Canning: A Non-Hierarchical and Democratic, but Trendy, Hobby

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Recommended: Evolution of food and different cultures

According to the New York Times, canning has seen “an incredible surge of interest recently.” This is not the only newspaper to comment on the growing trend in home food preservation. For this study, online articles from six different North American newspapers with publication dates ranging from 2009 until 2011 were analyzed to determine whether canning is a hobby of distinction or democracy. Josée Johnston and Shyon Baumann’s Foodies discussed the tension between democracy and distinction in relation to the contemporary food movement. Canning has a similar tension, except in a reversed way. In other words, it is the search for distinction that has brought canning into the mainstream. This paper argues that due to its recent rise in popularity, home canning is becoming an increasingly democratic hobby. In comparison to the discourse from Foodies, the socioeconomic status of canners has changed in an opposite direction with a non-hierarchical structure.

Canning has primarily been perceived as a necessity, but today it has become more of a widespread hobby. Alike the discourse in Foodies, canning has stepped away from traditional restrictions to partake in a certain hobby. Stainsby states in the Vancouver Sun “it’s official. Canning is hip, no longer grandma’s domain.” A trend stems from the search for distinction, but because only a select few lead this search, the result is democratization. The recent popularity of canning is fuelled by a number of conditions, many of which are components of the foodie movement, such as: local, seasonal, organic, exotic and authentic; themes that were all discussed in Foodies. Canning is distinguished from the overall discussion of Foodies due to its universal approachability. Foodi...

... middle of paper ...

...s to why these newspapers each covered the topic of rising popularity in canning, but these perspectives of this as a trend do not provide the complete picture. In relation to Foodies, the magazines used by Johnston and Baumann are indicative of certain trends within the food movement, but also are susceptible to limits of perspective.

Works Cited

Baute, Nicole. “Canning Revival.” The Toronto Star 18 September 2009.

Campoy, Ana. “Putting Up Produce: Yes, You Can.” 15 October 2009.

Lackey, Katherine. “Local Food Movement Spurs Canning Trend: Get Those Jars

Ready.” USA Today 21 September 2010.

Mick, Hayley. “We Be Jamming.” The Globe and Mail 4 September 2009.

Moskin, Julia. “Preserving Time in a Bottle (or a Jar).” The New York Times 27 May

2009.

Stainsby, Mia. “Chefs Capture Summer in a Jar.” Vancouver Sun 17 September 2011.

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