Fall fruits are at their peak, and one way to preserve their freshness for year-round enjoyment is by water-bath canning at home. Despite urban myths about the degree of difficulty involved, home canning can be simple, rewarding, inexpensive and even slightly addictive.

Is canning time-consuming? It can be, depending on the type and quantity of food you are canning. Does it require some preparation and planning? Yes, but as you get used to the process, it becomes second nature.

On a cold winter’s morning, you’ll be thanking yourself as you pop open a jar of perfectly preserved pears to pile on top of a steaming hot bowl of oatmeal. It’s food for the soul. Not to mention, serving homemade applesauce at Thanksgiving is a memorable way to impress your guests. Offering tomato-peach salsa at that New Year’s potluck? Now you’re talking. As an added bonus, home-canned goods make great gifts. Forget about Christmas shopping for your family – everybody likes opening a box of your handmade goodies.

Local farmer and rancher Kali Fassett, of Fassett Hay and Cattle, is a mother of three who cans more than enough fruits and vegetables to feed her family throughout the year, with enough left over to give as gifts. For Fassett and her husband, canning is a tradition passed down from both of their families. “It’s therapeutic,” she says. “I love to go to spend time canning to be able to provide for my family.” When she cans, it brings back warm memories of her grandmother and her husband’s grandmother, both now deceased, keeping them close to her heart by cherishing their old recipes.

Procuring fruit locally is an art in itself. With fruit-scouting stealth, daily dog walks take on new meaning as you secretly eye your neighborhood fruit trees, taking mental notes about what to find where as harvest season approaches.

Sometimes, neighbors can be bribed to share their bounty, in exchange for a few cans of your finished product. If you can’t find fruit growing near you, check the local fruit gleaning bulletin board offered on Bear Smart Durango’s website at http://bearsmartdurango.org/fruit-gleaning-program.

If climbing trees to harvest backyard fruit is not your thing, or maybe you don’t have access to young children to do the work for you, then you can buy unblemished fruit by the case at the MLS fruit stand, located in the parking lot of Durango High School and open through Oct. 18, or at the Durango Farmers Market.

Most of the pears that grow around Durango are Bartlett pears, said Darrin Parmenter of the La Plata County CSU Extension Office. Pears ripen from the inside out, so they are harvested before they appear ripe. Unlike with apples, there is a narrow window in which to pick pears. If they are picked too late, Parmenter said, they might turn mealy and brown. When the pears start falling from the trees, they’re ready, he said. He also described how to test for ripeness by holding the attached pear horizontal to the tree, and twisting gently. If it comes off easily, then it’s ready.

Parmenter said after harvesting, pears can be kept in cold storage at 32 to 35 F, and brought to ripen at room temperature about a week before you are ready to use them.

Apples are sweeter if harvested after a frost, Parmenter said, but then you will be competing with bears and birds for the sweet fruit.

Any type of local apple is suitable for applesauce. If you’re lucky enough, like Parmenter, then you just might have access to honey crisps, which are the sweetest apples for making sauce.

Food safety is of primary concern in the home canning process.

To minimize the risk of introducing food-borne pathogens into the canned product, familiarize yourself with the recipe before getting started, and follow the directions carefully.

Wendy Rice, also of the La Plata County CSU Extension Office, reminds everyone to use a recipe from a reputable source and to remember to adjust the water-bath time (also called the processing time) to account for the fact that water boils at a lower temperature at our altitude.

Food poisoning can be a serious health threat, with the potential to cause permanent neurological damage or even death. As a general rule, do not eat food from a jar if the lid is bulging, seeping or the food looks moldy.

Before getting started, double check that you have all your equipment and ingredients.

Once you start the process, there won’t be time for a trip to the store.

Preparing the fruit can be labor- and time-intensive. To save time and energy, peel many apples at once, before quartering and coring them.

Many recipes call for an artificial product to sprinkle over your fruit to prevent browning during preparation; I simply squeeze lemon juice moderately over the fruit bowl and toss evenly every five minutes or so to prevent browning.

The CSU Extension Office website has detailed information about how to can fruit, including a chart with recipes, boiling times at different altitudes and food safety information.

For Rice, canning can be an opportunity to gather with friends, where beginners can learn from their more experienced peers. “Even if somebody is just keeping the coffee fresh or reading the recipe, it’s nice to have some people to laugh with,” she said.

Lastly, home-canned foods have a secret but perceptible ingredient that money can’t buy. Fassett just finished canning her family’s stock of applesauce and raspberry jam this past weekend. Afterward, her young son devoured a whole pint of applesauce on his own.

“It’s just one of those things that kind of warms your heart, when you are able to do that,” she said proudly. He obviously could taste the secret ingredient – love.

Stephanie Harris, DC, is a Durango chiropractor, former registered dietitian and mother of two with a passion for helping people live healthier lifestyles. Reach her at [email protected].