# pressure canning time and costs?



## joe&katie (Jun 14, 2010)

Not very experienced yet it canning, and have only canned fruits in water bath. I'm trying to figure out if canning is actually cheaper than buying canned goods for vegetables. If you have to run the stove for pressure canning like 30 minutes or more to can 7 jars of carrots, doesn't that get expensive after a while? I can imagine myself calculating gas bills all winter so that I can compare with the gas bill for the stove all summer while I'm canning.


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## jcatblum (Dec 15, 2009)

For some items it is cheaper & easier to purchase them. However, many enjoy seasoning their can goods to their taste prior to canning them. Plus the bennifit of not depending on the local store for your only source of food. If you grow it & preserve it you know exactly what your food contains.


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## shepherdtim (Oct 22, 2009)

Honestly I don't consider this a comparison of apples to apples. There is no way that canned goods you purchase taste anywhere close to as good as what you can can yourself. Bottom line...if taste and quality do not matter then purchased canned goods win every time!


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## arrocks (Oct 26, 2011)

In our house, we can for quality, not for cost savings. No preservatives, personal seasonings/flavorings, etc. There is no comparison to store-bought when it comes to the quality of home canned.

But cost factors are often less than store-bought too. Especially if you grow your own as we do.


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## derm (Aug 6, 2009)

A lot of folks can what they grow and harvest or in terms of meat, get as whole cuts they raised or purchased locally. I can up beef when I buy a half or quarter. I can up veggies when I harvest a bushel of beans or tomatoes. If you go to the store and buy a bag of carrots and then can them it might be more expensive than buying what a major company can put out there. If you have 50 pounds of tomatoes in your kitchen from your garden it is waaaaaay cheaper to can them up then to buy 50 pounds of tomatoes and can them. This year my local orchard/farm did not have the canner's special corn bushel so I did not put them up, so I buy frozen or already canned corn.


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

I can so I can make sure I have the best quality. I can control the risk of food borne illness myself, and know exactly what's in my food. It's custom eating; I control what the seed variety is, so I affect the outcome.

While it's spendy to use the electricity for canning, over the long haul it's probably cheaper than keeping a freezer (although I do that too) because of the zero maintenance after it's in the sealed jar. I also dehydrate some foods, and that also has zero maintenance. Lots of folks use solar dehydrators, but I like to use an electric one so I can control the temperature and air movement more accurately. My food is valuable to me, and difficult to replace with like quality; so I don't like to take unnecessary risks with it.

Plus, there's an intangible savings here-- I don't go to the grocery, so I'm not throwing some extra add-on sales in the cart. 

I'm at a point in my life where I can afford just about whatever I want to eat. People think I'm a little weird to keep putting up my own food when I could just go buy anything I want. But for me, the emphasis is on quality; I wish to eat well. And putting it up myself from either home grown or locally grown food yields the best results for quality, taste, sustainability, and even cost.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Lids cost 13 cents each,the canner holds 18 pints. Everything comes from right here,beef,rabbits,veggies,fruit ect. No chemicals on anything includeing our alfala fields that the beefers/bunnies eat. I heat the water for canning on the wood cookstove and cann on propaine. Probably get about 10 canners full on a small grill tank. I prefer canning to freezing, seems i always get too much freezer burn. Tho nothing goes to waste when that happens-I cook it down for the dogs,they have gotten used to veggies in their meat stew.If it does cost us anything,it's worth it as the security factor.


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## PixieLou (May 1, 2010)

Seriously - there is absolutely no comparison. I haven't done the price comparison, but there are some things you just can't put a price tag on.

Have you ever watched the movie Food Inc.? You won't be so keen on buying chicken on sale for 79 cents a pound any more.

Read this article about reconditioned food. I doubt you'll ever want to buy commercial apple sauce again. Or chocolate ice cream.

http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2...e-for-faulty-food-fda-calls-it-reconditioning


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

The taste of home canned food is so much better!

PLease check your timing before you can. Elevation changes how long you need to can for.

The The Ball Blue Book Of Canning and Preserving Recipes is ESSENTIAL.


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## arrocks (Oct 26, 2011)

Was just reading through the same question posted on another forum. The consensus there is the same as it apparently is here - if cost is your primary consideration then home food canning may not be for you. I'd qualify that to add - unless you have a big garden or a great farmer's market available.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

arrocks said:


> Was just reading through the same question posted on another forum. The consensus there is the same as it apparently is here - if cost is your primary consideration then home food canning may not be for you. I'd qualify that to add - unless you have a big garden or a great farmer's market available.


I agree. That is the rub. Cheap food keeps people from canning and freezing. I have to really watch what I eat and I never know what "they" add. I raise my own to control my diet, Never is cheaper, even though I don't know how anybody can do it cheaper than I can, at my level of production. I extend the season to have fresh as long as possible, have a greenhouse to have fresh, too. Some is canned, dehydrated and frozen in case of a bad year, some for SHTF, some for long term, just in case. I also can, freeze and dehydrate so I have no spoilage, can't see it go to waste, that cost would have to be figured in to. Livestock is grown for year around use. Everyone has a different scenerio, adjust to your needs and wants....James


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## claytonpiano (Feb 3, 2005)

Just a thought.....Have you ever taken a can of green beans, drained off the water and then compared it to some you canned yourself? If you do, you will discover a tiny, pitiful pile of beans from the ones you bought compared to a large pile that "sits up" (for lack of better words.) After comparing, I realized that I was really getting more food for the money from my canning even when I have to buy some of the produce. 

Second, there is an initial purchase of jars, canner and utensils.......now that I am 30+ years into this, however, it costs me nothing except for lids and gas for my stove. Divide the cost of my canner over 30 years and it costs me less than $100 per year to can all the food that I need from my garden. Since I save my own seeds, the cost is negligible. The chickens supply my fertilizer. I do buy wheat straw for mulch. Still, I eat almost for free. 

So, do I save money by canning......absolutely. Is my food healthier than what I buy in the store? Definitely. Sometimes, you have to think long term. I have been keeping up with my grocery bill for the last six months. I have spent less than $300. Part of that cost is organic milk. When you figure it that way, canning is the only way that I can afford to eat the way that I do.


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## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

I use mine to can meat. Home canned meat is way cheaper and tastier than store bought canned meat. 

Plus, the heat you use to can the meat also cooks it, which saves in gas. 

I don't grow enough vegies to can, what little I have left over I freeze, so I don't know about that.


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## MD Steader (Mar 11, 2010)

margoC said:


> I use mine to can meat. Home canned meat is way cheaper and tastier than store bought canned meat.
> 
> Plus, the heat you use to can the meat also cooks it, which saves in gas.
> 
> I don't grow enough vegies to can, what little I have left over I freeze, so I don't know about that.


I can my venison, believe it or not I saw venison at the store (Wegmans) for 43.95 a pound. I laughed at that, told the wife we got like two grand worth of deer in the freezer waitign to go in the canner.


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## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

I can my venison as well! I also can beef and chicken. I like to make venison strogenoff with the canned venison. It's so easy and so good!

Only problem is, it's kind of the only way I know how to cook venison. Sometimes my roasts turn out too dry. I just started making venison sausage. I'm going to make patties the next time I think. It turned out good though. 

I can venison scraps for my doggies. What we think is gamey, they think is good. I put the membranes, bloody meat, tendons, anything but bones goes in.


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## Aseries (Feb 24, 2011)

When canning your own stuff, I consider the cost of my health in the long run, no you cannot quantify it in $$ but less garbage in your food, made by you is less problems you will have later in life. Its like water damage in a house, it just gets worse as time goes by then all of a sudden the house needs to be demolished. The same with the body, one min its fine with tons of crap, next min your dying on a table.

I can and pressure can because I know I dont need 7 chemicals in canned chicken, all I need is chicken, and if I want salt. I know I dont need anything in my canned salmon, or preservatives in my pressure canned chili, or chicken broth or carrots.

Sure it takes me sometime, but kill your TV, factor in the quality time with family and what not. It becomes worth it. 

Though I still buy canned goods, like peas, there so expensive here, and I dont have a place to grow enough to can them. But when it comes to cost, nothing beats buying a 17lb salmon off of a friend canning it and telling the dude 7 months later your eating his salmon in a sandwich.

I also noticed people notice the taste, everyone whos tried my canned potatoes love it, 50lb bag for $10 pressure canned, I cant even buy a can at the store for less than $1 per tiny can. I even taught my sister in laws kids how to pressure can potatoes because they love them.

I find it depends on what you want in life. More $$, time, better quality food, all of the above, better tasting stuff, some people just can or pressure can one thing... I know a dude who only makes pickles for himself, nothing else... oh and they are awesome pickles lol

just my 2 cents


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## joe&katie (Jun 14, 2010)

I'm really pleased with the taste of the things I've done so far, and plan to can a lot in the future. Until this, I usually froze a lot of fresh stuff or bought mostly frozen foods, and I really like the idea of there being no additional expense after the canning. 

I'm using an electric stove right now, but will be canning on an LP gas stove in the future, so I think the cost should be better. I know and agree, it isn't about the expense, it is about the quality and knowing what goes into your food.

I see that a lot of responses have been about canning meats and fishes. We are vegetarians, so wouldn't be doing any of that.

As I said in my post, I am new to canning, and I'm also pretty poor, which is why I wondered about the expense. And, I will be growing quite a lot of our food. It occurs to me that canning meats and trading them for something I don't grow might be a good barter idea. As an example, one of my neighbors grows the best sweet corn I've even eaten, and I wouldn't mind trading for it.


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

We can not only because it taste better and is, in many cases, better for you, but also because we are trying to live a more self sufficient lifestyle.


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## acde (Jul 25, 2011)

canned 18 pints of black beans for 32 cents a pint did it all at once, now when I want beans it's 5 min to heat.


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