~To Can Or Not To Can?~
I’m so excited to introduce you to my good friend, Lisa. Lisa is a homesteading, homeschooling momma, and has a wealth of knowledge to share with us. She has agreed to bless us with her wisdom as a regular guest-blogger here at Econobusters. Not only that, but in the very near future, Lisa and her family will be embarking on a great adventure as they move to build a new homestead, and live completely off-grid. I can’t wait to follow along on their adventure!
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I love to can. I love it!
I love all those purty jars lined up on my shelf, knowing my family has food lovingly put up for them. I love that I KNOW what is in those jars…where it came from, how it was grown, cleaned, cooked and/or packed.
I’ve been hearing a bit of ‘buzz’ lately on the validity of canning. Is it really worth it? What about all the time it takes? What about all the equipment? Is it safe? Or the “Eh, I’ll just buy it in the store–that’s why God made stores!” lol!
Canning is really simple. It is completely safe, if a few easy rules are followed in your canning process. Time? Well it will take some of your time, that is for sure–but it is time WELL SPENT. Equipment? You can find jars at just about any garage sale (just be sure the jars aren’t cracked, and have no chips in them) you can usually find rings at the same sale you find the jars at! Lids I tend to buy each year to stock up or as needed– I’d advise never to reuse your lids and always buy NEW, as the lids are what form your safety seal on your jars and keep your food safe! I’ve seen water bath canners for 50cents at a garage sale! (water bath canners tend to be used for fruits, jams, etc) Pressure canners are going to run more. (Pressure canners are used for chili’s, stews, soups, veggies, etc) Ask around–do you know someone who has some of these items just sitting in their basement, unused? They may be all too happy find them a new home! Barter for them! Get creative!
A must have is a “Ball Blue Book”…..a what? lol The “Ball Blue Book” is the Bible of home canning! It gives exact recipes, canning times and pressures…this is all variable (recipe and even elevation factor in) and a SAFETY MUST. They run about $4.00 anywhere that sells canning supplies. Get one!
To all the naysayers who tell me I’m wasting my time, and why bother and to the proverbial line, ‘that’s why we have stores nowadays, Lisa!’ I say this: Do you KNOW, really know what is in that can you’re buying? Can’t answer me, can ya? No, we don’t. This leads me to answer the “Is it worth it” question. To answer this, you have to decide on the quality you want and the price you’ll pay.
First let’s address QUALITY.
What is the pear you just fed the baby realllllly swimming in? Your own pure filtered water? Highly UNlikely.
Was that pear sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and a host of other ‘cides’ that we don’t even want to know about, highly LIKELY.
I live in a state that is huge, HUGE, HUGE on apple, pear & fruit growing, in general. Let me share something with you…when I drive by the MILES of orchards…and I don’t see Ol’ Farmer Brown on his tractor…I see men in full bodied white suits, heads covered and ventilator masks…that tells me somethin’! That is not something I want to feed my family! I don’t even want to be DRIVING through there!!!!
Find a family farm, or orchard that you can trust that doesn’t use all of those chemicals. Maybe a relative has a few apple trees they don’t even pick anymore! Ask them if you can take them off their hands! Join an Organic Co-Op! Out West we have Azure Standard–what a blessing these folks are! They deliver all over the Western US (check their website, I know they are expanding their routes all the time!) they deliver the best quality organic fruits and veggies (along with organic flours, and grocery items) at super reasonable rates! We can also grow our own, too! While orchards take time to develop–it’s pretty simple to grow your own veggies! Whether it’s a small container garden on the patio, one raised bed garden plot, or an acre of land; I think it’s worth the effort.
Now let’s address the question of PRICING.
I know that I can get 100 pounds of organic pears for $75.00. That works out to apprx 50 QTS at $1.50 per quart. Now, let’s compare that to the Big Box Store that my husband just went to last week and priced a ’case’ of 8 / 14.5 oz cans for $10.79 which = $1.34 per can.
Now that is just pure math. I won’t go back into the quality rant…but you get no more than 5 pear halves in one of these cans, and they are small, hard and unappetizing. Sure, you can do the coupon thing, find them even cheaper, or buy generic brands–but let’s go back to ‘quality,’ shall we?
I want to care for my family the best way possible. Taking the time to make sure they have good quality food to eat and being a good steward of the money God’s provided tells me “It’s WORTH IT”.
To get you started in canning (and preserving) visit this site, scroll to the bottom and download their FREE Beginner’s Guide to Preserving. It’s 73 pages and a great resource.
Happy Canning!
Lisa
Lisa is blessed to be a Wife to Marc, a Mama to 4 blessings, and a Keeper at Home! They live a God centered, family centered, homesteading lifestyle of learning in the mountains of the Northwest. They operate their family run business Homestead Originals where they specialize in handcrafted candles, soap, and gifts for the Homestead. She is also the author of the Homestead Simplicity E-book series that focuses on Encouragement for the Homekeeper, Simple Family Living, Natural Cleaners, and Making Everything from Scratch! Come on by and visit Lisa’s Blog for great ideas, tips, freebies and contests too! To contact Lisa, email Lisa@HomesteadOriginals.com
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This is awesome! I’ve learned so much from Lisa in the years I’ve known her – I’m thrilled to see her featured here! I’m sure your readers will learn a lot from her as well.
I make jam every Christmas, but have never branched out. Thank you for encouraging us to do the extra step for our families!!! I will be trying pears for the first time as soon as the farmer’s market will allow.
Another consideration, Molly, is the metal can itself. BPA has been discovered in foods coming from metal cans, and BPA is not something we need in our bodies, especially our childrens’ bodies. http://www.ewg.org/reports/bisphenola has a good explanation of the dangers.
I love my canning jars. Even when I’m not using them for canning, they hold my leftovers, my homemade mayo, my freshly ground flour, anything we plan to eat. They don’t break easily and can be sterilized so you KNOW they’re clean. I can’t say that about plastic storage boxes.
I enjoy canning, I have both a water bath (well I use my deep pasta pot or big stock pot) and a pressure canner. Beyond the points mentioned, I can also can stuff that is not run-of-the-mill. I make an apple butter that puts store bought to shame, a peach salsa that is unusual and can’t be bought, and I don’t make plain boring jams. My then 7 year old made a banana split jam (banana strawberry with a touch of chocolate) and I make cinnamon blueberry jam most summers. I don’t think either one is available on the shelf for any price.
Great article. I am planning on canning this summer for the very first time. I can’t wait.
Here’s a little tip about getting FREE fruits from farms, just FYI. I used to work on a fruit farm, and we were able to take home as much “B grade” fruit as we wanted. Often this included fruit that was perfectly fine but that had fallen to the ground. This fruit is often impeccable or at worst slightly bruised, but perfect for making pies. Your local farm will likely give it away for free, (we did) or sell it at a reduced price.
Oh my goodness! Christi, those jams sound amazing! Do you share recipes?
Thanks so much for all the great comments, everyone!
Oooh–I’d love that Peach Salsa Recipe!
We make Apple Butter, Applesauces, Apple Chips—love em! So easy to work with and we can a killer Apple Pie Filling too–just make up a crust, and dump in a Qt. of Apple Pie Filling and VOILA…..pie!
I’m getting hungry
Lisa
I absolutely share your sentiments, Lisa, on why you choose to can! My husband and I have a decent sized vegetable garden. To add another take on the cost factor, how much does it cost to buy a package of seeds? Take beans, for example. This year, we bought an heirloom variety called “Lazy Housewife Bean” (hahaha…the name initially drew my husband to these beans!) and it cost maybe $3.50 (Canadian funds). Beans are really great because you get TWO crops off of them instead of one that you get from most plants. The time it takes to plant, care for, and harvest vegetables is really of no consequence to us because it’s almost like a hobby and an enjoyable pastime for us. Out of only ONE package of seeds, I am able to can (and this is just a guess, as my cold storage shelves are getting less and less on them right now!) probably 30-40 quarts, maybe more. That just works out to pennies per jar! It’s absolutely worth any time that it takes
I’m a Lisa too
I LOVE LOVE LOVE TO CAN !
And it is EASY, FUN. & making something like jams or marmalade really takes no more time then baking a cake !!
In the off season I buy frozen cherries to make jam.. and a sack of oranges to make marmalade..
Besides.. anything in a pretty glass jar tastes SO much better then tin canned anyday!
Lisa ( the other one )
I have two questions. I canned tomatoes once and used a very large pot. It worked fine except it seemed to scorch the stove outside the burner. What can I do to not have that?
Also, besides composting, is there anything you recommend to prepare garden soil righ now to make an even better growing season?
Hey Viki,
I have a white gas stove and my one large burner that I use for canning is blackened around it as well. I have used Dawn Power cleaner (comes in squirt bottle but consistency of a gel) and that works better then soap and water but then it can damage the paint a little as well. I just gave up-it looks a little yucky but I don’t mind-I REALLY enjoy canning
I love canning and experimenting with new flavors. I do everything from salsa and marinara sauces to many varieties of pickles and jams, jellies, and pie fillings. I plan on putting up a bunch of recipes on the blog site I’m working on building.
One really great thing about canning is that is something you can look at that you really have accomplished that cannot be undone in 5 minutes. There is nothing like opening a can of fresh food in the winter that you know exactly where it came from and who has touched it.
Lisa, Thanks for the great article! I recently took up canning and completely agree! I’ve learned a thing or two from those posting comments too. I’m very excited to try out some new ideas from here.
Christi S- would you post your recipes? These sound fabulous!
Don’t forget about http://www.pickyourown.org for recipes and canning ideas. There is also a list of “u-pick” gardens/farms. We’ll be picking starberries next month. Yippee!
I shop my local thrift stores for mason jars. They are sold for 29 – 49 cents each and typically come with the rings. I also found a food mill for under $10 and have enjoyed making wonderful applesauce and apple butter with organic apples.
~Allie