuum, he says.

"We control temperature, we test acidity and we ensure sterility. Those three things are in every jar that comes out of the book."

Dowdney's path to canning foods, like the book itself, was unorthodox. Almost two decades ago, he walked — rather, sailed — away from a high-powered job with an investment house in Seattle. He also relinquished substantial assets that he might have gotten in a divorce, such as a plane and a summer home.

Because it wouldn't sell, he took only one remnant of his former life, a 25-foot sailboat that he didn't even trust to sail on a local lake. "But in my new frame of mind," he says with a laugh, "I decided I would sail it to Charleston."

Dowdney headed out to sea, with no life jacket on board, no care about danger or his safety. He "hung a left" about 40 miles off the coast, heading south, when the winds came.

He started bailing, waist-deep in freezing water. He kept at it for 48 hours straight while the wooden boat "tightened up." "No man has ever bailed more, or wanted to live more, than I did," Dowdney recalls.

That experience gave him a new resolve. He and his son eventually did make it back to Charleston in the boat, and Dowdney started over by carrying on the tradition he witnessed as a boy on his grandparents' farm: canning Lowcountry foods.

His grandmother not only produced for her own pantry, but had a commercial canning venture from Rockland Plantation that once made news in The New York Times.

Fourteen years down the road, Dowdney, 64, is still "putting up" and has become a perfectionist of his craft, balancing the Southern heritage of artichoke relish and red pepper jelly with science-grounded safety measures. The recipes progress through the seasons, month by month. How-to information addresses equipment and supplies, tricks of the trade and a resource list.

Canning is a pleasure because it gives "a real sense of accomplishment" to the cook, Dowdney says. Jarred preserves or pickles as gifts make a big impression; the recipients are very appreciative of one's time and effort, he adds.

"When you do something like that, people comment on it," he says.

And in the arsensal of hospitality foods, items such as peach chutney and mint jelly always are on the mark.

"I call a group of these the fastest hors d'oeuvres in the South," Dowdney says. "Dump them over a block of cream cheese and you're ready to go."

Recipe

This is Dowdney's most popular chutney. He suggests placing some in a condiment bowl when serving chicken, pork or any curry dish.

All recipes in the book appear with canning notes in addition to the ingredients.

Peach Chutney

Canning notes:

--This is a hot pack, acid recipe.

--pH is not an issue. No testing is required.

--The recipe makes 10 or more pints or 21 half pints.

--The recipe can be halved or doubled.

Ingredients:

10 pounds peaches, peeled, pitted and diced

1/4 cup mustard seed

1/4 cup red pepper flakes

3 1/2 pounds sugar

1 pint white vinegar (5 percent acidity)

1/4 pound crystallized ginger

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3/4 pound raisins

Prepare and place all ingredients in a pot. Cook down on a low boil until thick, raisins float and temperature goes above 212 degrees (all water is cooked out). Do not cook beyond this point.

Hot pack above 195 degrees according to these practices:

--Jars and lids have been sterilized (2 tablespoons bleach per gallon of warm water).

--Jars have been filled to the canning line.

--The finished jars will be inverted for a minimum of 2 minutes.

Teresa Taylor is the food editor. Reach her at food@postandcourier.com or 937-4886.

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