Preserving Peach Barbecue Sauce (and Giveaway for a Bernardin Home Canning Kit)

Earlier this year, I was chatting with Amy and she told me that if I started canning I was likely to get bitten by the preserving bug. As it turns out, the girl knows what she’s talking about.

I started by signing up for an online certification in home preservation (suggested by Amy), adding a few books to the canning collection in my “library”, and getting into the kitchen to make the magic happen, five or six jam jars at a time. And while I’m not an obsessive canner, I do really like it, and look forward to the weekend when I try to carve a little time out each Saturday morning for a quick preserving project.

I set aside the time to put up the things I know my family will eat, making only the preserved goods that we’ll be excited to find in the pantry later in the year, when the markets are barren.

I’m still learning as I go, of course, but one of the things I’ve discovered is essential to the ease of canning is to have the right equipment on hand when you start. There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to dig metal lids out of a too-small pot with short tongs, all while trying to avoid burning your hands with the bubbling water. Having the all-important tools available makes the work so much easier, and for me, the Bernardin Home Canning Starter Kit is the perfect purchase for the job.

Included in the box is:

• 21 qt. covered preserving canner with canning rack
• Bubble remover and head space gauge
• Jar funnel
• Magnetic lid lifter
• Jar lifter
• Pectin
• 4-250ml jars
• Recipes and a home canning how-to DVD

Other than plenty of tea towels and clean cloths for wiping down jars (which we all have plenty of, I’m sure) I think the only thing this kit is missing is a ladle for transferring hot liquids to the jars. Otherwise, it’s a comprehensive collection of items that fit snugly inside the pot, which makes for easy storage when not in use.  As someone with a small urban kitchen, I truly appreciate that all of the items can be kept together easily.

In the past few weeks I’ve made garlic dill pickles and peach barbecue sauce. We all know how I feel about tomatoes, so the peach version of this popular summer condiment is ideal for me. Not only is it a snap to put together, but it also tastes amazing when slathered on grilled or baked chicken, and I look forward to having a few bites of summer tucked in the pantry for when the cold weather months set in later this year.

The kind people at Bernardin have a complete home canning starter kit to give away to one lucky Canadian reader. Please leave a comment below letting me know if you can, and if so what's your must-make item each year? For extra entries you can like the Family Bites Facebook page... just come back to let me know you've done so. The giveaway is open until August 11th...I will notify the winner via email shortly after that.

 A few notes:

• Canada’s first National Can-It-Forward Day is taking place on Sunday August 11^th at Cirillos Culinary Academy in Toronto. Chef Emerie Brine will be broadcasting live from the location, and the online demonstration begins at 1pm. You can register here if you’re interested, and for more information on the National Can-It-Forward Day program click here. Lastly, if you’re on Twitter you can follow the conversation using the hashtag #CanItForward or by following @Bernardin.

• Alternatively, you can host your own canning party on the same day. Last summer, my friend, Tess, and I spent a day making pizza sauce together and it was a blast. If you have like-minded people available why don’t you gather for a day of jammin’ together?

Small Batch Peach Barbecue Sauce

Makes 3 or 4 – 250ml jars

• 5 cups finely chopped pitted peaches
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup honey
• ¾ cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt

Prepare the canner, jars, and lids. Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by half.

Remove the pot from the heat and allow the sauce to cool, then purée using an immersion or regular blender, or food processor.

Ladle the hot sauce into jars, leaving ½” headspace. Wipe the rims, centre the lids on jars, and affix rings. Process the jars in a boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes.

Remove the jars from the pot and allow them to cool completely before storing.

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Disclaimer: Thanks to Bernardin for providing me with a home canning kit to sample. The words, photos, and recipe used in this post are my own.

Comments

[Anne]

I like to make chili sauce (yes, with tomatoes!) and cucumber relish. In our family we call the relish "Little Lady's Pickle" because the recipe came from a very short lady where my grandmother bought her cucumbers from in the
Holland Marsh. Last fall I also made grape jam from grapes that grew in the tiny back yard of my son's new house in downtown Toronto. The house was new to him, but it was built in 1880!

[Andrea]

I have never canned but would oh so live to try!

[ColleenB.]

I just started to can jam and jellies this year but having all the right tools sure would make it so much easier.
Thanks for sharing your peach BBQ Sauce recipe. I'm going have to try that.
ColleenB.
Texas

[Maryann]

I havent canned in years and I'd love to start again.

[Viki]

I just took a home preserving class. I am planning to make tequila red pepper jelly for Christmas gifts.

[Elizabeth]

I love canning and my daughter, who lives quite a distance from me, is expressi g interest. This would be perfect for her b

[Pat]

I love canning. Last year for the first time I made pickled beets and chili sauce and pickled garlic. It was great fun. Would love a try at this wonderful Canning gift. Thanks so much.

[Deidre]

I too love canning (and my old canner has sprung a leak -- rust-- so a new canner would be great!). Every year I can applesauce and apple/ green tomato chutney (all in an attempt to use up apples from my early producing apple tree). I also can crab apple jelly and pickled crab apples (again to deal with apples from my crab apple tree!) and Blackberry jam. Last year I made a sweet dessert chutney -- which I will definitely be doing again! This year I plan to add a tomatillo salsa and tomato sauce. I would love to add balsamic vinegar pickled onions to my repertoire -- but so far have not found a recipe....any ideas??

[A Canadian Foodie]

I am so surprised that this is a new thing for you! I have a lot of canning and preserving recipes on my site. The salsa, the homemade ketchup, mmmm... so many that I like. My ajvar - but that is really labour intensive... this sounds like a yummy sauce, too. Creative and certainly out of the box for a BBQ sauce (no molasses!!!) ;0
V

[Susan]

Haven't done this in years, would be a great activity to do with my 2 grown daughters. We could have a weekend and produce something other that receipts from store purchases !

[Meaghan]

This peach bbq sauce would be a hit with my husband! With 3 little boys at my ankles and knees, canning is slow this summer! But, I have made an order for pickling cucumbers at the market and I intend to make as many jars of dill pickles as I can to feed my family of "pickle monsters" for the year. Thanks for the chance for a canning set!

[Rebecca Park]

Sour Cherry Jam is my must can and i have some in my fridge ready to go. I would love to win then i could quit borrowing my mothers canning kettle!!

[Amy @ Family Feedbag]

Oh, I'm so proud of sending the canning bug your way, Jan, and it looks like you're doing a fab job of passing it on to others. Canning builds community! I just made some raspberry peach jam this afternoon.

[Heather]

I love canning. We have a pressure canner for doing chilis, soups, etc. My favourite is making strawberry jam and chili sauce! Great on toast or for teacher gifts!

[Lana Day]

i have been wanting to get into canning more items but never have the right things to follow through.
This set looks fantastic, a great way to start.
thanks for the chance to win

[Jen L]

I'm new to canning, but I'm looking forward to returning friends' jars with my own preserves! They make great stuff some I'm hoping they'll share a few tips

[Rebecca]

Strawberry jam. It all started when I was young, we would all go picking together as a family and then my mom and i would make jam

[Vicki H]

I've never canned, but my mom used to make raspberry jam for me when I was a kid. I'd pick the raspberries, she'd make jam. It was great.

[[email protected]]

I've canned on and off for years, depending on where we lived. Our first house came with a massive strawberry patch, so I made jam every year while we lived there. Our second house had a big, beautiful apple tree, so I switched to canning applesauce. I've made salsa and blueberry jam as well over the years. It feels pretty great to make good use of the seasonal bounty and isn't nearly as difficult as most people think!

[Christine]

Pickled beets and lots of tomatoes and tomato sauce are a must for me. So far this year, I have only made Raspberry Red Currant Jelly which is my husband's favourite. It seems to me that I have always canned. My mother did and its part of who I am. I would love a new canner, which I would definitely make great use of!! Thanks for the Peach BBQ sauce recipe - sounds delicious!

[Marissa]

I do not currently can - but with the amount of applesauce that we go through in my house on a weekly basis, I'd really like to give it a try this fall.

[Stephanie]

I enjoy canning. So far this year I have only canned Strawberry Preserves and Strawberry,Rhubarb Preserves..All in the freezer and enjoyed by me

[leah leitch]

Like you I to am a small batch canner. I love to make freezer jam and one year I made salsa and really loved it.

[Amelia]

I started canning last year and have now become obsessed with preserving everything. I've canned fruit, pie filling, pickled veggies, and over countless flavours of jam. Can't live without canned peaches and blackberry jam!

[Jeannie]

I have not canned before, but it's on my must-try/ must-do list. I am dying to try to make some blueberry jam this year.