Canning

Well, nows the time. The time when the garden bounty is finally at its peak. My tomatoes are still a little behind but the beets are canned, green beans are ready, cucumbers and carrots are being canned each night as are potatoes and jalapenos, which brings me to the point of this:canning. Each year lots of people plant far more than they or their friends can use. Some gets thrown away, some left to rot. Is canning the answer for you, well lets see. The price of a dozen jars and lids is around 8 bucks. Add to that the price of a canner (pressure canner that is) at around 60-65 bucks. Some salt and water and your ready to go. Now granted your not going to see super cheap veggies if you buy all the canning things one year and only put up a dozen jars. Thats basically gonna cost you $6.25 a jar and you can buy veggies for less than that, but where you really start to save is if you can more and more. The canner lasts for years as do the jars. I like to replace my lids but you can even reusue those year after year. The canner should come with a good manual and some ideas for canning. Remember to blanch your veggies in boiling water for a couple of minutes before canning them so the enzymes will not break them down after they are canned. Figure about 2 hours per round of canning as it takes awhile to get to temp and then to cool down once done. Don't be alarmed when your jars aren't sealed the minute they come out of the canner. As they cool they will seal. If you have one that doesn't seal try turning it upside down. If it leaks remove the lid, wipe it and reseal it. If it doens't leak give it a little more time. They often require it to seal well. As always if you have any questions submit them to me on the ask Shawn forum.