One of the best things about visiting our grandparents in August was most definitely "canning season". The men were banished to the back porch, peelers or paring knives in hand, colanders at the ready. It was their job to prepare the freshly gathered produce for the next step in its journey, whether it was to be packed in hot, freshly-sterilized glass jars, or popped into the canning kettle.

The kitchen was redolent with the enticing odors of hot, sweet fruit juices mingled with just the right blend of sugar and spices. Granny and our mother bustled from stove, to counter, to table and back, stirring, seasoning, packing jars, wiping sticky, fruit-stained hands on their aprons, and gently pouring the boiling syrup over the jewel-like fruits.

Pickle days were almost as enticing, but woe-betide the hapless passer-by who blundered into the kitchen while mustard pickles were underway. The nose-wrinkling stink of vinegar and hot mustard hit the unguarded nostril with an unmistakable pungency, driving the unwary from the battlefield, gasping for fresh, breathable air. I am amazed we ever enjoyed those wretched pickles after such an encounter, but they were a perennial family favorite - crisp, crunchy, and delightfully spicy on the tongue.

One of the best parts of having your own garden is enjoying the fruits of your labor come the harvest - pun intended.

It's great to be able to pick your salad, fresh from the garden - crisp lettuce, crunchy radishes, sweet baby carrots...and don't forget a fingerling zucchini or two.

Your raspberry canes have provided you with succulent red berries for your cereal every morning, and the ever-bearing strawberries were never sweeter.

Your garden has done you proud this season. You may have had a skirmish or two with the odd slug, and perhaps you've had to discourage the aphids with a soapy bath to discourage them from feasting on your currant bushes, but, all in all, it has been a very productive summer in you little corner of heaven.

Now - what to do with all that lovely produce...

Tradition dictates canning and cold storage, but many of us don't have the luxury of a cold room in our finished basements - at least not one dedicated to storing canned goods and root vegetables.

My grandparents, both sets, had a cold room in the basement that was lined with shelves for the jars full of preserves, and had two or three sand-filled bins on the floor for carrots, potatoes, and the like.

Nowadays, most of us have to make do with a shelf or two in the pantry cupboard...but there is always the freezer. True, you cannot store things as long, and getting the excess air out of the bags to prevent spoilage and freezer burn can be problematic.

Technology has made great strides, though. Recently, I was given a wonderful counter-top vacuum sealer that sucks all the air out of the freezer bag, keeping the contents free from freezer burn for a much longer period.

I am still a big fan of the traditional canning kettle. Nothing fills the eye like a shelf or two of home-made jams and jewel-toned jellies lined in gleaming ranks next to several quarts of your favorite pickles and relishes.

I will often put up half pints of relishes and tiny decorative jars of winter favorites like spiced crab apples, for Christmas gift-giving.

Tuck a jar or two into a festive basket with some home-made crackers, all tied up with gauzy ribbon and a sparkling Christmas ball for a welcome and thoughtful hostess gift.

No Hub that includes my granny would be complete without at least one of her treasured recipes.

Here are two favorite preserves:

Spiced Beets

Ingredients:

• 3 quarts small beets
• 1 pint cider vinegar
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tsp ground Allspice
• 12 whole cloves
• 3 or 4 hot, sterilized half-pint sealers with rings and lids
  

Method:

• Boil beets until tender, then top, tail, and peel in cold water
• As fast as beets are peeled, drop then into hot,sterilized jars
• Combine vinegar and sugar, and boil for 3 minutes
• Into each pint jar of beets put 1/2 tsp of the Allspice and 4 whole cloves
• Pour in boiling vinegar mixture and seal

You may need to make another batch of the vinegar mixture to cover all the beets.

Pepper Relish

Ingredients:

• 6 red peppers
• 6 green peppers
• 3 medium onions
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

• Wash peppers and cut in quarters
• Remove and discard the seeds and chop peppers finely
• Peel and chop onions finely
• Mix all ingredients together in large pot and boil fro 15 minutes
• Pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal

Sit back and listen for that lovely, sharp "pop" as the preserves cool and the lids seal.

Now, that is the sound of a summer well-spent!