Canning

[jvs]

Do people still do their own canning?

Freezing is the way we preserve the harvest.  Some things still get canned but most is frozen for later use.

[Scout]

Canned Apple Butter a couple years ago and loved it. Hated to give it away to friends and family..   The wife does pickled beets every year and I 'll pickle teh jalepeno's if I get enough..    Wish we could do more.  Don't have a prssure canner yet - on ther list.. Starting to mess with a smoker too.

Scout

[jvs]

Canned Apple Butter a couple years ago and loved it. Hated to give it away to friends and family..   The wife does pickled beets every year and I 'll pickle teh jalepeno's if I get enough..    Wish we could do more.  Don't have a prssure canner yet - on ther list.. Starting to mess with a smoker too.
Scout

I have to admit that pickled beets is one of my favorites, as are pickled peppers.  I have never grown beets but I do pick some up at the Farmers Mkt when they are in season.   In this area it is a common practice to peel some hard boiled eggs and drop them in with the pickled beets.  After a few days they take on the flavor and color.

I also toyed with the idea of a smoker.  I like smoked turkey and trout but I have alot of friends who get anxious to have someone try their smoking skills so I never bought one.  

I'm not sure I know what a pressure canner is.  If I use a canner, it is usually a big 'water-bath' type.  Although the more I think about it, canning in a pressure cooker would be much quicker and probably alot cheaper.

I can find enough canning jars real cheap at flea markets and yard sales, it is the rings and seals that are getting too expensive.  

Even wax is starting to get too high.  I use hot wax to seal my corks on my wine bottles also.

[victorcharlie]

The wife usually does a few quarts of Tomatoes......water bath, not pressure canned......

[deb]

I do a bit of canning---
I like to put up salsa, tomatoes, chili sauce, mustard relish, apple sauce etc.  Have a tomato soup recipe that is excellent, not at all like that red & white labeled stuff!! Jellies & Jams, too.
There is nothing like the aroma of the various sauces simmering in the big pots!!  Mom taught me to can and the memories come flooding back every season!  We still get together for some things!  Corn will go for ~ $1 a dozen come late Aug. and we put up at least 12 dozen!  We shuck, blanch and cut from cob, then freeze in 'zippy' bags.  
It is so great to open a jar of soup or pull out corn from the freezer in January!!

 :-)

[Rustyinfla]

My wife cans our stuff. Our favorite is green beans. We don't raise as big a garden as we used to but we used to can everything. Some people even can meat. Check with your local county extension office to get more information on how to do it and be safe.

            Rusty <><

[longwinters]

Growing up my mother canned most everything because it was cheaper than paying for the electricity to run a big freezer.  Fruits, veggies and beef.  The only thing I can is tomatoes.  I really enjoy it.  Like previously said, the smells etc... are really worth it to me.  And then to use those tomatoes for spaggetti, chili, thickened over potatoes (a German thing) etc... it really is great fun to do and eat.

Long

[WD45]

We dont can as much as we used to. We freeze some too, but I think some things keep their taste for a longer period of time better if canned.

[jvs]

I can usually find Mason and other brand quart canning jars at yard sales dirt cheap.  It's not unusual to find them for $1 a dozen or less.     Sometimes the smaller sizes come out but not as much as the qt size.  I prefer 8 oz for jelly, qt for almost everything else.  This past Sunday I went to a Flea Mkt and there were plenty of canning lids available.

When Mayo and Miracle Whip came in glass, we used the emptys as canning jars.  The lids and rings fit right on.   Glass is becoming a thing of the past.  It is getting more and more difficult to find one gallon glass juice jugs, which I use for my hobby.