5@5 is a food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

Editor's Note: Sherri Brooks Vinton is the author of “Put ‘em Up!” and “Put ‘em Up! Fruit.” When she’s not at the stove, she’s on the road teaching fellow eaters how to find, cook and preserve local, seasonal, farm friendly food. To find out more, visit sherribrooksvinton.com. 

“That was so EASY!”

It’s the number one comment I hear at the end of my food preservation classes. Canning, fermenting, drying - there are a lot of ways to preserve your own food at home and the techniques are much simpler than you think. Getting started is probably the hardest part; the process is simple and the equipment needs are, in most cases, minimal.

So if you’ve been thinking about putting up a little something, let this be your season.

My Top Five Food Preserving Questions: Sherri Brooks Vinton
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5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

Now that spring is upon us, produce is both good and plenty.

But, as the old adage goes, "all good things must come to an end." (The name's Downer. Debbie Downer.)

That's when Aaron Deal's pickling recipes come in handy.

29-year-old Aaron Deal is a former James Beard Awards "Rising Star" semifinalist and executive chef of the soon-to-open River & Rail Restaurant in Roanoke, Virgina.

Five Reasons to Pickle and Preserve Fruits and Vegetables: Aaron Deal
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As you continue to weigh the risks and benefits of using your cell phone, in light of the recent World Health Organization announcement that the phones may lead to cancer, consider how scared you are of pickled vegetables, gasoline and magenta dyes.

These are just some of the substances also lumped in the same group of "possible carcinogens," formally known as "group 2B carcinogens" on the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer's list of known, likely and maybe-likely suspects.
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Happy National Pickle Day! Make Jill's quick pickled peppers or try Chef Linton Hopkins' bread and butter pickles recipe.

The days of fresh produce from local farms are numbered now that fall is fully upon us and winter will soon be whispering at the door. During a recent trip to my local greenmarket, I spied a gorgeous batch of Hungarian - or banana - peppers, and I bought a bunch with the express idea of pickling them for Bloody Marys.

I’m in love with the idea of pickling and canning, the romance of it. I imagine my early pioneer sisters, putting up provisions to sustain the family through the harsh North East winters. It makes me want to install a wood stove in the middle of my Brooklyn apartment, build a floor to ceiling shelving unit of some dark, rough-hewn wood and fill it with canned vittles. But whoops - here I am again in reality and that is not going to happen.

While I was growing up, my mother canned and it was quite an affair. My sister and I were banished from the kitchen for most of the day, and of course, it made us want to be there so badly that we couldn’t resist sneaking in and peeking. There was my mother moving amongst vats of sliced cucumbers and huge steaming pots of boiling water on the stove. Sacks of sugar, pickling spices, vinegar and canning jars littered the counter tops.
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