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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:13:46 PM EDT
Canning is a subject that I think fits the mindset shared by many here, but I haven't seen discussed much. Maybe that's because it's generally handled by the womenfolk, but I'm a bit surprised it doesn't come up a little more.
Really, I don't hear much about canning outside of a small pocket of the older crowd, and it would be even less if it weren't for my wife. It seems like a tiny niche, but maybe I'm wrong. I think most here recognize the need to keep some shelf stable foods around, but most of the store-bought options are pretty much ass. The cost per weight/volume isn't cheap, the input foods are prison/military grade crap, and they're loaded with all kinds of chemicals. With a canner and some jars, you can process fresh meat and veggies, season them to your liking, and keep those on hand just in case SHTF, weather knocks out the power for a bit too long, supply shortages happen, or there's a real emergency like you're hungry and don't want to cook fresh or leave your house.  So there's a good amount of value in the skill/practice. But is it a skill you have in your household? |
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:18:07 PM EDT
[#1]
Yep.
Vegetables, beef, pork, poultry, butter mostly. I haven't tried fish but we don't eat a lot of fish so it would be just for an experiment. |
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AK, USA
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:20:51 PM EDT
[#2]
Not as much as in the past, but still do 5-6 cases a year!!!!!
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:20:57 PM EDT
[#3]
We jar silver salmon but not ever year.
Why is jarring called canning? 
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:21:56 PM EDT
[#4]
Yes. Just vegetables at this point, but one of these days I want to try meat as well.
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:21:57 PM EDT
[#5]
Caning, yes.
No canning. |
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CT, USA
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:23:12 PM EDT
[#6]
Been canning veggies and meats since I was around 30.
We are the only ones I know that can meat. |
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:25:10 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By klutz347: Yep. Vegetables, beef, pork, poultry, butter mostly. I haven't tried fish but we don't eat a lot of fish so it would be just for an experiment. We do the same, and king salmon. With dehydrated green onions and peppers they make damn good salmon patties in the middle of winter. |
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OH, USA
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:26:33 PM EDT
[#8]
Vegetables and meats. Also pickle and ferment vegetables. It’s really fun and great tasting food that you control what goes in the jars.
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:28:33 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By 3BP: Yes. Just vegetables at this point, but one of these days I want to try meat as well. There's no time like the present. You might want to deal hunt for a pressure canner as they can be pricey, but it's a good skill to have, and it's nice having some good cooked meat on the shelf. |
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:28:56 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Cincinnatus: Caning, yes. No canning. 
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OH, USA
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:29:34 PM EDT
[#11]
Just vegetables and stock. Most of the canned meat recipes look like old timer recipes you’d have to have grown up with to enjoy. I just vacuum package meat and freeze it for later.
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:30:29 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Hillbilly62]
[#12]
All types of preserves, pizza sauce, tomato juice, ground beeef, etc…
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:32:56 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By PhatForrest: Been canning veggies and meats since I was around 30. We are the only ones I know that can meat. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. It seems like a pretty rare skill. |
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:34:04 PM EDT
[#14]
I just buy HDRs now.
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AR, USA
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:38:07 PM EDT
[#15]
Been planning on trying this guys recipe. Have all the stuff to do it, just haven't for some reason.
 Buy Chicken NOW, Stockpile Chicken NO REFRIGERATION | Prepping | Canning Chicken |
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:39:33 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Emeoba69: Just vegetables and stock. Most of the canned meat recipes look like old timer recipes you’d have to have grown up with to enjoy. I just vacuum package meat and freeze it for later. There are sometimes some chemistry limitations, but for the most part, the sky is the limit. Chili, taco meat, meatballs, pulled pork, pot roast, stews... there's all kinds of stuff on the menu, especially here in the YouTube age. |
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VA, USA
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Posted: 5/13/2024 7:40:06 PM EDT
[#17]
I have problems consuming some of our canned goods in a timely manner. Last year I found some 2016 sweet pickles-n-onions. They were still pretty good, and I didn't die. Some stuff vanishes quickly (apple and pear butter, pepper jelly), while others (sour plum preserves) get stuffed in the back and forgotten.
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NE, USA
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Posted: 5/13/2024 8:33:40 PM EDT
[#18]
Yes. Some years we can a lot. Other years just a bit. Mostly from our garden.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 9:58:32 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By 1975: I just buy HDRs now. HDRs/MREs have their place as field rations and as rations to keep at the deeper end of the home supply. Home canned stuff is better as a replacement for the industrial garbage in the canned food section of the grocery store. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 10:22:12 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GenYRevolverGuy: HDRs/MREs have their place as field rations and as rations to keep at the deeper end of the home supply. Home canned stuff is better as a replacement for the industrial garbage in the canned food section of the grocery store. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GenYRevolverGuy: Originally Posted By 1975: I just buy HDRs now. HDRs/MREs have their place as field rations and as rations to keep at the deeper end of the home supply. Home canned stuff is better as a replacement for the industrial garbage in the canned food section of the grocery store. It's also one of the few ways you can preserve your own homegrown stuff, so you can make if from one growing season both in normal times and if worse comes to worst. I have never once heard anyone complain that they really regret learning how to can. 
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Posted: 5/14/2024 10:33:05 AM EDT
[#21]
I primarily can home grown tomatoes and cuc's. Before I had kids, a few friends and I would get together and can 50 gallons of salsa every summer.
I use a homemade recipe for the dill pickles and salsa, Mrs. Wages for the chili sauce, pasta sauce and pizza sauce. |
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IA, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 10:36:06 AM EDT
[#22]
Done it but not for many years. More trouble than it was worth.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 11:16:05 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: It's also one of the few ways you can preserve your own homegrown stuff, so you can make if from one growing season both in normal times and if worse comes to worst. I have never once heard anyone complain that they really regret learning how to can. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: Originally Posted By GenYRevolverGuy: Originally Posted By 1975: I just buy HDRs now. HDRs/MREs have their place as field rations and as rations to keep at the deeper end of the home supply. Home canned stuff is better as a replacement for the industrial garbage in the canned food section of the grocery store. It's also one of the few ways you can preserve your own homegrown stuff, so you can make if from one growing season both in normal times and if worse comes to worst. I have never once heard anyone complain that they really regret learning how to can. With canning, you can take advantage of anything seasonal. When your local grocers do those anniversary/meat truck sales and you can get pork shoulders for $1.29 a pound, packer briskets for $3.50 a pound, chicken for $.49 a pound, etc, you can load your pantry with really good stuff for cheap. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 11:48:30 AM EDT
[#24]
We freeze lots of hot pepper halves and hot peppers in oil.
Better than canning and a 100 times easier. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 12:22:29 PM EDT
[#25]
Absolutely. I'm allergic to onions, so it's really the only option if we want soup from a can/jar etc. Tons of fruit preserves too.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 12:28:00 PM EDT
[Last Edit: buck19delta]
[#26]
Iv gotten into it over the last few years.
So far Iv made a ton of various jelly, salsa, diced tomatoes, and pickles. Just getting a feel for it. Still haven’t tried the all American canner out yet. Maybe I’ll use. It this year. Good chance I’ll add in a freeze dryer in a year or two to really add some preserving capability. Those things are insane. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 2:11:40 PM EDT
[Last Edit: wildearp]
[#27]
Pickles, cactus jelly, and chikn stonks. I use canning jars for my cold brew too.
 The food sucker has changed some things for me.  |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 2:26:24 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Ameshawki: Done it but not for many years. More trouble than it was worth. You can probably say that for any form of home food production & storage - we've had a couple hundred years to develop and tune an ag business system focused on pumping as much food into people as rapidly as possible, and dollar for dollar there's no way you can really compete. The only real reasons to DIY are to get quality far beyond what you can get at the grocery store, or to glom on to the little feeling of security you get from knowing how to produce your own food. Both perfectly valid reasons IMHO, but it's rarely a financial win. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 2:51:17 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GenYRevolverGuy: There's no time like the present. You might want to deal hunt for a pressure canner as they can be pricey, but it's a good skill to have, and it's nice having some good cooked meat on the shelf. We have one. If I hadnt committed to making a giant lasagna (my first attempt) this weekend, I would have tried canning meat. Maybe next weekend. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 2:55:41 PM EDT
[#30]
We have a lot of stuff canned. Meats,veggies, fruits, etc. Have not canned anything in almost a year as we now have a freeze dryer and have been using it a lot. What we like about the freeze dried stuff is that the finished product has almost no weight and storage is much easier because of that.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 2:59:54 PM EDT
[#31]
No, but my parents did when I was a kid. Vegetables from the garden and fruits from the farmers market. Couldn't get enough of those canned peaches.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 3:00:12 PM EDT
[#32]
Veggies primarily. We have a chamber vac sealer so we vacuum pack & freeze a lot of stuff. I have a pressure canner, I'd like to try canning some meats tho the wife probably won't care for it.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 3:25:41 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By CS223: Veggies primarily. We have a chamber vac sealer so we vacuum pack & freeze a lot of stuff. I have a pressure canner, I'd like to try canning some meats tho the wife probably won't care for it. Ground beef is a pretty cheap way to try canning meats, and it works fine for taco meat or spaghetti sauce or something. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 3:34:57 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: You can probably say that for any form of home food production & storage - we've had a couple hundred years to develop and tune an ag business system focused on pumping as much food into people as rapidly as possible, and dollar for dollar there's no way you can really compete. The only real reasons to DIY are to get quality far beyond what you can get at the grocery store, or to glom on to the little feeling of security you get from knowing how to produce your own food. Both perfectly valid reasons IMHO, but it's rarely a financial win. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: Originally Posted By Ameshawki: Done it but not for many years. More trouble than it was worth. You can probably say that for any form of home food production & storage - we've had a couple hundred years to develop and tune an ag business system focused on pumping as much food into people as rapidly as possible, and dollar for dollar there's no way you can really compete. The only real reasons to DIY are to get quality far beyond what you can get at the grocery store, or to glom on to the little feeling of security you get from knowing how to produce your own food. Both perfectly valid reasons IMHO, but it's rarely a financial win. Even if you look strictly at cost, it's not bad. Using Walmart's website as a reference, commercial canned food is about $3.50 per pound for chili, $4 per pound of chicken, $3 per pound of vienna sausage, $5.50 a pound for SPAM, $3 a pound for "luncheon loaf," $4.80 per pound of "potted meat," etc. That's not exactly cheap. That's also not considering that most of these products contain bottom barrel cuts of meat, and they include wholesome ingredients like corn syrup, textured soy flour, modified food starch, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, and so on, thus opening the door for your quality comment. If you grab some meat on sale at the grocery store, throw it in some jars with a little salt, pepper, garlic, or whatever, you can have something that's cheaper pound per pound, tastier, and hell of a lot less sketchy. Now that I've seen it, I'm not sure I understand why more people aren't doing it. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 3:48:42 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GenYRevolverGuy: Even if you look strictly at cost, it's not bad. Using Walmart's website as a reference, commercial canned food is about $3.50 per pound for chili, $4 per pound of chicken, $3 per pound of vienna sausage, $5.50 a pound for SPAM, $3 a pound for "luncheon loaf," $4.80 per pound of "potted meat," etc. That's not exactly cheap. That's also not considering that most of these products contain bottom barrel cuts of meat, and they include wholesome ingredients like corn syrup, textured soy flour, modified food starch, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, and so on, thus opening the door for your quality comment. If you grab some meat on sale at the grocery store, throw it in some jars with a little salt, pepper, garlic, or whatever, you can have something that's cheaper pound per pound, tastier, and hell of a lot less sketchy. Now that I've seen it, I'm not sure I understand why more people aren't doing it. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GenYRevolverGuy: Originally Posted By midmo: Originally Posted By Ameshawki: Done it but not for many years. More trouble than it was worth. You can probably say that for any form of home food production & storage - we've had a couple hundred years to develop and tune an ag business system focused on pumping as much food into people as rapidly as possible, and dollar for dollar there's no way you can really compete. The only real reasons to DIY are to get quality far beyond what you can get at the grocery store, or to glom on to the little feeling of security you get from knowing how to produce your own food. Both perfectly valid reasons IMHO, but it's rarely a financial win. Even if you look strictly at cost, it's not bad. Using Walmart's website as a reference, commercial canned food is about $3.50 per pound for chili, $4 per pound of chicken, $3 per pound of vienna sausage, $5.50 a pound for SPAM, $3 a pound for "luncheon loaf," $4.80 per pound of "potted meat," etc. That's not exactly cheap. That's also not considering that most of these products contain bottom barrel cuts of meat, and they include wholesome ingredients like corn syrup, textured soy flour, modified food starch, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, and so on, thus opening the door for your quality comment. If you grab some meat on sale at the grocery store, throw it in some jars with a little salt, pepper, garlic, or whatever, you can have something that's cheaper pound per pound, tastier, and hell of a lot less sketchy. Now that I've seen it, I'm not sure I understand why more people aren't doing it. Labor. If you figure that in (and you should, if we're being honest about the cost) it starts falling apart pretty quickly. Canning is time-consuming, and though you can multitask somewhat through some of it you still have to babysit the process from end to end. One quart of canned round steak or (God forbid!) bacon that didn't quite seal and popped the top after going into the cabinet can also wipe out any savings. Hasn't really been a problem for us but the potential's always there. It's still worth doing though, IMO. You just have to stretch "worth" to mean more than just dollars. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:20:30 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: Labor. If you figure that in (and you should, if we're being honest about the cost) it starts falling apart pretty quickly. Canning is time-consuming, and though you can multitask somewhat through some of it you still have to babysit the process from end to end. One quart of canned round steak or (God forbid!) bacon that didn't quite seal and popped the top after going into the cabinet can also wipe out any savings. Hasn't really been a problem for us but the potential's always there. It's still worth doing though, IMO. You just have to stretch "worth" to mean more than just dollars. For our purposes, it is not about cost as much as we know what is in it and how everything was prepared to know we have the best product possible. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:23:38 PM EDT
[#37]
I do water bath canning.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:28:36 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Taom: I do water bath canning. Is that like e-thot bath-water jarring?
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:30:03 PM EDT
[#39]
Does putting ammo up in ammo cans count?
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:32:34 PM EDT
[#40]
yes, peppers and pepper relish mostly
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:35:15 PM EDT
[#41]
We do a bit of canning.
We have 3 All American pressure canners, and several water bath canners. The large wood fired outdoor water bath canner will hold 80 quarts jars per batch. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:38:44 PM EDT
[#42]
Not on a regular basis but occasionally.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:39:31 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: Labor. If you figure that in (and you should, if we're being honest about the cost) it starts falling apart pretty quickly. Canning is time-consuming, and though you can multitask somewhat through some of it you still have to babysit the process from end to end. One quart of canned round steak or (God forbid!) bacon that didn't quite seal and popped the top after going into the cabinet can also wipe out any savings. Hasn't really been a problem for us but the potential's always there. It's still worth doing though, IMO. You just have to stretch "worth" to mean more than just dollars. We have a large family with lots of children to help. Is their labor free? Well, if you count the time they spend in the garden, harvesting, prepping the food for canning, canning it, and putting it away, - and than consider how much damage those idle hands could have caused if they were not busy helping, their labor is not only free, but is actually a negative cost. It all depends on your perspective. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:40:43 PM EDT
[#44]
I thought this was going to be a BDSM thread
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MS, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:43:31 PM EDT
[#45]
My wife does some fruits and jams.
I’ve done meat before too, but that’s not something we’d really eat/rotate so we don’t do it much. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:46:11 PM EDT
[#46]
We do, but the amount has dropped dramatically since we bought a freeze dryer a few years ago.
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:48:13 PM EDT
[#47]
Orange Habanero pepper jelly
 Red Grape jelly  Carrots  Chicken and Pintos  Sweet n spicy pickles and some chow chow.  Veggie Soup  |
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CO, USA
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:53:00 PM EDT
[#48]
Originally Posted By GenYRevolverGuy: Canning is a subject that I think fits the mindset shared by many here, but I haven't seen discussed much. It gets discussed occasionally in the survival sub forum. We have canned meat, fruits and vegetables. When my wife had more time, before she started her own business, we canned all the time. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 4:58:33 PM EDT
[#49]
I grew up doing it. Applesauce, sliced pears, plums (meh) all via water bath, and deer meat via pressure canning. We froze pitted cherries.
My wife has expressed interest in canning this year. I’m game. We will see how the garden does and whether there is enough produce. |
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Posted: 5/14/2024 5:00:10 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By lumper: We have a large family with lots of children to help. Is their labor free? Well, if you count the time they spend in the garden, harvesting, prepping the food for canning, canning it, and putting it away, - and than consider how much damage those idle hands could have caused if they were not busy helping, their labor is not only free, but is actually a negative cost. It all depends on your perspective. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By lumper: Originally Posted By midmo: Labor. If you figure that in (and you should, if we're being honest about the cost) it starts falling apart pretty quickly. Canning is time-consuming, and though you can multitask somewhat through some of it you still have to babysit the process from end to end. One quart of canned round steak or (God forbid!) bacon that didn't quite seal and popped the top after going into the cabinet can also wipe out any savings. Hasn't really been a problem for us but the potential's always there. It's still worth doing though, IMO. You just have to stretch "worth" to mean more than just dollars. We have a large family with lots of children to help. Is their labor free? Well, if you count the time they spend in the garden, harvesting, prepping the food for canning, canning it, and putting it away, - and than consider how much damage those idle hands could have caused if they were not busy helping, their labor is not only free, but is actually a negative cost. It all depends on your perspective. Sure, it's going to be a different calculation for every family, though whether it's your own hands or the kids' doing the work, it's still uncompensated labor and somebody's paying the piper in some form - even if it's just the sweat of the kids' brows. Don't get me wrong, I'm 100% behind home food production and storage of all manner. We can, dehydrate, freeze, vacuum-pack, and will probably freeze-dry when Foodsaver comes out with a $250 model . I just think we should be honest in how much effort all that takes and that it's not fair to include value we added ourselves into the mix.Above all that, though, are the bona-fide life skills you're equipping your children with. That trumps everything else as far as "worth" goes in my book. 
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