Last week, the staff at Not Far From the Tree had the honour of being invited into the home of Joel and Dana, those crafty foodie folks behind the amazing blog Well Preserved. What started last December as a plan to blog once a day for 100 days has continued into a preserving marathon. Since June they have made over 50 batches, to the point where Joel can now reach into a hot water canning bath and remove the jars with his bare hands. Ladies and gentlemen, this is serious.

Fruit in tow, Laura, Marc and I came to learn as much firsthand as we could. We also found ourselves oooh-ing and aaah-ing over a towering shelf of scrumptious preserves, micro-brewery beer, and their delightful puppy. We brought a smorgasbord of locally-foraged fruit: apples from Spadina Museum, pears from an urban backyard, and leftover grapes from a friend’s own canning experiments. In the end, we canned applesauce, whole pears in syrup, and grape jelly.

Most importantly, however, we came to EAT! We were the dazzled recipients of a never-ending parade of homemade preserves paired with resplendent cheeses, artisan bread, and even a blowtorched banana.  Throughout our peeling, coring, and cutting of apples and pears, we were serenaded with canning stories and tips. Every new shared recipe made me add another question to my list of Things to Ask.  Both patient and exuberant, Joel never ran out of energy — even when both Laura and I were almost falling asleep. Must…finish…canning…pears…!!!!

If you haven’t yet heard of WellPreserved.Ca, you should now make it a part of your daily routine. There are recipes, advice, and first hand disasters learning-experiences on the record as Joel and Dana recount the ups and further ups of trying out new preserving techniques.  And they have an uncanny ability to take the mystery out of preserving and turn it into the best Monday night you’ve had all year.

Thanks, Joel and Dana!

Tags: "well preserved", canning, preserving, toronto