I thought for a second this morning that I was developing a new hobby. A local produce stand delivers vegetables to the place I work, and I went out to buy some cucumbers and strawberries. (There is nothing like a fresh cucumber in the summer – nothing!) They were $1 per pound or $10 per box. I was only after a few, unless of course I wanted 75 percent of the box to go bad before we could eat them.
One of my co-workers suggested I buy a whole box and can them. What a novel idea! I love homemade preserves, jellies, pickles and salsa. And my family has frozen homegrown vegetables for years.
When I got back to my desk, I Googled “how to can pickles” or something like that, and I quickly realized there’s a lot more involved than I thought. Maybe it’s a good idea that I don’t buy a whole box of cucumbers just yet. Maybe I could pick up canning when we are able to devote some time to having a garden again.
Do any of you can your own whatever? Do you have one of the canning pots, etc.? Does it end up being more expensive to can your own than to buy it from a shelf?
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4 comments:
I can't truly answer your question on whether it is cheaper to can or to buy, but I would rather buy. Guess it depends on how much time you have and how much you like pickles!
Good Luck and keep us posted on the process.
I'm not sure it's cost or time efficient to do your own canning, baking or cooking these days; however, I much prefer doing it myself. I have made my own blueberry jelly and salsa in the past. I also make homemade bread weekly and I almost refuse to use a mix for baking. I too have recently become interested in the idea of canning, but I don't have a canning pot. Hopefully, I'll be the owner of one soon! Anyway, there is much satisfaction for me in providing food for my family...and these homemade treats are great for gifts. I have given numerous loaves of bread, jars of jelly and salsa and people always love them!
We gotta deal if you teach me how to can some things, when you learn how to do it!
I've only made Bread and Butter pickles and it WAS less expensive to make my own. Dill pickles require a lime bath, etc so I've never tried them.
I remember my mother doing a lot of canning out of their garden with I was small. I, on the other hand, have only had 1 garden. It was at a time my schedule supported it. Now we are gone too much to be able to have a garden. Flowers are the only challenge we chose to have.
Canning is a lot of work, but if you do it right, the rewards are great. Besides, you'll be considered green!! :)
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