Canning and Preserving

With the economy in such wonderful shape, some people are going back to nature and either planting their own garden, for those who have yards, shopping at farmers markets for produce to can or buying produce directly from farms, such as the one they bought a share in (separate purchase).

Canning technology has changed over the years, and while canning has always been around, it's probably a good idea to brush up on technique before doing so.

Whether you save money or not depends on your circumstances; some people don't find canning to be worth the time, since they have other things to do and sufficient money that it isn't a problem. Other people like to do this sort of thing and will do it whether they'll save money at it or not. Still others prefer to have better control over they type of food and ingredients they use.

The most common things that people I know can are tomato-based and I'm not a big tomato fan so am not likely to emulate them. The next item is jelly/jam, which I don't use much and am also not likely do make my own. I could make jam to give as a Christmas gift, but am not likely to do so.

Next year we'll probably all get jars of jam for Christmas.