Demystifying Dills: 'Yes We Can' Event at La Cocina Takes the Fear Out of Canning

Meredith Brody

Lost art: Freshly jarred dills in the La Cocina kitchen.

Turning boxes of cucumbers and onions fresh from the farmers' market into 500 jars of pickles would be daunting if faced alone. But when a dozen or so would-be canners got together yesterday at La Cocina (2848 Folsom at 25th St.) for the second of the summer's Yes We Can events, many hands made the task not only light work but actually enjoyable. Several attendees were nine-to-fivers indulging their inner foodies, eager to demystify the canning process in hope of duplicating the feat on a smaller scale at home.

Mountains of vegetables were bathed and sliced, feathery dill stripped from its stalks, and garlic cloves carefully peeled in the morning session. The cukes had to rest in icy salt water for several hours before being steeped in hot brine heady with mustard seed and sealed in the afternoon. Conversation ranged from the wonders of composting to favorite restaurants. Many reminisced about their grandparents' canning, a skill that seemed to skip a generation and now appeals to a DIY crowd that loves to shop (and sell) on Etsy.com.

You can still purchase a share of the bounty online (eight 16-ounce jars of assorted dill and bread-and-butter pickles for $35), and pick them up at a pickle party at La Cocina this Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Next from Yes We Can: canning tomato sauce on Wednesday, September 23rd. More photos from yesterday's event after the jump.

Meredith Brody

Mounds of cucumbers awaiting their fate.

Meredith Brody

Icing down the sliced cukes.

Meredith Brody

Brine collective: Some two dozen would-be canners learned the ins and outs of pickling.