With mile-long supermarket aisles lined with cans, jars, and boxes, today's consumer has no need to can food to survive, and yet the popularity of home canning continues to rise. For those green-minded locavores seeking fresh foods from farmers' markets and people wanting greater control over what they are eating, Canning Essentials opens the lid to a whole new world of delicious, sustainable options. Offering a modern perspective on this traditional kitchen art, Jackie Callahan Parente, a writer and lifelong home canner, provides useful advice on the various aspects of canning, freezing, and so much more, with an emphasis on safety and troubleshooting the problems that stand in the way of success for many beginners.