My name is Marisa McClellan and I am the writer and canner behind Food in Jars. I grew up in Oregon, canning the local blueberries, blackberries and apples with my mom. After many years away from the canning pot, I picked up the habit again after a fruit picking trip in 2006. Since then, canning and preserving have become very regular parts of my life.
I love jars and use them for so much more than just canning. I use them to store dry goods and leftovers, catch pens, pencils and loose change and often find myself using them as drinking glasses.
Living on the 20th floor of a high rise apartment building in Center City Philadelphia means that I don’t always fit the mold of a traditional canner. However, as a lover of contradictions, I’m comfortable with the way my life is working out.
My very first book, called Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round was published in May 2012. A second book is in the works, though the title is still very much a working one.
You can also find me on my personal blog and a variety of social media channels.
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You can also reach me via email . However, do know that each new day brings a hearty wave of email crashing upon the shores of my inbox. Please be patient with me. I try and answer every email I’m sent, but it can sometimes take me weeks, particularly if I’ve been traveling in support of my book.
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[...] homemade stocks and broths. And who better to make one of these recipes for the pot luck than Marisa McClellan, whose blog, Food in Jars, extols the virtues of home canning? In her post about the ham stock [...]
[...] woman by the name of Marisa McClellan from our neighboring city Philadelphia discovered the joy of preserving her own food. She founded [...]
[...] crazy month full of reflection and obligation, I just had to return to the ease and simplicity that Marisa introduced me to last year in her Apple Sauce/Fruit Butters [...]
[...] mixes to give as gifts, there is everything you would want to know about canning. The writer, Marisa McClellan, even has a how-to on turning jam into bbq sauce- how creative! That may be what I’ll be [...]
[...] have to ask Marissa McClellan at Food in Jars. I’ve been following her blog and getting encouragement to take this first [...]
I somehow only just came across your blog… I’ve moved back to LA from Philadelphia (doh! to not being able to attend one of your canning classes!) and have three lemon trees in my backyard. After coming across your limoncello recipe, and all the other delicious looking recipes on your blog, I will actually start canning- an endeavor I have been thinking about starting for a couple of years now. Thank you for the inspiration!
I have a question that I need help with. I use Mrs. Wages dill spice mix all the time and do up my pickles and dilly beans. This year no different, except that 2 of the mixes I used turned out cloudy when I put them into my jars with my dilly beans and pickled eggs. The jars sealed alright but are they still safe to eat? one is a really dark colored and the other is very cloudy not one of the others came out this way. any help will be greatly appreciated before I go giving them away to friends and family.
Helen
Helen, I don’t know what to tell you. If you did everything as you’ve done it in the past and the jars are sealed, I would imagine it’s safe to eat. However, you’re the only one who can truly make that call. You should never eat something that makes you uncomfortable. You might want to contact the Mrs. Wages people and see if anyone else has had similar issues with their mixes this year.
Hi, I am referencing your recipe “Homemade Maple Almond Butter” from January 7th, 2011. I am interested in making this, but also making it as a gift for family. I have seen a whole lot of hub-bub on the ‘net about NOT canning homemade nut butters because they are too low in pH, too high in fat, and too dense to can properly. Now, I don’t understand how commercial nut butters with only nuts can be canned and sold on store shelves. I understand not being able to use a bath canner, but not even a pressure canner?? How is this so? Please, please! clarify this for me, as I have a restricted diet as does much of my family. Besides, who doesn’t want fresh food in an instant, homemade? Thank you so kindly in advance!
Sorry, I also meant to leave a note saying that I was going to attempt this using 4 and/or 8 ounce jars. Thanks!
I love your newsletter!
Question: For canning jams and jellies do you need a pressure cooker or would the water bath method work just as well? I read in one blog that you should use a pressure cooker vs a water bath.
Thanks,
Nancy
You do not need a pressure canner for anything high acid, which includes jams, jellies, chutneys and whole fruit. Those can all be done in a water bath canner.