Labor Day is coming, and the markets are groaning with product. Use it or lose it.

Our grandmothers and even some of our mothers grew up canning and pickling from late summer into the fall. As crops matured, Mason jars made their way from cellar to kitchen. The “Ball Blue Book” was dusted off and put on the kitchen counter with the same reverence that would have been afforded the Bible.

It was an era when replacement lids and jars came from the hardware store. The employees there knew canning as well as they knew hammers and nails. Fruits and vegetables were sold in bushels, barrels, pecks and flats at grocery stores, farms and orchards. It was the one time of the year when dad or granddad might be found in the kitchen doing more than midnight snacking or carving the turkey.

This was preserving--critical if you wanted a peach pie in February, green beans at Christmas or pickles with your pastrami whenever. Canning was sometimes necessary for simple survival and essential to a diversified diet. Eating tomatoes or green beans, peaches and pickles throughout the year meant preserving summer’s bounty.

As processed and frozen foods became more readily available in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s and produce became an internationally traded commodity delivered fresh year around, pickling and canning became a hobby, not a necessity, for most.

Contrary to certain opinion, though, canning isn’t a dying art. In fact, it seems to be thriving. Try getting through to the toll-free Ball & Kerr home canning help line between June and September.

“Over the last three years, since the [1996] acquisition of Kerr, the retail sales of canning supplies have increased 18 1/2%,” says Michael Bryja, manager of sales planning for Alltrista Consumer Products Co., maker of Ball & Kerr canning products. “For 1999, we’re having a banner year, and we hope to increase sales by an amount equal to the previous three years.”

The national proliferation of farmers markets is testimony to America’s zeal for fresh ingredients. That both the Santa Monica and Hollywood farmers markets ran out of fresh dill early in the day a few weekends ago might say something about the popularity of homemade dill pickles.

In fact, the novice who wants to try the art would do well to start with pickles. They can be made from many kinds of fruits and vegetables, and they can be done without significant investment in equipment.

The most common pickle, of course, is cucumber. Practically everyone enjoys the garlic and salty sourness of dill pickles. They are particularly good with a corned beef (or pastrami) on rye sandwich. If dill isn’t your deal, a sweet bread and butter pickle is a great condiment with soups and sandwiches.

Pickled green beans, or “dilly beans,” are great too. They can replace stalks of celery as garnish for Bloody Marys. Okra might be pickling’s best-kept secret. Cookbook author Sylvia Thompson recalls, “A friend gave us a jar of pickled okra for Christmas and I mused, ‘Okra, what kind of gift is this?’ I tasted one, then sat down and ate the whole jar.”

Basically, pickles are made by adding acid to a fruit or vegetable to alter its flavor and to preserve it. This can be done by adding vinegar (to make a bread and butter pickle) or by fermenting it using salt (to make a kosher dill), says Mary Jane Loper, master food preserver with the UC Cooperative Extension Service.

Loper urges home canners to use only thoroughly tested recipes from reliable sources such as the Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension or the “Ball Blue Book.”

Once the pickles are in jars, they can go straight to the refrigerator, where they will keep for months. Every pickle recipe can be refrigerated. Ideally, refrigerated pickles should be eaten within five or six months of being put up. Over time, their color, texture and taste will change.

Pickles need to be canned only if they are to be stored in a cupboard or pantry. The purpose of canning is dual: first, to raise the internal temperature of the product enough to destroy any harmful bacteria and second, to force air from the jar, creating a vacuum.

But there is something new there, too. For decades the USDA recommended canning vegetables under boiling water for 15 minutes. But, like thousands of other canners, its cooks discovered that there’s little perk left in a pickle after that.

Now the USDA recommends canning pickles at 180 to 185 degrees for 30 minutes. A comparison test in The Times Test Kitchen showed that this method produces a pickle almost as crisp as one that has only been refrigerated.

With summer waning and produce peaking, the time is ideal for trying your hand at the art of pickling. Who knows, combining nearly perfect ingredients and your own spin on spices, you may find that canning is as much about fun as about food. Grandma knew that.

And since we don’t need the food to survive, you don’t have to pickle a peck; you can put up a pound and have tons of fun doing it. In an era when many of us work hard to relax, canning can be contagious.

Refrigerator Kosher Dill Pickles

Active Work Time: 1 hour 30 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 30 minutes plus 7 days fermentation

Cookbook author Sylvia Thompson pays homage to screenwriter Irving Brecher, author of the Marx Brothers’ “Go West” and other classics, in her adaptation of his kosher dill pickle recipe in her book, “The Kitchen Garden Cookbook,” 1995. These dill pickles are about half-fermented then stored in the refrigerator, which leaves them quite crunchy and bursting with the garlicky, sour taste of a fine kosher pickle. Persian cucumbers work well in this recipe.

PICKLING SPICE

6 tablespoons mustard seeds

12 bay leaves, crumbled

4 (3-inch-long) small dried hot red peppers, crumbled

48 whole allspice

48 black peppercorns

4 teaspoons ground coriander

1 (2-inch) piece unpeeled fresh ginger, grated

* Combine mustard seeds, bay leaves, red peppers, allspice, peppercorns, coriander and ginger in small bowl.

PICKLES

6 to 7 pounds pickling cucumbers of uniform size, 3 to 4 inches long

6 or more sprigs dill, cut into short pieces

10 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

6 1/2 quarts water

1 1/2 cups coarse salt

* Soak cucumbers in cold water 10 minutes to clean. Drain.

* Line bottom of 3-gallon clay crock with dill sprigs. Sprinkle with 1/2 Pickling Spice and garlic. Place cucumbers on top in double layer (do not pack too tightly). Repeat dill and cucumber layers until all cucumbers are in crock, topping with any remaining dill and remaining 1/2 Pickling Spice and garlic cloves.

* Stir 6 quarts water and salt together until salt has dissolved and water is clear. Pour brine into crock, covering cucumbers by at least 2 inches. Take dish of smaller diameter then moth of crock and place on top of cucumbers. Fill a resealable plastic bag with 1 1/2 cups water, seal and set on top of plate. This should hold cucumbers beneath brine. Cover with cloth and set in a well-ventilated place at room temperature.

* In 3 days, add 1/2 quart water to brine.

* In 6 or 7 days, cucumbers should have changed color and have the flavor of mildly salty and sour pickle. If you prefer strong flavor, ferment several more days. If scum is present, skim and clean plate and plastic bag. When pickles reach desired flavor, put them in jars covered with brine and spices and store in refrigerator up to 6 months.

Makes 4 to 5 quarts, 6 to 8 pickles per quart. Each of 80 servings: 9 calories; 178 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.28 gram fiber.

Okra Pickles

Active Work Time: 1 hour * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Pickled okra boasts a crispness beyond crunchy. The okra almost snaps between your teeth, sending juice with subtle flavors of dill, garlic, salt and hot peppers in every direction. The seeds are especially vibrant, with a sweet-and-tart--but not bitter--flavor. Add a few more red peppers and this recipe, from the “Ball Blue Book,” is all you’ll need to make sumptuous green dilly beans, as well as pickled carrots and asparagus.

3 cups water

3 cups vinegar

1/3 cup coarse salt

2 teaspoons dill seed

3 1/2 pounds small okra (avoid large as it has a woody texture), stems trimmed

4 cloves garlic

2 small dried hot red peppers, cut in half

* Combine water, vinegar, salt and dill seed in 8- to 12-quart stockpot. Bring to boil over medium-high heat.

* Pack okra (stand the okra and layer tip-to-tip) into 4 hot (1-pint) jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Put 1 garlic clove and 1/2 pepper in each jar. Ladle boiling liquid over okra, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Remove air bubbles by sliding a nonmetallic spatula down the side of the jar and press gently on the food to release any trapped air. Close with two-piece caps. Can according to instructions.

Makes 4 pints. Each of 16 servings: 49 calories; 457 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 1.42 gram fiber.

Christmas Bread & Butter Pickles

Active Work Time: 30 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour plus 3 hours for chilling

I adapted this recipe from the 1951 edition of “Joy of Cooking” by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker. The combination of green and red in these pickles will remind you of Christmas. Process them in 12-ounce jars and give as gifts. The red bell peppers (green or yellow work fine too) add a bit of sharpness to a smooth and sweet pickle that has been modestly tempered by using both brown and white sugars.

About 4 pounds Persian or pickling cucumbers, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

6 to 8 onions (3 to 3 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

4 red bell peppers, cut in 3/4-inch dice

1/2 cup coarse salt

5 cups white wine vinegar

3 cups granulated sugar

2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed

1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon ground allspice

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 (1-inch) stick cinnamon

* Place cucumbers, onions and peppers in large bowl. Top with salt and cover with weighted lid. Refrigerate 3 hours. (This softens vegetables so they can absorb syrup.) Place vegetables in colander and thoroughly rinse off salt.

* Combine vinegar, sugar, turmeric, allspice, mustard seeds, cloves and cinnamon in large stockpot and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Slowly add vegetables with very little stirring. Heat to scalding point, but do not boil, 5 to 7 minutes.

* Divide vegetables among 6 (12-ounce) jars, cover with liquid, leaving 1/2-inch head space, and tighten lids. Remove air bubbles by sliding a nonmetallic spatula down the side of the jar and press gently on the food to release any trapped air. Close with two-piece caps. Can according to instructions.

Makes about 6 (12-ounce) jars. Each of 30 servings: 40 calories; 239 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.67 gram fiber.

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It’s Brine Time

Learn to pickle; don’t pickle to learn.

Take the time to read and understand your recipes. Make sure you have everything you need measured and ready to use before you start. Here are a few tips that should help you get and keep going.

* Pick quality ingredients. Even at farmers markets, produce is often a day old, so make sure you start your recipe the same day you select your ingredients.

* Always cut 1/4 inch from the blossom end of the cucumber. There’s an enzyme there that will soften the pickles.

* Use a 5% white wine vinegar or cider vinegar; avoid white distilled vinegar, which can leave a slightly bitter flavor.

* Though recipes often call for canning salt, it is almost impossible to find. Substitute coarse salt.

* Many pickles are fermented in brine solution before canning. Use a crock or sanitized plastic pail for fermenting. Cover the pickles with 1 to 2 inches of brine, then use a plate with a weight on top to hold pickles beneath the surface. A heavy-duty resealable bag filled with water is a good substitute.

* It is natural for some scum to form during the fermentation process; it is a natural byproduct of the sugar turning to lactic acid. Skim the scum and discard it.

Five-Spice Peaches

Active Work Time: 1 hour 30 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 30 minutes plus 7 days fermentation

This is adapted from Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz’s new book “Clearly Delicious” (Dorling-Kindeersely Press, $13.95).

4 pounds peaches (about 10 peaches)

2 1/2 cups white wine vinegar

12 black peppercorns

1 teaspoon whole cloves

4 cardamom pods

2 cinnamon sticks

2 star anise

6 cups sugar

Cut shallow “X” in bottom of peaches and slip, 1 or 2 at a time into boiling water. Cook just until peel loosens, 30 to 40 seconds, then remove to bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Using fingers, slip peel from peaches. If necessary, return peaches to boiling water 10 to 15 seconds at a time until skins loosen enough to peel. Cut peaches in half and discard pits. Repeat with all peaches.

Bring vinegar, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon and star anise to boil over high heat until completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add peach halves and simmer over medium-high heat until peaches are just tender enough to be pierced with knife, about 5 minutes. Transfer peaches to warm, sterilized jar, packing as tightly as possible.

Increase heat to high and boil syrup 2 to 3 minutes longer to slightly reduce. Ladle syrup over peaches. Can according to instructions.

10 peaches. Each half: 89 calories; 1 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 1 grain protein; 0.55 gram fiber.