Harvesting and Canning

The first of the harvests are almost upon us! Along with that comes the need to harvest and preserve your bounty. The Essex County Co-Op has all of the tools you need to harvest and preserve with ease! We have a wide selection of canning tools and canning preservatives, berry boxes, and fruit pickers.

To enjoy or preserve your crops, you must first pick them. The Co-Op sells a fruit picker that has a telescoping handle that reaches eight feet, allowing it to reach the tallest of the fruit trees. With a foam bottom, the basket of this fruit picker protects the fruit during harvest. It is easy to use this fruit picker, simply hook the vinyl coated teeth above the fruit where it meets the tree, and gently pull, releasing the fruit into the basket. While the fruit picker is good for things such as apples or peaches, berries often require berry boxes. The Co-Op has berry boxes that are sold singly or buy the sleeve in ½ pint, pint, and quart sizes.

Once it is picked, harvests begin to age and they will often spoil quickly if they are not properly preserved. The easiest way to do this is through canning. While 2020 saw a shortage of canning supplies, the Co-Op has them in stock now! We have a variety of canning jar sizes and shapes, as well as replacement lids and bands. Additionally, there are a multitude of tools that go along with these jars. Among other things, we have pressure canners that ensure proper pressurization and sealing, and canning tongs and canning racks to make canning a breeze.

Canning is only part of the harvest preservation battle. Many times, additives are neededwhen canning to ensure proper preservation. There are many common additives, such as pectin or citric acid, however, the Co-Op also has a variety of Mrs. Wages spices and mixes to liven up your canning routine. Mixes such as salsa mix, dill pickle mix, or pasta sauce mix are popular. These spice packets have all of the dry ingredients that you need to turn your harvest into a delicious, preserved product.

This year the Co-Op has started carrying a modern, one-of-a-kind pickling kit. These award-winning pickles are made fresh, in a pickling bag. These kits are made in Derry, New Hampshire by Mark Lonardo. These pickling kits come in bags that you use to pickle the cucumbers, and the mix is free of preservatives, dyes, or anti-caking agents. We have a variety of flavors in stock, all of which are $3.99 and make approximately 1 ½ pounds of pickles.