the buzz log

Gas-saving scooters! Backyard vacations! Celebrity twins!

Okay, so you can't attribute all trends to a poor economy. Still, a recent run on "canning recipes" may indicate yet another resurgence of a frugal tradition. Summer interest in saving goodies for later has swelled 28% compared to last year. Even more startling, Web queries on anything canning-related is 16 times higher than in 2006.

An AP report credits the canning comeback to produce costs, baby boomers getting earthy, and the local foods movement. Likely, jitters over recalled foods and salmonella tainted peppers probably have also sent people fleeing to their own backyard to salvage safe grub.

As wholesome as the practice sounds, preserving fruits or vegetables can carry a downside if done incorrectly... or, as another AP story puts it, "what with that whole fear of death from a spoiled batch." Luckily, people have been doing the right things to avoid botulism, looking for "canning jars" of both the Mason and Ball variety. One Scranton, Penn., paper warns that there's "no substitute for adequate heat treatment"—either a boiling water bath or pressure canning.

Top canning ingredient? Tomatoes. That fruit disguised as a vegetable suffered a bruising blow after being falsely fingered for salmonella poisoning, but now cooks want to stock up on the plant, juice, sauce, and salsa variations. Author Barbara Kingsolver rapturously devoted a chapter to the time her family preserved 302 pounds of the red stuff in her newest book.

Whether or not home canners will save money in the long run is up for debate: A McClatchy Newspapers article says the savings usually comes from preserving your own garden bounty, not market-bought goods. Still, nothing wrong with learning a little natural chemistry through eating. Before we close the lid on this one, here are the top five canning searches.

• Canning Tomatoes. Green, cherry, tomatillo. Also searches on how to do oven canning
• Canning Salsa Variations include pineapple, black bean and corn, or zucchini.
• Canning Peppers Jalapeno, banana, cherry, green bell, wax, sweet.
• Canning Peaches. Usually saved in the form of pie filling, butter, syrup, jam.
• Canning Pickles. Cucumbers, okra, beets, tomatillos, squash.

Filed under: Food, Gardening, Groceries, Fruit, Vegetables, Economics

Summer's not over yet. There's still time to picnic, hit the beach, or laze in the kiddie pool. And some searchers are taking advantage of these last sweet days by hanging out in the garden.

The desire to spend productive time in the yard sent outdoor lovers tiptoeing though the search box to check out queries on "gardens" and "gardening." The top three lookups in the past week were "gardening tips" (+802%), "zen garden" (+125%), and "garden furniture" (+122%). But not everyone thinks of emerald lawns and fragrant roses. Some non-garden "garden" queries were for "soundgarden," "olive garden coupons," "madison square garden," and "garden state plaza mall."

So put on those gloves, pour yourself a glass of iced tea, and let's cut back the weeds around the top 10 "garden" searches…

Filed under: Gardening