Canning revival

…In a throwback to the days when our parents and grandparents filled their pantries with enough jam, pickles and preserves to carry their families through the winter, urbanities are flocking to canning demos and preserve parties across the city.

Suddenly hip, canning seems to be the logical next step in the local food movement.

Brine works for Bernardin, the 100-year-old home-canning company, and says product sales are up 20 per cent this fall over last.

The surge could be, in part, because people are trying to save money during the recession, says Brine, who has been swamped with requests for demonstrations this fall. But increasingly people just want to know where their food comes from, says Brine. “I think that they’re going back to basics.”

Mary-Margaret McMahon, self-described community “eco-witch,” is the driving force behind the canning seminars on the Danforth, which resume in late October, with apples and cranberries.

Back in June, McMahon organized a “green caf