# How much do you can?



## chester5731 (Jul 6, 2011)

From what I understand the Morman church recommends keeping two years worth of food per family. That got me to wondering how much all of you can in a years time? All thing combined (fruit, meat, veggies, and taters) I do about 150-200 pints and quarts.


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## Kristinemomof3 (Sep 17, 2012)

So far I have canned probably 225 jars of food since the beginning of the year. I do have stuff for chicken broth in the freezer, just waiting for it to cool down a little bit more before I can anything else.


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## YounGrey (Jun 7, 2007)

I can roughly once a week, much more in late summer or early fall.


Homesteading Recipes:

http://homesteadingrecipes.blogspot.com/?m=0

From my farm to yours...


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## Gretchen Ann (Aug 30, 2010)

Canned food - I have approximately 400 jars of various items.

But I also have a BIG freezer and it is pretty full of frozen food/25 chickens, some whole, most cut up, chicken broth (just because I didn't want to can it), cooked chicken meat, beef, pork, vegetables, applesauce, butter, popcorn, all sorts of stuff.

I also have several bushel of potatoes & a crate full of butternut & spaghetti squash.

All for 2 people. It is really hard for me to cut down the canning after providing food for a family.

Are you eating what you put up? Do you go to the grocery store every week? Try living off of what you have canned/froze/dried/stored and only going to the grocery store once a month. . . longer is even better.

I know some people's idea of food storage is having cases of macaroni & cheese or hamburger helper on hand.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Between 500 to over 1000 jars. I counted 2 years in a row and do not count anymore. I also freeze and dyhydrate. I do not do much jams/jellys but use a lot of the fruit I grow for wine. I have no idea how many jars I have but over 4000. Most of which people have given me or bought for me at garage sales.


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## bluebird2o2 (Feb 14, 2007)

I canned over 200 jars this year.not enough too last two years though.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

We probably average 500 a year. I try to raise big crops of 2-3 item and put up enough to last 3-5 years then the rest of the garden is just to eat off of except for things like potatoes,onions etc.One year I'll put up 200 qt of pickles and 150 of corn 100 limas and 100 peas.Next year it might be 200 green beans 150 beets 200 sweet potatoes(canned) and 100 carrots.
If you stop and think of just how much you consume it's a full time job to do it all at home but then again you KNOW what you are eating.
Oh! and of course add to that the canned carp,deer pork,beef squirrel,rabbit etc probably another 100 average per year easy!And add what goes into the freezed and the dehydrator etc. Whow!I'm questioning my own math!!Who knows??


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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

This year i did twice as much as last year but it still won't be enough. Around 150 jars, not counting jams and jellies (that really isnt food is it?) Its nearly a second part time job to build up a years worth. I'd like to freeze more but I'm afraid id lose it in a freezer malfunction. It has happened twice before to me.


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

I do 500-1000 jars a year. It depends on how the garden does.  I also write down every year what I can. I can look back each year to see how much I did, how much we ate & adjust the amount of that item from there. I have records back to 2005. I also have 4 freezers full of meat that we raise & butcher.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I have never gone out and counted my total, but I just go by category for a year. As soon as I reach the number of jars in that category, I go to the next one. Often, I will can multiple categories at the same time. Crab for example? DH and I eat that once/week (we go crabbing locally). Instead of 52 pints of crab meat, I can a bit less. I figure out how many jars to can for the off-season eating by the year. There is no guarantee of Winter crabbing, so don't factor that in We can garden almost all year around, so do consider some fresh produce in.


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

This was our first year canning, but we did between 240 and 250 jars.
That is jams and jellys. Green beans, tomato sauce, salsa, toasted tomatoes, apple sauce, spiced apples, pears and peaches.
Also have over 40 bags of green beans in the freezer.
We plan on at least doubling that next year.


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## campfiregirl (Mar 1, 2011)

If you are trying to determine if you have enough, think about how many jars you would use a day to feed your family, then multiply by 365! Your own meal planning is your calculator. When I started expanding our pantry, I tracked the ingredients used to make our meals for 2 weeks, then multiplied each ingredient by 6 to see if I had enough on hand to replicate that menu for 3 months (12 weeks), then again for 6 months, etc. 
Last month when I told my coworkers I was canning peaches, they asked me how many. I said about 52 quarts per year. When their jaw dropped open, I simply said that is only 1 jar per week, and I have a family of 6. Easy to go through that many peaches until next harvest!


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## wanda1950 (Jan 18, 2009)

I quit for awhile with one case of empty jars left on hand. Probably around 200 pints, quarts & half pints. I freeze our peas & corn & peppers plus this yr quite a few blueberries & cherries we were given & all freezers are full. We don't eat much meat but I do buy on sale & freeze--try to keep several months worth on hand. I didn't dehydrate much this yr.--only some okra. 

I wish we could find someone who wanted extra produce--we tried to give away peas, peppers & tomatoes but got no takers. I feel guilty to see the garden still full.


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

I've done 600-some jars so far this year...still have applesauce, apple juice, pear sauce, pear halves, pickled peppers, red raspberry jam, and potatoes to do.

Our Amish neighbors did 33 bushels of peaches! They had 585 quarts done with the first 20 bushels, but I don't know what the final total was. Can you imagine what their basement must look like? I'd love to be invited to see it sometime. They have 8 kids, so I would imagine they go through the food!


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## PackerBacker (Jul 17, 2013)

Dixie Bee Acres said:


> This was our first year canning, but we did between 240 and 250 jars.


That is impressive for a first year.



chester5731 said:


> How much do you can?


As much as possible.

You can't really have to much.

I'd like to have enough for 2 full years but I am a ways off.


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## mpennington (Dec 15, 2012)

First year to pressure can and my Christmas All American 915 has seen some use this year. So far, I've pressure canned 200 jars of beans, broths, mixed vegetables, stew, soup, chicken, and chili. Water bathed another 60-70 jars of jams and pear slices. I do consider jams as food. I process them without sugar using Pomona's Pectin.

Just purchased a second canner so I can process stacked pints of broth and beans and water bath quarts. DH is building more shelves.  I also dehydrate a lot and keep frozen grass fed beef, pig and free range chickens in freezer. I'm gradually moving away from the freezer to canning for meat storage.

I purchase beans and grains in bulk and grind both in my mill for flour. We haven't purchased many loaves of "store bought" bread this year.


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

> I wish we could find someone who wanted extra produce--we tried to give away peas, peppers & tomatoes but got no takers. I feel guilty to see the garden still full.


Isn't that crazy?? Wish I were closer as I have no luck with peas. I usually take whatever anyone gives me as I hate to see anything go to waste.


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## campfiregirl (Mar 1, 2011)

There's a high amount of Mormons per capita in my area... not much going to waste around here! We have a table at work that people can use to give away extra produce, and it goes very quickly. Around here, if you aren't LDS, you probably grew up "putting up" jars of goods and butchering deer, elk, etc., as a way of life. We have our share of imported city-folk, but we do our best to show them the farmin' way. :cowboy:


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