Does anyone do canning? I was thinking about trying it but I don't want to spend too much money buying stuff in case I don't like it. Any tips, ideas, etc?

I remember helping my mother with it when I was a kid. She didn't really do too much of it but we did make green tomato relish and some jams. Then I hated it...it was messy and a lot of work. Now I think it could be fun to try again. I'd do pickles, though.

Where is Federal Heights? I'm in Colorado Springs.

I want to do pickles and maybe some jams or jellies and apples or something simple. I live right down the street from Water World closer to 92nd and Federal.

Yeah we are basically north Denver

Oh, OK. I was just curious because I had never heard of it. Have fun if you decide to do your canning.

I've canned before. I still have all the supplies. For me, it was a lot of work in a hot kitchen made hotter by the steam from the pot. I couldn't figure out how it was going to save me money because even if you have the jars, the pot, the lifter, etc... you still have to buy the lids every time and pay for the electric for the stove, the water (unless you have well water, which I do), the cleaning supplies, etc...

It's much faster and easier to blanche most veggies and freeze them, IMO. How much jam can you use anyway?

I started to try it this year, but when I read that the pan I bought at Walmart couldn't be used on an electric stove, I returned it and the jars, and bought freezer jars instead, so that I could try making freezer jam.

You can read all about canning here: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html and see if it's something you want to do. I think there was something about it being a little different at high elevations...I skipped that part because I'm at sea level.

The freezer jam that we made was wonderful. I'm not sure any of it saw any bread...the kids kept eating the jam with a spoon, because they said it was better than the bread we had and they didn't want to spoil the jam by putting it on the bread The jars I gave to my mom met the same fate.

I remember helping others can and I remember how hot and hard it was. When I got married, I did some freezing (mostly green beans and tomatoes), but realized by the time i bought all of the supplies, it was just cheaper to to go Sam's Club or somewhere like that a buy a case of green beans.

I would say if you're doing it as a money saver, really look over the numbers. If you're doing it for the fun of doing-it-yourself or the taste of a canning recipe, then it's priceless.

I know my MIL used to make THE best bread-n-butter pickles in the world and the store bought ones are not even close! I loved 'em so much, she gave me a jar as a christmas gift once and I would NOT share them!

We can all the time. Have a lovely garden in MI. Can lots of what we call "stewed tomatoes". Thats tomatoes, celery, peppers, and onions all cooked together and canned. We do green beans, make our own sauerkraut and also do salsa. Have cut back quite a bit in the last 3-4 years, used to can beets,carrots, dill, and bread and butter pickles too.

We do it in the garage and cook all of the stuff in a big pot over a propane stand that you use to cook turkeys. Then use the grill to heat and sterilize the jars. So that keeps the heat and mess from the house. Of course we pressure cook the beans in the house, but beans do not make the mess that tomatoes do.

Yes, it is a lot of work, and sometimes very hot, and probably not the money saver it used to be, but we still enjoy having home canned tomatoes, sauerkraut and beans

I can all the time. I canned strawberry, blueberry, and black cherry jam so far this this year. and Just yesterday (sunday) I canned bread and butter pickles.

I use the jams in my cakes a lot of the time. I still have to make apple butter, raspberry jam, orange maramalde. and peach preserves. My sisters peach and apple trees are GREAT this year.

Next month I will be canning my tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, salsa, and green beans.

So what do ya need to know?

I would like to start out small with pickles, peaches and jams. What do i need as in equipment and finding directions and or recipes?

this website should get you started in the right direction.

http://www.pickyourown.org/KY.htm

they have so many great picture tutorials, beginner info, do's and dont's. Lots of recipes and just great tips.. and you can go to the home page.. pickyourown.com and choose your state, and it will tell you all the farms around your area where you can get the fresh produce.

for example: I went to one of our local farms and it is $7 for a five gallon bucket of tomatoes or cucumbers. I didnt need five gallons of tomatoes this weekend, and it only cost me $2 for eight beef steak tomatoes fresh off the vine. It also tells you when and what produce is availble at each farm each month.

check out the website. you will like it and it will get you started.

I'm glad I came across this forum. I just sent some cakes in a jar to my husband and his coworkers in Afghanistan. I was wondering if there is anyway to seal the jar with the frosting inside of the jar, or do I just have to stick with air vacuumed bags. I know the jar seals as the cake cools, but was wondering if there's a way to seal it AFTER the cake has cooled. This is the first time I've done anything with canning, and it was really quite easy. Just wondering if there's a way to eliminate extra stuff in the mailing box. TIA

I grew up learning to can at my grandma's elbow. I've canned about 12 quarts of tomatoes this year --have a neighbor who has been very generous with his garden surplus. I pretty much limit my canning to things that are unique. I put up a wonderful tomato soup and make several kinds of fruit butters. I don't have a garden and buying produce to can costs more than if I'd go buy it already canned in the stores.

I have been canning specialty jams to sell at the farmer's markets.

The canning jars are really the only big expense for me. I use my enameled, cast-iron dutch oven for cooking down the jams and my large stock pot for boiling the jars. I bought a small start up kit from Walmart that had the jar tongs, magnetic stick, and funnel for like $8.