canning

Ball Canning

/ Julie M. McKinnon / 1 Comment

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Several years ago, a friend won a free party pack filled with Martha Stewart paper punches and other crafting supplies from an outfit called House Party. In return, she hosted a party, posted photos, shared coupons and did some surveys.  She invited me to her party, where we made greeting cards with her new supplies.

I was hooked.

I’ve won several great parties of my own since from House Party by filling out questionnaires and hoping for the best. Some have revolved around serving food – like Athenos® Greek yogurt and Breakstone’s sour cream – or trying items including HP photo products, L’Oréal Paris cosmetics, Glade air fresheners and the Meryl Streep movie Hope Springs. All involve coupons and typically other gifts for guests, who also are asked to complete surveys. Some of my guests have applied for and received free party packs from Shutterfly and other companies, too.

Without a doubt, the best party packs I’ve won or seen have come from Ball® brand canning supplies.

first canning party

One of my guests helping to can strawberry jam.

In 2010, I received a Ball® party pack that included a stainless steel canner, canning jars, utensils, pectin, cookbooks and other items. That party did involve a little more work because I was asked to can salsa and pepper jelly before the party for my guests to take home. It was a small request to make, though, for all of the fantastic items I received. At the party, we canned strawberry jam together, and I also sent some of that home along with other prizes from my free party pack.

This year’s free Ball® party pack features a granite canner and utensils, which I’m going to use as the grand prize at my party Saturday so one of my guests can, well, can. I also received jars and pickle mix, and we’re all getting cookbooks and coupons.

So what besides feedback and some photos do these brands get for giving out all of these free party packages? From me, some fierce customer loyalty.

Mom’s Catsup

/ Julie M. McKinnon / 3 Comments
Mom and I on an Alaskan cruise two years before she died.

With Mom on an Alaskan cruise two years before she died.

My Mom canned pretty much everything. Vegetables, fruits, juices, soups, sauces, kraut, pickles, jams, jellies. If we could grow it, she would can it.

I didn’t like my Mom’s homemade “catsup” growing up, though. It was so different than ketchup from the store, which I thought was the ideal. Mom’s canned catsup was runny. It often soaked through sandwich bread. Plus, her catsup was more tangy than sweet.

Now I would give just about anything for a jar of my Mom’s flavorful catsup. Mom would be 88 today and tickled to find out her homespun, produce-filled recipes are rather trendy. Comfort food, indeed.

Our basement, a.k.a. Mom’s grocery store, always had rows and rows of her canned goods. How Mom managed to “put up” all of that food in the summer heat without air conditioning I’ll never know. I didn’t appreciate everything my Mom did for me then; I suppose few people truly do until they are adults.

Obsessing about Mom’s catsup may seem strange, especially since there are so many things I miss about her. We used to go garage saling or junking together, play poker or other games with Dad, travel even after he died, have daily phone chats, just lots of things. Even when I was a child, we would read our books in the same room and be perfectly content, silent but bonding over written words. Somehow, missing Mom’s catsup symbolizes all of those memories and feelings.

I may try to can some of Mom’s catsup this summer. It will never be the same, but it’s definitely worth trying. That would tickle her, too.