If You Can't Take the Heat. . .

A canning house was once a common addition to farms around here -- a way to keep the heat of canning (often on a wood stove) out of the house during the summer.  This fine example, which sits across the street from our driveway, even has a cellar to store the canned goods.

I don't have a canning house -- and I really don't want to use a wood stove in this summer heat.  But the kitchen still get horribly hot, even with the gas range, even with a fan going.

John to the rescue! He suggested that I move operations to the back porch. And with the help of this one-burner cooker, I canned tomatoes today. 

Forty-five minutes of a boiling canner and several hours of cool down for the jars afterward -- all done outside!  

This is the way to go!