Can-do

Salsas, jams, vegetables – choose a canning category and its likely Diane Roupe has at least one blue ribbon from the Iowa State Fair in it, if not more.

Not too shabby for a woman who once had very little canning experience.

“My mother and my grandmother both canned, but I actually never canned myself until I started working on my ‘Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook',” Roupe says in a recent phone interview from her West Des Moines home.

Roupe's classic cookbook, which was first published in 1998, plays homage to Midwestern foods, from soups to desserts. Roupe moved back to Iowa from New York City in the late 1980s to write the cookbook, spending the next decade creating and testing recipes – including those for the canning chapter.

“I learned how to can just for that original book and fell in love with it,” Roupe says.

Her research led to a successful track record competing in the Iowa State Fair, of which she now serves as a primary judge.

The chapter of canning recipes is not included in the latest edition of Roupe's “Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook,” but her new cookbook – “Blue Ribbon Country Canning: Traditional and New Favorites” -- is dedicated to the classic kitchen practice.

“Canning has really come back, although for some, it never went away,” she says.

Drawing on her experience as a food judge, where there sharing of information is just as important as highlighting great food, Roupe set out to write a canning cookbook that covered all aspects of the practice, from jar preparation to storage. All information is in compliance with the U.S. Department of Agriculture canning regulations.

“The recipes are very detailed,” Roupe says. “They tell you exactly how to do everything in clear, plain English,” Roupe says.

She stresses that recipe length doesn't play a factor in her book. Information – the right information – has top billing.

“If it takes a whole page to have a proper recipe, then it takes a whole page,” she says. “If it takes one paragraph, fine, and if it takes two pages, fine. I want people to have the information they need to do this right.”

She writes for both experienced canners and beginners, although she emphasizes that those new to the practice need to be properly informed and properly prepared before they begin.

“It's not something you can decide to do on a whim,” she says. “It's fun to do, but it takes come concerted effort to do it right. Once you do, you'll get caught up and you'll love it.”

Roupe will be in Eastern Iowa this weekend to sign copies of “Blue Ribbon Country Canning: Traditional and New Favorites.” She's scheduled for appearances at the Barnes & Noble stores in Coralville and Cedar Rapids.

Roupe was the first author signing at the Coral Ridge Mall Barnes & Noble where she has a tradition of bringing fudge to every author event.

“I was actually planning on doing something with canning, but I was asked specifically if I'd bring fudge,” Roupe says with a laugh. “Word gets around.”

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Author Appearances:

--- Saturday, May 18: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Barnes & Noble in the Coral Ridge Mall, 1451 Coral Ridge Ave. Suite 1108 in Coralville

--- Sunday, May 19: 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Barnes & Noble in Northland Square, 333 Collins Road NE in Cedar Rapids

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Cherry Jam

This recipe was awarded first place overall among all canned jams (20 classes) at the 1992 Iowa State Fair.

• 6 cups pitted, tart red cherries (4 cups chopped cherries; see recipe procedures, below)
• 5 cups sugar
• 1 1¾-ounce package powdered fruit pectin

Place unpitted cherries in the sink filled with cold water. Sort and stem the cherries, discarding any cherries that float. Drain the cherries in a colander. Pit the cherries (see Note 1).

Measure 6 cups pitted cherries, including the juice. In a food processor, chop ¼ of the pitted cherries at a time, using 3 quick on/off turns (see Note 2). Place the chopped cherries, with the juice, in a mixing bowl.

Measure 4 cups chopped cherries, including the accumulated juice, and place in an 8-quart, heavy-bottomed, stainless steel kettle; set aside. Place the sugar in a large mixing bowl; set aside.

Add the petin to the chopped cherries in the kettle; stir well to combine. Over high heat, bring the cherry mixture to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Immediately add the sugar and return the cherry mixture to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring continuously. Boil the mixture exactly 2 minutes (use a timer), stirring constantly. Immediately remove from heat and skim the foam off the jam, using tableware tablespoons and teaspoons. Stir and skim the jam 10 additional minutes, or until the mixture thickens sufficiently that the cherry pieces will distribute evenly in the jam and not float to the top of the jars (see Note 3); let stand.

Drain hot, sterilized half-pint jars, upside down, on a clean tea towel.

Using a 1-cup measuring cup with a pouring spout, pour the hot jam into the drained jars, leaving ¼-inche headspace. Wipe the jar rims and threads. Place hot, metal lids on the jars and screw the bands firmly.

Process in a boiling-water canner for the time shown in the processing times. 0 to 1,000 feet: 5 minutes for half-pint jars; 1,001 to 6,000 feet: 10 minutes for half-pint jars; above 6,000 feet: 15 minutes for half-pint jars.

Remove the jars from the canner and place them on a dry, wooden board that has been covered with a tea towel. Let the jars stand, undisturbed, 12 hours to cool completely.

Note 1: The Westmark brand Kirschomat cherry pitter is an efficient tool for this task.

Note 2: If a food processor is not available, cut the pitted cherries into eighths.

Note 3: Experience in jam making is the nest teacher here, but the author finds that 10 minutes in, on average, about the correct amount of time for additional stirring and skimming of Cherry Jam after initially skimming the foam off the jam. (Many but not all fruit jams made with powdered fruit pectin are ready for pouring into the jars immediately after skimming.)

Yields about 6 half-pints

Source: Blue Ribbon Country Canning: Traditional and New Favorites by Diane Roupe (Egg & Dart; May 7, 2013)