I grew up outside of Manhattan, where one mastered the art of Calling In for Takeout. After moving out to our five acres near Charlottesville, I found myself in another world, surrounded by land that could be used for huge vegetable gardens (we’re still working on cultivating that), thickets of blackberries, wild persimmons and crabapples, and orchards that sell peaches and apples by the bushel and the peck.

Knowing that to have these treats packed away for winter use would be the bee’s knees, I have collected books on preserving and have had some fun with freezing and some drying. But I always knew that I needed to *see* someone can. Someone who knew it through and through.

I was lucky enough to learn from that someone last weekend. Leni Sorensen (photo above) taught The Art of Canning at the Charlottesville Cooking School, where we canned peaches and tomatoes. My mind flitted about, thinking about how these treasures would slice through any day in the dead of winter. I left with a new confidence about something I could contribute to our winter homestead.

Do you need a canning guru in your life? Check your local cooking schools and master gardener programs. They might be offering classes or workshops. Or maybe you have a friend with an auntie who could show a group of your friends during an afternoon.

My favorite book on preserving is The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest. It is comprehensive and also has great recipes. Many swear by the Ball Blue Book of Preserving.

Need a quick way to keep whole tomatoes? I use this method for tomatoes that will be used for a sauce: Core them and put them on a cookie sheet. Put them in the freezer. Once frozen, pop them off the sheet and place them in freezer bags.

To keep things super-simple, try to freeze in portions that will work for one recipe’s worth of sauce.

—Tracey Crehan Gerlach