I love canning. I know I am a weirdo because of it but I can't deny that the thought of canning tomatoes and tomato sauce to have for the long cold winter months to me is nothing but beauty. I love seeing our pantry full of home made relatively healthy creations for use and for cost savings.
Over the last few years we have built up our canning jar collection by purchasing more and more cases of jars, I think the last year we purchased another 6 dozen alone. And every year we (I) can a wider variety of items, this year I canned applesauce, apple butter, peach butter, tomato sauce and peaches. I was going to do salsa again this year but with battling my post concussion symptoms I was absolutely drained and did not have the energy to continue on.
Living in the beautiful Okanagan we have a variety of fresh local fruit and produce readily available throughout the summer and fall months and I like to fully take advantage of it. I have broken it down in cost (not including initial investment of jars and water canner) that one 1 litre jar (1 quart - for my American friends)that it costs me approximately $1.30 for a jar of tomato sauce opposed to the $4.00 at the big corporate stores in the neighborhood such as IGA, Real Canadian Superstore or Safeway. Not only is there cost savings but I can proudly pronounce all the ingredients in the jar and don't have to worry about chemicals and preservatives that are questionable.
I take pride in the food quality that we make and store in our house; and no matter how much we make it never seems to be enough! Here we are in March and we are over half way through our Tomato Sauce. Tabitha's goal is to have enough Tomato sauce to last until we start canning again in the summer, I think we will be close but come up just short. Our Peaches, apple and peach butter and apple sauce stock is fine, I made the butters for cooking purposes as I thought it would be nice to have some for random creations; the peaches and apple sauce are mainly for mom as she loves them so I believe they should last until next canning session.
I am hoping to get a big pressure cooker/canner so I can do up some vegetables and other creations this year. By being proactive with canning and combining it with a healthier living standard it makes for a more controlled calorie intake when you know exactly what is in the food as you make the final creation. To me it only makes sense to look at home canning as an alternative for healthy food options. Granted that you basically have to be a slave to the kitchen for a full day of prepping cooking and canning in the end it is worth it.
I know people can find canning to be overwhelming and quite daunting if they have never done it before, believe me I know this as I was one of them, When I was younger I used to help my parents prep the food for canning but they did the actual canning. I was the one who descaled cleaned and cut up the salmon and then added salt and water to the jars; or who peeled tomatoes or peaches for stuffing into jars but never did I get involved with putting it on the stove and in the cooker. I was usually told to stay away from the kitchen when the pressure cooker was on or when mom was removing the jars from the water bath, purely for safety sake I am sure. So when I decided to start canning I felt a bit overwhelmed at not wanting to screw up and poison people with in correct practices or steps; but after a few batches my first time doing a water bath I have no qualms about it.
Canning is a simple and easy process to go through and with thousands of recipes and youtube videos of how tos and recipes to help guide you and calm your doubts it is an easy process that anyone can do. Don't let the thoughts of being too much or the scare of botulism deter you from being successful in providing a healthy source of food for the cold winter months. Yes I know that fresh is always best but it is good to have a realistic alternative when prices keep going up and costs can be crazy; and when you control the quality of the canned goods you can gain confidence in knowing that what you have made and stored will be suitable to a healthier living life.
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