Prairie Fare: Preserving food safely — blending tradition with science

“I need you to stay out of the kitchen for a while. I am pressure canning green beans,” my mom would say.

I’d be stationed at the picnic table on the patio, trimming and slicing green beans. After the beans were cut in uniform lengths, I brought the beans to the front door for further rinsing and processing in the house. I stayed outside.

Every year, I’d hear the story about my neighbor’s pressure c…