How to get 20 pints of veggies for under $3.00

[KariM]

I'm so excited and had to share yesterday's frugal day with you!

First, let me state that I know our cost wasn't exactly $3.00, but I don't quite know how to factor in the natural gas costs - so please take that into consideration.

We had a canning day yesterday. It's the first of the season here in our home, and it dawned on me as we were prepping the beets that we paid $0.89 for the packet of seeds.

We still have half our patch in the garden as we only harvested the largest beets.

But - the yield was 5 quarts of canned beet greens and 12 pints of pickled beets! We'll probably have another harvest as large in a few more weeks.

In addition to the seed cost, we had to add in spices (cinnamon, allspice, cloves, mustard seed) and apple cider vinegar to make the pickled beets. We also had to purchase canning jars and rings (we bought them used at garage sales for a dime eacah and they're re-used many, many times) and lids. The lids are one-use item.

I know that growing a garden and canning isn't for everyone. Heck, for our family it's a day's entertainment.

We really enjoy getting out in the back yard and tending to the plants and then harvesting and enjoying the results all year long. So much more satisfying than going down to the market and picking up a can.

I also dehyrdated some sage and some basil, but haven't packaged them to know what the yield was, exactly.

The day before we dehydrated 15 lbs of potatoes. The end yield was 38.5 ounces of dehyrdrated slices that can be used in soups & stews. Our local grocery store was running a sale with 5lb bags at only 79 cents. I picked up 6 bags and still have another 3 to do today.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Welcome to the world of canning! I have a serious canning problem, errr, I mean hobby, yeah, that's it!

I have expanded it to freezing this year. With all the food scares, I don't want to accidently buy beans or apples from china. You should check out diggin' in the dirt, if you haven't been there yet!

[KariM]

Glad to meet another canner.

I've been canning for about 16 years now; sorry if the post made it look like I'm a newbie. It was our first batch of the season, not our first canning batch!

I pop in at Diggin in the Earth from time to time, but thought I'd post about our beet revelation here to show how low-cost your own food production can be! I've always know that home canning allows me to have organic veggies at a very low cost - just didn't realize until I started doing the math just how low cost it can be.

[annettemarie]

I'm so inspired! I really want to do some canning, but it seems so daunting.

[brogansmomma]

Wow! Woo hoo!!! What do you use to dehydrate (besides a dehydrator ) - just a regular one? Mine has about five or six layers; don't know how many potatoes that would hold. Any tips on doing potatoes? I like them but unless I buy two or three single potatoes at a time, they go bad before I can eat them all (I don't eat them often obviously).

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Not daunting at all, annettemarie! Soo easy! At first I was uber-vigilant and afraid I was going to give someone botulism. But after the first year or two, you get the hang of it. I'll confess, too, I'm a drinking canner. As my girlfriend says - "you can't make pickles unless you're pickled!" We have canning parties sometimes. That same friend's mom helped me to can the gifts for my wedding favors. We had a harvest/pagan wedding, and the tables were decorated with mason jars of wild flowers and little couldrens of plenty overflowing with fall produce like apples, garlic, gourds, tiny pumpkins, grapes, peppers. On the favor table there was a giant couldren of plenty overflowing with the same things and arranged with jars of canned fruit, jellies, etc. Everyone filled a stamped handled paper bag on their way home. Very nice.

To get started, try Ball's Blue Book of Canning. It has everything you need to know about canning, pickling, freezing, and drying fruit, veggies, and meat. It came with my canner, but I just saw it for sale at the grocery store. Step by step directions for everything. Plus, they make great Xmas gifts! Start with something easy like cold packed dill pickles. You don't even need to cook the pickles, just the vinegar mix! Oh, and I never make jellies. Straining my mix seems like so much work. I make jams & marmalades.

I started because it is a lost art, and I didn't want to forget how to do it. I did it a lot with my mom & gma as a girl, and it's fun! I enter in the county fair, and this year I'm getting that blue ribbon! Plus, if there is ever a terrible incident, I know I can get my family through the winter with some jars and boiling water...

[goldfinch]

I really want to get into canning, but am terrified to start because it seems like the process requires immaculately clean tools and an immaculately clean work area and in my kitchen the words "immaculately" and "clean" are further apart than they are in the dictionary... :

[annettemarie]

Originally Posted by goldfinch

I really want to get into canning, but am terrified to start because it seems like the process requires immaculately clean tools and an immaculately clean work area and in my kitchen the words "immaculately" and "clean" are further apart than they are in the dictionary... :

Yep! Although hklinefelter22's post was inspiring. Maybe some of you experienced mamas could mentor us!

[KariM]

Originally Posted by brogansmomma

Wow! Woo hoo!!! What do you use to dehydrate (besides a dehydrator ) - just a regular one? Mine has about five or six layers; don't know how many potatoes that would hold. Any tips on doing potatoes? I like them but unless I buy two or three single potatoes at a time, they go bad before I can eat them all (I don't eat them often obviously).

DH bought a huge commercial dehydrator from Cabela's. It has 12 trays and we were able to do all 15 pounds in one batch.

We first peel and slice and then blanch them for 3 minutes. After that we toss them in lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Pop them on the trays and set the temp at 120 degrees. 12 hours later they were done.

[KariM]

Oh, it's really quite easy once you get the hang of it!

You do want things clean, but an ordinarily clean kitchen and careful washing will do the trick.

We wash all the jars just before canning and the lids get boiled. You fill your jars, add boiling liquid (varies depending upon your recipe), wipe the threads, place the lid on top, screw down the ring, and off they go into the canner.

Water bath canning is really quite simple and the directions in the Ball Canning Book are easy to follow (they have great step-by-step pictures as well!).

Pressure canning is a bit trickier, but basically just involves watching the dial a lot.

[brogansmomma]

More questions, KariM -

How thin do you slice them. And how do you store them?

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by hklinefelter22

Welcome to the world of canning! I have a serious canning problem, errr, I mean hobby, yeah, that's it!

Yeah, I justify it by saying it's my hobby. A very yummy one.

KariM - The pickled beets- you just use the recipe in the Ball Blue Book? What do you do with canned beet greens? I have a nice little square of beets happening outside, but no real idea what I plan to do with them.

[KariM]

Originally Posted by brogansmomma

More questions, KariM -

How thin do you slice them. And how do you store them?

Not sure if you're asking about the potatoes or the beets.

We use our mandolin slicer for both, though. I'd guess about an eighth of an inch or so.

[KariM]

Originally Posted by lmonter

KariM - The pickled beets- you just use the recipe in the Ball Blue Book? What do you do with canned beet greens? I have a nice little square of beets happening outside, but no real idea what I plan to do with them.

We use the Spicy Pickled Beets recipe from the Ball Blue Book. It's on page 85 in our edition. It calls for onions, cinnamon sticks, whole allspice, whole cloves, mustard seed, and cider vinegar - and the beets.

The greens we plan to add to soups. Funny thing, though, as we were canning them up my son asked if we could cook some up. I'm not so very fond of cooked greens, but hate to waste them, so we add them into soup broth.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

I'm so inspired! I really want to do some canning, but it seems so daunting.

If I knew someone near me that canned, I would donate some time this summer to helping THEM just to get some experience under my belt

[reducereuserecycle]

i used to can with my grandma when i was young. i really need to start canning again.

[brogansmomma]

Originally Posted by KariM

Not sure if you're asking about the potatoes or the beets.

We use our mandolin slicer for both, though. I'd guess about an eighth of an inch or so.

Sorry. I was asking about the potatoes. How do you store those once they're dried? Regular pantry?? Cold storage??

[KariM]

Originally Posted by brogansmomma

Sorry. I was asking about the potatoes. How do you store those once they're dried? Regular pantry?? Cold storage??

Oops! Forgot to answer your storage question.

We vacu-seal them in plastic bags using our Food Saver. Then they go into our pantry (or downstairs in the basement on our food storage shelves).

I've been thinking about getting some large food grade buckets like these and storing them in those.

http://tinyurl.com/vuqbm

[MissMommyNiceNice]

The latest issue of Mother Earth News has great info on saving the harvest for the winter. For things like freezing, I would have never thought to season & lightly grill eggplant & squash, but it is soooo much easier than blanching & freezing. I had serious problems with my food saver & water content. Grilling & sealing, so much easier. I hope that by next year we can build our solar food dehydrater...I have plans and a nice sunny spot. Now I have more time, I hope to get it done.

I like to order in advance bulk from my farmers and put them up in large batches.

As for recipes, I have several different sources I use. The ball book is good, I also have a nice book from Better HOmes & Gardens (I think) with old fashioned/blue ribbon recipes. I have a Guide to Spice & Herbs that has recipes in the back I use (B&B pickles), and random flyers I pick up places. I'm gonna try some new stuff this year, like pickled carrots. I've been trying to do some brandied cherries, but cherries are expensive, & I'm kinda' poor!

I am also going to do applesauce & apple/apricot sauce. Finnzilla loves him some applesauce!

I like this thread! Let's keep it going.

Oh, and PS- I am a very messy kitchen keeper! (see "Pickling while Pickled" ) But, you boil the jars for 5 minutes before filling them. That kills the germs. The dishwasher gets the rest! I haven't killed anyone yet! knock on wood...

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by hklinefelter22

Oh, and PS- I am a very messy kitchen keeper! (see "Pickling while Pickled" ) But, you boil the jars for 5 minutes before filling them. That kills the germs. The dishwasher gets the rest! I haven't killed anyone yet! knock on wood...

Dh is the only one who mops our kitchen floor. It's an awful floor, and I just wear my flip flips while in the kitchen so there is no mess to me. I have a very cluttered kitchen, especially when I'm canning and everything takes up all the counter space and then some. I feel kinda bad for dh when I do that....

What I started doing with my jars before canning is running them through a hot rinse cycle in my dishwasher that kills everything (I my dishwasher), then after soaping and rinsing my smaller half of the kitchen sink I just fill it with super hot water and throw the jars in there. If I put my jars in a pot on the stove I'd run out of room for the jam and lids (in hot hot water on my stove's "keep warm" feature) and water bath canner.

I'm getting excited about applesauce, although a little afraid. Because we *love* applesauce, especially/mostly when it's the good stuff. So I invested in one of those peeler/corer things this year. Because last year I peeled and cored what seemed like a ton of apples (especially with the kidlets clamoring for attention) which took 4 hours, and I ended up with just 5 half pints of applesauce. I wasn't pleased. Plus I've also got at least two guys that are growing organic Gravensteins that I'm stalking now, so I think I'm good. Need to call one of 'em and see how they're ripening now...