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How these Kansas Citians are keeping the art of canning alive

Gracie Lawson has a large stash of self-canned items at home, like these green beans on her kitchen table.
Gracie Lawson
Gracie Lawson has a large stash of self-canned items at home, like these green beans on her kitchen table.

The practice of preserving food via canning has been around for two centuries, but has experienced a revival in interest. Here’s how two Kansas Citians are keeping the practice alive in two very different ways.

Preserving food through the method of canning isn’t just for companies at the top of the food industry. It has experienced a strong revival in interest among hobbyists and influencers alike since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gracie Lawson spends a lot of her free time canning at home. She says that in order to get started, one just needs to keep an open mind and seek out information wherever they can.

“I think that you just have to want to look at different recipes and be willing to try things,” Gracie Lawson told KCUR’s Up To Date. “I bought a canning book. It has all sorts of recipes in it.”

KCUR intern Gabby Martinez contributed to this segment.

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When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
Gabby Martinez is Up To Date's UMKC student intern for the 2024 spring semester. She is graduating from the University of Missouri - Kansas City in May 2024 with a major in strategic and professional communication. She is a big fan of traveling, pickles, and the color pink. You can reach her at gabby.martinez@kcur.org.
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