Letters To The Editor

Dear Editor,

I have a lot of cabbage and would like to can it. Some people say yes, and some officials say no, that it isn’t safe. Could you please advise me?

Thank you,

CL—

Dear CL,

Cabbage can be canned safely, and I have done it. It’s no different than any other leafy vegetable. The problem is, the cabbage gets stronger and stronger the longer it sits. The first and only time I canned cabbage, I opened a jar just a few days afterwards. It tasted just fine and I thought “Ha! Take that, naysayers!” I was just a little too cocky, a little too soon. Several weeks later, the next jar I opened didn’t taste as good—definitely much stronger in flavor. By the time I opened the third jar a few weeks later? It was inedible. The flavor was horrible. Since then, my rule of thumb for single, common vegetables, as to whether to can or not, is “If you don’t see it regularly in a can on the grocery store shelves, there’s gotta be a reason.” (My only exception so far on this is canned summer squash. I’m just now beginning to see it from some manufacturers, but it is perfectly fine to can it.)

Thanks for writing!

The Editor

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Dear Editor,

I just read your article on how to grow a homemade sourdough starter. But my family has celiac disease, and cannot tolerate wheat, rye, or barley. I’ve been making my own gluten-free bread from mixes, but I miss my sourdough! I was wondering if one can start a sourdough leavening agent with any of the gluten-free flour sources: rice, tapioca, potato, sorghum, garbanzo bean, etc. Have you seen any information on that? Thanks.

Carolyn

Dear Carolyn,

I have been researching this for you and have found some interesting resources on the Web. A gluten-free base just makes it where folks have to be more creative, and I’ve found a few sources so far. Here are the two websites that I’ve found that appear to be the most promising. Please write and tell me how your experiments go!

https://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2010/10/sourdough-starter-gluten-free/

https://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/gluten-free-sourdough-starters

The Editor

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