There is something very special about a gift you make personally for someone. It is a gift of love and of your time, for someone special in your life. Good food is welcomed by everyone; especially those on low fat or low salt diets, and by seniors who have everything and don't wish to accumulate more.

If you set aside time this season to make some of these gifts with the help of a child, you are creating real heirlooms as these memories pass down through the generations more durably than diamonds or pearls.

Any home preserved food is a special gift whether you decorate the jars or not, but fabric and ribbons make a beautiful presentation. Placing several jars in a basket lined with fabric or netting is beautiful. Thrift stores often sell baskets for under a dollar, or recycle gift baskets you have received.

Jar rings are only used during processing. After processing, the rings are removed and the jars are cleaned with a wet cloth. The jars are stored without rings. The exception to this is when you mail jars: placing the ring on during shipping helps maintain the seal. Add a note for the recipients to remove the rings and check that the seal was not broken during transit.

Fabric circles are easily draped over the top of jars, tuck some fiberfil underneath for fullness if you like, then hold the circle in place with a rubber band, then tie a decorative ribbon around the jar thread area. Add a label, trinket, or sprig of holly to the tied ribbon. A lace doily over the fabric circle gives an heirloom look to jellies. Designs cut from used wrapping paper can be glued to the side of jars, as can your own decorative labels. If you enjoy counted cross stitch, a 4 x 4 inch piece of 18 count works well for small mouth lids; use 14 count Aida for wide-mouth lids. Usually the cross stitched jar covers are cut to fit a round cardboard piece the same size as the lid, cross stitch is glued to the cardboard, placed on top of the jar, then the ring is put on to conceal the edges of the cross stitch cloth.

I started giving only jars of home preserved food as gifts several years ago after I met a new friend who said she'd been doing it for decades and people on her Christmas gift list started asking during the summer if she was making their canned tuna and special pickle relish. This woman has considerable financial resources, but her friends wanted her home canned foods. If you have the time to can, this is a priceless gift only you can give. Some people plan ahead and preserve food as it becomes ripe during the fresh produce season. I tend to do gift canning the first week of December. I count on spending two days gathering all the ingredients and jars for our gifts, then on a Saturday my husband spends 6 hours washing dishes, the kids measure ingredients, and I roll through 25 recipes. It is a busy day, but more fun than a trip to the mall. And when I omit or change a recipe, recipients will ask "where is my jar of _____ this year" so I know the gifts were used.

Now that you understand how valuable home preserved gifts are, you also need to be prepared for the occasional misinformed person. Some people automatically discard all food gifts they receive; if you don't know the recipient well, give only one jar at a time. Usually, dried foods, jams, jellies, and pickles are accepted well because the microorganisms that could grow in them are molds. People can see the food you give is not moldy so they know it is okay to consume.

Labeling

This mix is contains only non-perishable items. It is stored at room temperature under dry conditions. Gingerbread mix is an excellent item to put in a gift basket with your home made pear mincemeat or applesauce. It produces an average quality ginberbread very quickly; enclose a small bottle of molasses and a baking pan when giving to those without well equiped kitchens. Gingerbread is not fussy about stirring techniques nor constant oven temperatures; this makes an excellent winter finals week package to mail to university students.

GINGERBREAD MIX CAKE

If you have only tried the commercially canned mincemeats, you do not know what good mincemeat is. There are excellent home made mincemeats using venison and brandy, burbon, sherry, or rum, but unless they have been tested in a canning lab; the only safe way to store them is to refrigerte for a short time or freeze. Do not try to guess at a processing time for untested recipes. The Ball Blue Book, 1995, contains safe recipes for Beef, Brandied, Green Tomato, and Pear Mincemeat. The Ball Blue Book is available for purchase at stores that sell canning supplies for under $5, or at your local library. The following is their simple Pear Mincemeat which makes an excellent winter time topping for the gingerbread mix cake; give it in half-pint or pint jars.

4 cups pureed, canned pumpkin
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups honey
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put pumpkin in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Make sure all of the pumpkin reaches boiling temperatures. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer uncovered (to evaporate moisture) until thick enough to spread. It should become as thick as apple butter; it should mound on a plate. Ladle hot pumpkin butter into half pint jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Take care to remove air bubbles; your pumpkin butter can mold in a sealed jar if you leave them in. Process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Makes seven half-pints.

Peel, quarter and thinly slice red onions. Measure 7 cups into a large, heavy bottomed saucepan. Add apple juice, vinegar, sage, and pepper; mix thoroughly.

Measure sugars into separate bowls. Mix 1/4 c granulated sugar from measured amount with pectin in small bowl. Stir pectin-sugar mixture into onion mixture in saucepot. Add butter. Place over high heat; bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Immediately stir in remaining sugars. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Skim off foam and ladle into pint or half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in boiling water canner 10 minutes.

4 c prepared peppers (2 red, 1 yellow, 2 green, and 10 jalapenos is a good mix)
3/4 c cider vinegar
3 1/4 c sugar
1 box Sure Jel for Lower Sugar Recipes pectin
1/2 teaspoon margarine or butter

Wear latex gloves when working with hot peppers. Discard stem and seeds from peppers. Finely chop or coarsely grind. Put peppers into large, heavy saucepan and add vinegar.

Measure 3 c sugar into a small bowl, set aside. Measure 1/4 c sugar into a small bowl and combine with pectin. Stir pectin-sugar mixture into peppers. Add margarine. Place over high heat and quickly bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly. When it reaches a full boil, immediately stir in remaining sugar. Bring to full rolling boil again and boil 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim off foam with spoon.

Ladle into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace and process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

6 cups prepared fruit (about 7 pints fresh raspberries)
3 squares unsweetened chocolate
4 c sugar
1 box Sure Jel for Lower Sugar Recipes pectin
1/2 teaspoon margarine or butter

Crush berries thoroughly, 1 c at a time. If using frozen berries, use both liquid and solids; they all were part of the original fresh berry. (Sieve 1/2 of the pulp to remove some seeds if desired. You can seive it all if preparing for those with dental problems. Removing seeds causes waste, so be sure you have enough berries.) Measure 6 c of crushed fruit into 6 or 8 quart heavy saucepan. Break the chololate squares into smaller pieces and add them to saucepan.

Measure sugar into separate bowl. Mix 1/4 c sugar from measured amount with pectin in small bowl. Stir pectin-sugar mixture into fruit in saucepan. Add butter. Bring quickly to full rolling boil, add remaining sugar, and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam and ladle into pint or half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace and process 10 minutes in boiling water canner.

1 1/4 c fruit juice
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c white syrup (Karo is one brand)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (optional)

Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute then remove from heat, skim off foam and ladle into clean hot jars. Process 10 minutes in boiling water canner. Alternatively this can be put into a clean, hot bottle, corked and refrigerated 2 weeks.

Onion Ring Pickles

For each pint jar:
1/2 pound medium size, mild onions
6 whole cloves
6 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
3/4 c vinegar (white or cider)
3 Tablespoons water
1/3 c sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
dash ground cinnamon

3 cups peeled garlic cloves (about 10 large heads)
1 1/2 c white vinegar
1/2 c sugar
1/2 teaspoon pickling salt

Add garlic cloves to a pan of boiling water. When water returns to a boil, boil for one minute. Drain and pack into clean half-pint jars. Heat vinegar, sugar and salt to boiling then pour over garlic leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove bubbles, add lids, and process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Yield: 3 half-pint jars.

Note: If you are using pre-peeled garlic, some people have had success hiding the brown areas by using red wine vinegar for the brine. Common seasonings to add with the wine vinegar brine are 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon allspice berries, and 2 single juniper berries per jar. Some people like mustard seed and dried red pepper flakes in their pickled garlic. You can safely add these dried spices to a pickle brine.

1/4 pound peeled garlic cloves
2 cups white vinegar
5 cups sugar
1 3-ounce pouch liquid pectin

In a blender, blend garlic and 1/2 c vinegar until smooth. In large saucepot, combine garlic mixture, remaining 1 1/2 c vinegar and sugar. Over high heat, bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Quickly add pectin, return to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and immediately pour into clean half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in boiling water canner for 5 minutes.

Note: Alcohol may not evaporate completely during cooking. This may be a concern for individuals who choose to avoid alcohol. Recent research has found that wine added to a pot roast which was then simmered 2 1/2 hours retained 5% of the original added alcohol content when served. Sauce in which the alcohol was flamed retained 75 - 85% of the alcohol, and a Brandy Alexander pie which was refrigerated for 16 hours retained 75% of its alcohol. Research was not conducted on wine jellies, but you should assume that some alcohol is still present in these preserved foods. Do not serve this jelly to children under 4 years old because their bodies are not yet able to metabolize alcohol well.

2 cups champagne
1 cup orange juice
4 1/4 cups sugar
1 box regular pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter or margarine

Measure champagne and orange juice into large saucepan. measure sugar into separate bowl. Stir pectin into champagne-juice mixture. Add butter. Quickly bring to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in all sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat. Skim off any foam. Quickly ladle into clean half-pint or pint jars, add prepared lids, and process in boiling water canner 5 minutes. Recipe adapted from Sure.Jel company.

1 quart chopped cooked beets (about 12 medium)
1 quart chopped cabbage (about 1 small head)
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
1 cup chopped sweet red peppers (about 2 small)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 Tablespoon salt
3 cups vinegar

15 oz can stewed tomatoes, drained (May substitute Italian or Mexican recipe stewed toms.)
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
3 leaves dried oregano
3 leaves dried basil
garlic salt to taste (or garlic powder)

Drain liquid from stewed tomatoes. Blend drained tomatoes, tomato suace and sugar in blender until smooth. Pour tomato puree on an oiled plastic wrap lined drying tray. Sprinkle crushed oregano, basil and garlic salt on top of puree. Dry 4 - 6 hours at 140 - 160F until leather is dry and no longer tacky to touch. Recipe adapted from Lane County Oregon State University Extension office. Store air-tight so it doesn't absorb moisture.