I figure I have twice as much canned right now, Rachel as you have. But I can alot more of each kind of thing that I can. That way I might not have to can somethings, like tuna but every third year. Next tuna season I will be almost out, so then I will buy them off the boats. I live on the oregon coast. Just giving tuna as an example. Also I have been canning for 44 years now on my own. So I have jars that I have been using for 44 years now. And I was always on the lookout for used jars in the off seasons. Got great deals in the past. So spread out for 44 years. The costs of my jars now are pretty much zero. Also have had my pressure canner for 44 years Also. One was my grams, one I found for 5.00 at a garage sale 30 years ago. I can, because the taste is so much better. Also I'm allergic to gluten and dairy and a few other things like garlic, corn syrup and a few other things. So alot of stuff like soups, I can't even find to buy. So I can all my own homemade soups. So looking at just starting a canning pantry, yes it can seem expensive. But the younger you start. The longer you will collect the jars etc. And the cheaper each year it will be. So take the advice of a 63 year old canner, that started when she was 19. Just do it. You'll never regret it.
@@1870s thank you. Learned to can from my gram and mom and aunts. Everyone we knew in the 60's and 70's canned. It was just natural that when I got married at 19. That I would can too. I just love seeing all that wonderful put up food in my pantry. I can alot even though there has only been my hubby and I for the 44 years we have been married come this December 9th. I'm a canning addict! They say the first step is admitting you have an addiction. Lol 😆
Hi from Canada, I'm 43. Been canning a little more each year since I had 4 Littles under foot. Now that my baby is 16 and the rest are gone, I have accumulated almost all the jars I need used, some free. This is good advice! Spread out over the years, my jar cost is pretty much free. And when I hit something very cheap, ie. Got 2lb bags of lentils near expiry for 75cents, I Canned 7 quarts soup, using broth from leftover chicken bones and veggie peels so a very cheap 7 jars of covienience meals. Plus I find that I REALLY enjoy it now, it's my hobby. After Thanksgiving turkey here in Canada last month, the adult kids played a board game and I Canned up broth, they happily each took a couple jars home after of mom's broth. But I always say bring back my jars!
@@loritanner4478 enjoyed your comment.I turn 62 next month,got married at 18 and started canning solo at 19....Oh yeah and I also live in Oregon more North east..small world
@@kathlenemackley1335 Hey sweet Sister. I love this channel also and never miss a video. Your post sure reminds me of our younger days when all of our kids were growing up and we were just starting our families. I have some wonderful memories of those days. We were canning and sewing everything in sight. Love you sister. 😍 RachelI I just love you and your channel. 💛💛 I am also from Oregon
For me it’s about health. When I was pregnant with each of my 3 kiddos, I had gestational diabetes. I was told that by the time my youngest turned 10 I would be diabetic that’s “just the way it is”. So I went whole foods plant based and tuned up my canning game. My youngest turns 14 next month and not only am I not diabetic, my A1c is so low that they’ll no longer pay for the tests because my risk is nonexistent. I owe it all to eating from my garden, orchard, and bulk store.
I was Dx with Gestational diabetes with pregnancy #3. I changed diet to awesome from pretty darn good. Two more kids, & rigorous testing showed no indication of Gestational Diabetes. Now my youngest is 17. Not diabetic. I homestead, preserve all that I can. I do not go to restaurants, no fast food, & I avoid processed (by others ) foods entirely. We grow and cook our own.
Mine is also for health, I have food allergies and hubby and sis have to be on a low salt menu and those are hard on commercial produce. I rent my home so I hit the local farmers market.
I had been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, it was my 4th time having cancer. I went into remission at the beginning of the pandemic and started a garden, canning, eating homemade meals every day.....the pandemic actually saved me by forcing me to slow down and put myself and my health first . I know being in lock down drove some people crazy but I thrived. I finally had the time to heal and work through some emotional issues and I'm now medication free. My pantry looks great, shelves are full, freezers too, cold room is full and I'm very happy.
For those in the comments here’s a take from a single person who lives in the city on the East Coast in an apartment. Canning and preserving food has saved me hundreds if not close to $1k or more maybe since late 2020 early 2021.. probably actually. Anyway, I started following Rachel and Todd, and a couple of other RUclipsrs to teach myself how to do it and I’m so happy I did. I buy ONE 25lb bag of bread flour for $10 from Sams Club and it lasts me over a year, I bought a bread maker from the second hand store for $7. I have saved an INSANE amount of money making my own sliced bread using the dough cycle. One day a week I make a loaf for myself lasts the whole week. Spaghetti sauce , I get a case of crushed tomatoes for oh idk anywhere from $8-$11 pending on the sale, spices and onions and garlic and peppers whatever I feel like it and can myself a ton of spaghetti sauce in PINTS because I’m single so it’s just enough for me to make for myself and nothing is wasted. Again that saves me a ton of money. Once I seen the change in just the bread and spaghetti sauce (figured start with the two main things I buy the most for my pantry constantly) I knew I could make even more of a difference in my life. I made Rachel’s apple butter, I can my beans her way too. Spend $1 -$4 a bag on dry beans and can my self a ton of pint jars of beans . I don’t buy them anymore. I buy a big bag of baby carrots from Sams and can a ton of carrots, don’t buy them anymore. Fresh green beans, chili starter, chicken, salsa, jams.. and so on. My comment is already a crap ton too long 😂 My point is.. I wish more single city girls like me realized you can be a homesteader too, you can do this and save so much money and eat so much better for yourself. It’s more convenient than it is hard work in my opinion. I owe it all to RUclips because without all of you showing us how to do it.. we would never know 🖤 I’m forever great full .. K that’s enough.. I know 😂
I follow Rachel from Rockville, MD - older single (guessing Rachel's age) and living on no money. Have ginger, beets, turnips, lots of different peppers, tomatoes are doing better this year; growing in windowsill. Bought 10 lb. flour a few months ago with giftcard but don't bake anymore with diet change. Getting fungus, candida and all out without sugar. Cut out pasta, white rice and potatoes. Still can eat! Have brown rice and get wild (YUM) when I can. Have an excellent store of beans. Whenever I have something I love (learned to cook Lima beans correctly to mush) I save enough to plant. The trading box is priceless which is where I get rid of the pasta and take something out. Looking for an organization to sponsor a garden spot, and I will teach them about the mushrooms I've learned (but won't give away the spots!). Will can when I get the spot! Talking with a group now. Rachel, thank you for everything, and was wondering if you were brave enough to talk about the herbs used in doing an inner cleanse and parasites we aren't told about. I'm using rosemary, wormwood, juniper leaf (for the fungal environment they thrive in) and green black walnut hulls in drink, douche, and holding nose in bath 2x week at the moment. A lot of die-off yucky feel, but I know it will pay off. Thanks!
A few years ago, I hit the absolute jackpot for jars. Someone on Craigslist was giving away cases and cases of jars that were full of their grandmother's preserves and other food items. They gave them away for free because whoever took them had to dump them and wash them. It was over a hundred jars, and I was over the moon! I felt bad dumping all that hard work but the food was over 10 years old. I still think of that little old lady whenever I do a canning project, and am thankful for her.
Something similar just happened to me! One of my very good friends gave me about 100 canning jars from her Mom's cellar and all I had to do was clean them out. It was a fantastic lesson also in understanding how long canned goods last, what it looks like when a seal is bad, checking for cracks and chips and integrity of the jars. Also, I discovered that most of them are ANTIQUE, well over 100 years old. I found a couple of Atlas jars, some really gorgeous Ball jars and a few other brands of jars I knew nothing about until I looked it up. I wasn't going to use them for canning but I didn't have enough newer jars for the last batch of my tomatoes. They worked perfectly! I have been using them for storage for dehydrated foods and I still have a lot of them left over. I absolutely love looking at them in my pantry -- I have some colorful plastic lids I got on Amazon and the old and new combo makes me so happy!
How did the food smell when you opened each jar? 50 years I've heard, still good. A friend found canned tuna that old. He is a chemist. He said it was delicious. I'm not a chemist. I wouldn't try it.
That food might've still been good. Some of it anyways. Check out Alaska Prepper channel who does a video where he cooks some meals with "expired" food and some he canned years ago. He said it tasted good. His point was don't assume old food is bad.
I don't want to trivialize the money part because that is important, but I am less concerned about the money than I am the **capability**. To me, the capability to preserve food on a shelf, long term, is priceless.
Skills are hard won, non-refundable, irreplaceable, and yet free to share. My Grandma called all that work and initial expense of "tuition" to the University of Life.
nice, I agree.......also, she mentions that some folks will say "I can get that from a store for $0.75c"....but what happens when the store doesn't have that can of $0.75c beans or tomatoes or corn?.....or flour or sugar......what happens then? What happens when no store in your area has food currently (for whatever reason)...what are you going to do.....and whatever you do, there's 1000 or 10000 ppl doing the same thing.....its too late....(fwiw, I just finished reading One Second After, great read)....for me it's about being prepared....its about walking the self-sufficiency talk....I also like learning a new life skill....this preserving stuff is fun and this is coming from a 49yr old IT geek....:)
I was in my Meijer store last week. I found 3 cases of half pint jars on a clearance shelf for $3.29 for each case of 12. I will always buy jars when I see them on sale.
My pantry is about (no order) convenience, budget, health, taste with an addition of interest (hobby), food insurance (went hungry before), pride and happiness, made with love, to create and relive memories.
My girlfriend Kim who i grew up with through grade school and high-school , Her mom Carol and I follow each other on Facebook too. She always comments on my garden stuff and our canning. Carol contacted me and asked if I needed jars. She dropped off four boxes of canning jars at my house over the summer. My husband was thrilled. He does most of the canning while I'm at my regular job.
I do food preservation and homesteading so my children learn where food comes from and how to do this for themselves. Also, me doing the preservation lets me put what I want into the food. I don't look at it from a financial perspective.
Thanks to you, I just canned up my first 12 pints of green beans from my suburban backyard garden! I'm so proud of them and I couldn't have done it without you. Oh, and a Presto 23 qt canner is now about $150...❤❤❤
I canned my first 8 quarts and 1 pint of green beans from the garden and I know the feeling! I went and bought a bunch of veggies to can just because of how fun it was. I even pickled some eggs... now I just need more jars 🤔
I have been canning for almost 3 years now. I still like to sit back and just look at my finished product sitting on my kitchen counter while they are cooling. I get a lot of satisfaction and pride from the work I do and the security it gives me.
Thank You for this video. I cannot afford canning jars or the equipment. I am a poor old lady. I live rural. I live alone. My intuition told me to stock up almost 5 years ago. My budget was tiny. I had to do it for a few dollars a week. I had to come up with low cost recipes. I make it work on my budget. I also have health problems that makes life difficult to do as much work as I need to get done. I have 30 of the #10 survival cans. I purchased 15 of them for under $8 each. The others cost me $15 each. Many of those cans are going for around $80 and higher online. I was given 3 of those 30 day buckets as a gift. They were around $100 each but are now over $200 each this year. I also purchased 2 buckets of 10 pound single ingredient buckets for $20 each. I DIYed 3 food grade buckets for less than $20 each filled with 25 pounds of a grain in each. For equipment, I have a dehydrator, vacuum sealer and a few small appliances that can be plugged into my truck. I have a simple indoor salad garden set up with a grow light. I have backup lights of battery operated from Dollar Tree as well as a solar power inverter light that can keep my winter salad garden growing no matter what. The total grow setup was $25 for the lights and containers. I get my garden seeds on clearance for 5 cents a package on clearance in the late fall. I store them in a cheap back to school sale pencil box. I get about $5 in fresh salad fixings in the winter when I have the indoor salad garden running. I had to setup backup ways to cook and prepare food. I had to make space to store food. I had to clean out the linen closet and other areas to make room. I worked hard at filling up my linen closet with food. For some things, the investment of being able to grow and process your own food can be worth it. It has been baby steps for me. Eventually, I want canning equipment setup but I am not there yet.
Rachel, thank you this chat. We changed our diet after my 3rd bout with cancer. I knew there had to be a connection with what I was eating. (This was 20 yrs ago and when I said that to medical staff they thought I was nuts.). So thanks to you sharing canning, and gardening, I am growing and preserving our food. So thankful that you and Todd share your lives and continue to encourage us!
True story- for years I was annoyed at all those pricker bushes on my property. Then one day I saw a big, beautiful Berry sticking out of those pricker bushes. The Lord let's you see things when you are ready. After some research, I found out they are dewberries. I harvested them, froze them and made jelly. This prompted me to start gardening. Lots of failures lots of successes since then. I've found that canning is a labor of love. I don't look at it as work. It's security and convenience. I love knowing exactly what's in my food. There are no mystery ingredients. Yes there is up-front cost involved but it's so worth it. I spent $20 on my water bath canner (so wanting a steam canner now) And around $100 on my 17 qt pressure canner. Well worth it. Thank you Rachel for sharing your insights. 🥰
I am not on the same sized scale as you, but I have saved money by investing in a canner, water bath canning, cooking from scratch, saving scraps for soups, saving carcasses for broth, making home remedies (less meds), etc. I buy in bulk, all organic and now I sleep better, have more energy and clearer mind. I can only grow so much on my patio in this condo, but supporting local farmers makes me feel good (also saves money and closer to my food). Thank you for the honest look at the investment. There were some ideas in your video that I had not considered. Have a wonderful day!
I live in a semi rural area with poor thrifting options and few clearance produce deals (just not the population density, everyone uses their jars more or less, extra inventory is donated quickly). I'll be asking my family that live closer to cities to hit up their local thrift stores for Christmas gifts of jars and sale produce to preserve, perhaps together(!). This is not the economic time in our particular lives to ask for a pony. It's the time to be thankful for canning, passed down recipes, and conversation in the kitchen.
Another attribute to canning is all the packaging you keep out of the landfill by reusing your glass jars year after year. Just think about how much trash you go through in a year by way of food packaging. Cans, boxes, and plastic. Huge impact on reducing waste by canning and preserving.
Yes, good point! It’s hard to believe how much trash people put out at the curb every. single. week! I think Costco is a huge contributor to the problem, lots of packaging.
I completely agree with you about the food industry. I have been sick for the past 2 years. I canned all our food when our children was young. Then life happened as with everyone. This spring I ask my husband for a garden. He thought it would be best not to have one this year. So I went to the Amish and ordered all my produce. We have canned up a storm. My 7 year old granddaughter loves to can with me. It warms my heart to teach her. The food is so much healthier. Next spring we will plant our garden. I truly believe a lot of the problems the children have today is do to the food they eat. Thank you for sharing
I’ve started canning, I’m in the uk and I had to import my canner from the usa! The jars are about £3.50 each! I have found them in France for about €17 for a cash and then extra for the lids. I like the fact that you know what’s in the food! I’m disabled so my husband helps me with the chopping and packing the canner, this was the reason we make the food as some days I can’t cook so hubby can open a jar of something and do veggies or rice! I love your videos! 😊
It always seems that it is more "fun" to chop and peel with someone. I have had two illnesses where cooking wasn't an option. All I could do was open a quart of my vegetable soup and heat it. What a Godsend.
Hi Lesley, I am in the uk as well and have just bought my first pressure canner for my induction hob. The jars I agree are expensive and I will be getting them off Amazon. Like you I want to know what is in my foods and plan to can seasonally when food is at its lowest.
I looked at just tomatoes for the year. I don't start mine from seeds as I don't have room. So I bought $25.00 of plant starts. This provided me with all the tomatoes, tomato sauce, pizza sauce, etc for my 2 person household, for my mother, as well as gave some away to my sister. I noticed one can of canned tomatoes in our grocery store was over $3.00 last week. This was a huge savings. Also, one bag of seed potatoes of about $12.00 supplied our household, my mother and my sister's household for the year. I agree with you Rachel - I also know what's going into my food. Oh yeah - back when I had babies I made all their baby food. Huge savings there too.
I would say that while 40 years ago we had a small grocery bill, food costs have gone up. You would not be able to buy that same amount of food today for $300. While you are not counting the costs of your garden, you do have costs in all the meats you raise, butcher, and can or freeze. I am in the process of getting back into canning and do it so that I know what is in it, and also to hedge against shortages and price increases in the future.
It’s so much more complex then just saving money. It’s about having that control again and being proactive rather then reactive. Pre 2019 when there were no shortages health would have been a motivator but price it couldn’t compete on. If you wanted a tin of tomatoes or a pack of eggs you would just go buy some but both those items in the uk at the moment have definite limitations or restrictions on purpose and there are shortages in every kind of products. So growing your own preserving when you have a good deal all these things aren’t for the immediate need they are so you can still have choices when natruly yours are diminished. It’s a bit wordy but I will give you an example I am a full time university student who has a son who is a full time university student so only me and husband at home. Since September I have only had to do two very small trips to the shop for a couple of fresh items as I have everything I need in pantry’s and freezers. I planned this as I knew the usual way of spending £150 a week in groceries would no longer be something I could do. Planning ahead building a pantry means not only you have what you need when your financial situation changes but also in the post 2019 world you can make sure you still can get what you need when you need it and also help other people who haven’t planned ahead. I always say to people who ask isn’t it cheaper to just buy some tin tomatoes. I say to them how much is that tin of tomatoes worth to you if it is not in the supermarket shelf? You just can’t compare like to like
I think canning my own definitely will save money. My daughter thinks I make more work for myself, since I can still get food at the grocery store. Maybe, but you can’t wait till you need something to learn how to make it.
Yes..organic healthy food is so hard to get in stores unless you pay some ridiculous price. I have autoimmune problems..and I have helped myself so much by eating clean from my own garden. And it not only saves money but I feel so much better, I get satisfaction from doing it..and gardening gives another peace and mental health. Thanks.
If you have been buying jars for decades, it was not expensive. I have jars from the 80’s still being used. My jars have paid for themselves many times over. My water bath canner is over 40 years old, cost me $12. Canning should be considered a long term investment. It’s not just the cost of a can of green beans. Growing it, harvesting and preserving allows me to eat healthy, tasteful food. And by reusing my jars, that’s less going to a landfill.
Estate sales have been a great place for us to find jars. At one sale we bought all jars they had, mostly empty but also some with old food in them still. We ended up with almost 150 jars for $30. We dumped all old food out of the ones with food and washed the jars. Often find them thrifting too but, as you mentioned they do run $1.00 a jar.
I echo your statement. Once people knew I was canning, jars came out of the woodwork. Coworkers, friends and neighbors have all given me jars or returned them. My parents and I cleaned out my grandmothers old shed and we found hundreds!! So exciting and such a gift she had left me almost 20 years after her passing! Our local thrift store also has jars 25 to 50 cents so I’ve bought probably less than a dozen flats of new jars.
Once you have all those jars though , it gets cheaper every year, as you only need to replace the lids for the most part. This year I spent a quarter of what I did last year and my pantry is so well stocked! I do trade full jars for multiple empties with a lot of folks, as so many people around here have a bunch of them laying around. I also trade my gluts for raw foods I don't have. This year all my tomatoes croaked, but my plum trees exploded, so I traded a bunch of my plum jellies, jams and chutneys for buckets and buckets of tomatoes. Pasta sauces tomato jam and salsas a plenty! So many creative ways of building up stock and making sure you have a good variety! Jams, jellies and especially tomato based products have really shot up in price, so now it's becoming more an more economically viable to make your own. Not to mention the superior nutritional quality of hand made products. 🥰
I try to can (or freeze) everything I can from my homegrown garden. I don't factor in cost of time. Having food on my shelf during these uncertain times, is priceless to me.
You would not believe how many people put canning jars in their original case out for recycle on recycling day. I have picked up maybe 10 dozen this way. Also yard sales.
You can add to your stock gradually, I try for 8 cases a year which is around 100 jars. This year I'm at 150 and I only bought one case of wide mouth quarts. The rest were gifts or yard sale. Total cost under $50. My husband doesn't hesitate to ask at yard sales if they have canning jars they want to get rid of. He knows they might say they haven't cleaned them up... his response is my wife doesn't care, she cleans them anyway!
Ask for jars as gifts!! I’ve been canning about 30 years, ppl have given me at least 1/2 my jars, water bath canners, & my mom got me my pressure canner as a gift. I DO use a lot of “gadgets” food processor, slicers/chopper, Mandolin, bc the arthritis in my hands has gotten so bad. My kitchen Aid, food mill & all those attachments were gifts that’s lasted for decades. Once your friends & family know you’re canning, they’ll gift you things. If you take good care of your supplies, they’ll last for many years!! I STILL have my 1st canner-30 years.
If you amortize your canning jars and supplies, you make it even cheaper (say over 10+ years) You have to spend some money on garden seeds and tools, but the tools can also be amortized over a long period. But... when you take away almost all the costs of poor health...what it costs to be sick all time ,from over the counter meds to all medical costs, you gain big time because you also feel helthy and good! It is a win win on every level!
So very true. I know for myself, my doctor has told me whatever I am doing, just keep it up because my numbers are perfect. I credit it to clean Organic foods and being aware of what I put into my body. I freeze dry and powder almost all my greens to add to my smoothies and to my foods. Body needs greens, beets and ginger...those are my super foods. All organic and my water is filtered too, to remove those PFAS chemicals and any other chemicals in the water.
I agree with you completely! We have to take control of what we put in our bodies and that is the reason I started on this journey. Another reason is supply chain. It’s fragile and depended on decision makers that don’t always have our best interest in mind. Thank you both for sharing your journey with us and encouraging us that we too can do this ourselves.
Made up oil shortages. We can all see right through their games. We buy from local dairy, butcher, farms. I'm in blue state of commie Connecticut. Egg farm told me they are regulated and can't sell to the public. Grrrr.
I grow and preserve my food purely because of two major reasons, I am sick and tired of 'supermarket quality' as there is no flavour especially with items like tomatoes and the other I can guarantee the freshness of my veggies. Apart from those two I suppose my enjoyment of growing my own food and then getting to eat it and share with my friends really gives me a good buzz. My mental wellbeing is way, way much improved as well. So, like Todd and you Rachel, money does not come into it but it is still economically sound. Therefore thank you Rachel for your inspiration for me to go that extra step!!
I have two Presto canners one does 7 quarts/9 pints and the other 7 quarts/18 pints, and they cost $6 and $15 at auctions. The rest of my equipment was mostly purchased new, but many years ago so for ridiculously low prices compared to today's prices. Jars came from my grandmothers, auctions, and free. Some of the free required me to dump spoiled food, some a friend and I rescued from a collapsed storm cellar. Another time my sister and I bought enough jars at auction to fill a station wagon for $1. After the spoiled food mess, my dh insisted I only buy new!! Stock pots were auction finds. Jar lifter 5¢ at garage sale.
Most of my jars are second hand. I put a post out a few years ago on FB, and received about 10 cases of jars of varying sizes, all free! People knew Grandma, Mom, Aunt, or themselves that had some.
Absolutely a money saver! Most recently our local store had fresh pineapple for $1.00 each, I bought 7. From those 7 pineapple, it made 9 pints of slices, 9 pints of chunks, and 2 pints of juice. Big savings! Also, watch for meat sales, pork butt roasts go on a good sale about twice a year and average $7-$9 a roast. I buy a handful and cook down in the roaster, add bbq sauce and can in quart jars for ready to go pulled pork sandwich meat. I average 5 quarts per roast so very affordable if you can stock up when they are running sales.
It has definitely saved me money at the grocery store. Not to mention that it is healthier, you are prepared for an emergency and your food ALWAYS tastes better than the stuff from the store. It is just a win win for me. ❤
In February I bought a lot of jars. I had plans to can everything I could get hold of. I knew prices would rise this fall and winter and my heating bills would be higher. For the past two weeks, I have hardly purchased any groceries because the sale are not sales anymore. So relying on my jars.
I started growing and canning after doing alot of research about the health benefits. Being a diabetic and overweight with feet issues I had to figure out how to change my health. I watched my numbers in all my blood work go down the longer I ate what I canned from my garden. In two years I have reduced all my meds and lost weight and loving how I feel. The beginning cost is so worth it. I have friends who have seen my health issues that are wanting to learn how to can. I love watching your videos and learning new things to can and make for dinner. Keep up the hard work.
I started 3 years ago and started buying food and increased size of my garden. I have about 2 to 3 years of food...so with canning jars and other food my cost is little under 5 thousand dollars over 3 years. I have around 150 cases of jars.
TO add. Keep all your jars or try to gather up good size canning jars from used jars. I visit the recycle centre. They sell for 10cents each. Have noticed that the price of new canning jars in the store has sky rocketed.
Have you heard of Sue Becker of Bread Beckers? I am learning to mill my own flours and that in itself is a cost saving. Let's not even mention "health" overall and lack of spending on hospitals, doctors, and medicines! That IS priceless!!
Right now, many farm stores, gas stations, and produce markets in the U.S. Midwest sell carrots and apples in 60# bags for $5-7, for hunters That's a lot of food to put into the freezer or into jars.
Growing and preserving food for sure saves me tons of money. Yes it takes time but honesty when you factor in the time saved on food prep on the back end (like for soups, beans etc.) and the time it takes with frequent visits to the supermarket, I really don't think it is that much more time (once your are used to the process). Depending on what I am canning, I can multitask quite a bit once things are in the canner. And yes jars came out of the woodwork as soon as I mentioned I was canning things. Hands down my biggest single cost saving item has nothing to do with canning. It is growing salad crops. If you are a salad eater like I am, it truly is the biggest bang for my buck. At around $5.00 per one of those plastic containers for organic greens (half of which you throw away because they go bad so quickly), growing your own is like gold.
I have a similar story with my dear auntie. She was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, 6 yrs ago. through organic diet, eliminating bread and processed sugars, along with all the treatments the drs recommended she is cancer free today. It’s been a long fight for her but when chemo therapy started killing her tiny body she stopped using conventional medicine and focussed on holistic living. I decorated her Christmas tree with her yesterday this was the first time in four years that she has been well enough to help! ❤ In our province, being a farming community. You can basically get jars for free around every corner. Still much like anything… I would say it’s worth it to spend the money and build slowly some food is better than none. Love your channel ❤
I cannot thank you enough for taking the monumental effort in crunching the numbers on your pantry. It has given me some options to expand my pantry ( especially jars), and preserve organics. Frankly, cost isn't a big issue for me as I live in the Arctic, so any fresh, organic, preserved food is a treat and blessing. I have gained so much knowledge and confidence to get into growing, canning and meal planning just from your videos. Thank you so much!!
The way I do my figuring on the price of my home canned goods varies a little bit ( I believe this is what you were talking about at the beginning of the video about seed cost etc but this is a big consideration for me). I can buy a pkg of 4 tomato plants for $1.89 ( so less than50 cents a plant) so anything I make from those 4 plants that I don’t have to buy from the store is a cost savings for me. And we use organic methods so to me we’re saving even more. There’s very very few products out there, organic or not, that are less or equal to the cost of one of those plants. I get dozens of jars of food from those plants. So even if I factor in the cost of the jar and lid I’m still saving money. A lot of money. I agree with you 100% that people can make preserving food as frugal or expensive as they wish but, in my opinion, even using the most expensive of everything will probably still end up saving money in the end when compared to purchasing pre made from the store (especially where their health is concerned). One tip to save money is to be patient and wait until the end of the growing season to purchase produce from farmers markets or local farmers. By that time most people have already purchased all they’ve wanted and prices are/can be drastically reduced. The lady I buy some of my produce from was GIVING AWAY tomatoes if you came and picked them yourself at the end of the summer. And right now a local orchard is selling bag your own apples for 25 cents a pound. Make friends with your local growers as well. I bring empty produce boxes to the previously mentioned lady and she was so grateful that she gave me a 50 % discount on my purchase!
Mason jars are popular for holding flowers at weddings. After someone got married I bought their jars. 104 jars for 20 bucks. It was trash to them and treasure to me. (Facebook marketplace)
Where I live food is expensive, I can what I grow to help offset the expense. My 23 qt pressure canner was over $200, 16 qt was over $100 as well as the electric. I also have a steam canner, and water bath canner. They have paid for themselves with amount of food I have canned. I really enjoy your channel, the wonderful recipes, pantry and garden tours. ❤️
Love your candidness and willingness to be vulnerable on camera. You have inspired me to can for first time this spring, now I look forward to canning most weekends - once my garden was emptied out it’s store bought veggies getting canned - or meats. I started canning this year; to get ready I watched a lot of videos (that’s how I found you!) spaced out the purchases of jar cases and finally the canner and a dehydrator. I’m an avid master gardener but shied away from growing much food as I wasn’t sure what to do with the bounty once family and friends were exhausted. I bought and read a couple canning books, practiced and awaited my tomatoes, bush beans, green peppers, carrots and herbs. I’m thrilled to share with you I did freeze (temporarily) the excess tomatoes as you had in your video, made marinara and spaghetti sauce - this is an overdue thank you for that guidance! Now I have a small bookcase with preserved meats, vegetables, soups and sauces. I emptied out the bottom half of the hutch and it’s filling up with potatoes, carrots, bush beans, and soups. I dehydrated all my herbs and those are labeled and on the kitchen shelves. I look forward to whatever else you may share with us in the future. 😎
Same. This is my first year. Garden didn't produce much but have about 1000 jars canned up or dehydrated. Next year is going to be a focus on the garden and learning that! Good job on your canning.
I am in Michigan as well we have lots of online auction services that you can get jars cheap and you can also go to community pages for your town. I bought my first canner at auction and then bought a bigger canner new. I have probably as many jars or more canned up and grateful for my pantry
Hi Rachel. Thanks for the info. I have always believed that I saved money, but have never put pen to paper on it. There is also an amazing sense of satisfaction that I get from planting a seed, nurturing it, harvesting it, and putting it on my shelf. I feel blessed each time I do it.
I save money but I also know what is in the jars and quality of products. The soups and stews are superior and shelf ready. I take pride in my pantry and share with family and friends. You also don’t need a garden as the market is a great source to purchase from. Give it a try.
Those estate auctions are awesome. I picked up 8 cases of pints and 4 cases of quart jars from one auction this summer for $40! Now I dont just can. I also dehydrate and fement too. I dont know how old these jars are so I used them for that and saved my newer jars for canning. I spent about $2000 on new jars this year which I do about every 10-13 years. I can for myself and my kids at home as well as for my grown kids families too. Growing your own food and preserving will save you a ton of money and its so much healthier. I know exactly what is in my kids food and we dont have to worry about commercial recalls. The kids just come over and shop in moms basement and I get to see them every week or two! There is a method to the madness LOL
Thank you for the pantry chat! Your numbers and perspective was very useful. I just got into canning this year and I do it to have control of what goes into my food. Slowly we have been buying less processed food and buying more organic food and cooking from scratch. For those of you reading this: I was at Costco yesterday waiting in line to make a return. While waiting I was looking at what people have in their carts as they leave the store. Every person was taking cancer and disease back to their house and feeding to their family. The commercial food industry is in bed with the pharmaceutical industry - when you get cancer/get sick - they all make more money. Once you realize how expensive it is (loss of health) to buy food at the store, you will see how economical it is to grow and preserve your own food.
Excellent topic, Rachel. I caught a glimpse of an article,I didn't read through it, but basically those who grew small gardens during covid, grew an average of 600.00 worth of produce. My garden bc of drought didn't do as well this yr, but we ate fresh every night and canned or dehydrated every last bit of it. Tomatoes here were 1.99lb at grocer, lettuce was crazy. I do look to see prices and grin bc I don't have to buy any. To my family gardening and preserving is our grocery store especially in wintertime. My time spent growing and preserving, is like cooking, it's a labor of love!! My pay is a healthy, well fed family. I cant put a $$ amount on that.
I started preserving and growing my own food when my kids were small but ate a lot. It was a lot of work but it was much cheaper. When they all left home, for a bit I started eating from the grocery store. My health went south quickly. I went back to growing and preserving my own food and took out the chemicals and my health is much better. I don't spend much at the grocery store either. I would say if you are comparing apples to apples Organic, clean and healthy even paying yourself for your time it is still much cheaper to grow and preserve your own. Not to mention healthier for you. My jars, some are 40 years old, STILL using them. Yes some have broken or the rims have chipped, those get saved for things that don't need a good seal. Over the years I have added to my "stash" I still buy jars when I find them new or used. Very seldom do I throw out a jar. My pantry isn't as nice as yours but it holds probably as much. Has helped enormously since my daughter and granddaughter have moved back home, plus it is teaching my granddaughter how to grow and preserve her own food.
I started buying jars in 2020. I would buy a couple cases at a time. Got my Presto pressure canner for Christmas. Bought a water bath canner and then another. I felt stuff was going to get worse. I kept buying lids too. The pints used to be $8.97 and $11.97 for quarts. I can't bring myself to pay the prices on them now. Thank you so much for this video. Appreciate the time you took.
I have found most of my jars in 2 separate buys off facebook marketplace. They were both brides who used them for desserts, drinks, vases etc. And then cases/ asst lots here and there also through marketplace, varage sale, craigslist
thanks for your video!. we figured our savings this last year and I have saved more than a 500.00 in just gas savings by not running so much for the every day needs. I was always running 2 to 12 miles to get butter or cream of something to finish a meal or milk, bread etc.. Now we stock all the add on items heavily to save the last minute trips.
The only way you lose is if you don't grow. Most people don't realize how many chemicals are used even on fresh veggies. Years ago i found out that I had many chemical allergies/sensitivities. Because the doctor said I probably had food allergies also I decided to put all of us through an elimination diet. My son's were good sports. Our family had all been very big on potatoes so once that food passed after about 2 weeks of being clean the next morning we were going to have hash browns as part of our breakfast so I had bought a bag of frozen hash browns as a treat (usually we had fresh). By the time we got through with breakfast I was becoming angry to the point of rage for absolutely no reason. I knew something was wrong and after banging things around and yelling I told my son's to go to their rooms to be away from me etc. My oldest son went to the garbage to pull out the hash brown bag. I had never bothered looking at it before because it was just potatoes, right? Turns out they do rinse them in chemicals to keep them from turning black. It never occurred to me that what I was eating could cause things like rage. How many behavior issues do our family members experience that may be caused by the processed foods we eat? On fresh foods even lettuce can be an issue. There is a chemical bath that much of the non-organic lettuce is washed with that they don't have to list as an ingredient . It first started being used by hospital, restaurant's and other food service facilities to keep lettuce crisp longer and reduce costs. It used to be if I went out to dinner I enjoyed having a salad. Then it got where the number of places could have it decrease until now I have fewer digestive issues eating a McDonalds cheeseburger than a salad at a nice restaurant. Your health is priceless so if you are growing your own produce and processing it you have that assurance you aren't accidentally consuming something you didn't intend to. Love your pantry.
I love your channel thank you for all your knowledge. I’m a nurse and I find it so much better for your body if you eat what you grow. You know what you are putting in your food.
I have been canning for about 30 years. I have canned over 1000 jars this year and I'm not done for the year. I can't imagine going an entire year without my garden. We love our fresh veggies and with the price in the stores I couldn't imagine having to buy them. I wish you good luck next year taking a year off but I'm truly worried for you. I would hate to see your shelves empty and have to pay triple the price to build your pantry back up. It's just my husband and I in the household and we easily go through 1000 jars a year. Be blessed I wish you well.
Living in Southern California, where I have to water everyday in the summer, I wonder if my garden is worth it financially. This year, despite my efforts, my tomato harvest was dismal. I did manage to get some produce canned and dehydrated, but not much from my garden. There is a church nearby that gives away surplus produce, so I’ve made good use of that! Still, I love gardening! I keep trying! Last week I was gifted a big bag of onions, so I watched your video on making carmelized onions, then canned some sweet onion jam! Thanks for all your inspiration Rachel.
Great video! I grow because of health. I have not done much canning but want to. This year we struggled with our garden. Since I have grown more food and I do ferment some, I feel better then I did when I was buying everything. I bought my pressure canner and water bath canner over 33 years ok when we had a little mini farm. I bought a case of jars every month for about 8 months last year. I also have bought jars at thrift stores and auctions. Last year we canned venison for the first time and loved it. We plan to do it again if we get a deer. I grow alot of my herbs and dyhrate them. I am getting more into foraging as well. A cousin of mine is really big on canning lately. She says she will help me out. I work full time and so tired when I come home. My roommate has lymes disease and it is hard for him getting around so most the work falls on me now.
The meat is another factor. You have your freezers. The cost of meat has gone up at the stores. I live in a more urban area in FL and have started canning this year from a few things in my garden but mostly from buying vegetables at the local places when on sale. It is definitely a nice feeling to know I have some healthy food stores in case we need them or just for everyday meals. Love your channel. Have a blessed holiday season.
I'm in Australia and prices are so expensive for us. like a 12 pack of ball pint jars is $55 average, 12 pack of quart jars is $90. To buy a presto canner, $300. Our Australian brand of preservers (Fowlers Vacola) is $200 for the cheapest preserver and their 12 packs of jars ranger from $60 to $100. I am so jealous its so cheap for you in the US.
I'm in the UK and have only been canning (US style) for a couple of years but it has enabled me to preserve so much of my garden produce without having to use my freezer. It's also enabled me to take real advantage of good deals on meat which I wasn't able to before. I reuse a lot of jars that many would be horrified at but they can beautifully and I don't have the original outlay of canning jars (Ball-type jars run at approximately $6 each, over here!) I still have to shop at the store for a lot of things, but definitely less than I ever had, and I feel that I'm feeding my family with good, wholesome food that will serve us all well health-wise. Your channel has been instrumental in giving me the confidence to pressure can and I'm already planning my 2023 garden to maximise what I can put up. Thank you!
I love this video. I was just sharing with my coworkers yesterday about the reasons I can. Where we live I am really struggling with having a garden but we have apple houses everywhere that sell local produce and I have really been taking advantage of those. My husband is a cancer survivor and I an a heart attack survivor so knowing what is in but more importantly what is not in our food is very important. That being said there is a financial savings as well as a huge difference in taste. I am so glad I’ve learned this skill and thank you and Todd for showing us ways to use our canned goods. Keep it up, we love y’all!
That’s what I’ve been doing now that they seem to have them stocked is buying them every paycheck and in 2020 I bought 2-4 cases of jars so I’m slowly gathering jars and my hope is to fill them next year as much as I possibly can
Quality of food is much better then buying at the grocery store. I hadn't canned for years and I started again 2 years ago. I couldn't believe the taste of the tomatoes! They were like as if i picked them fresh from the garden. Also, it is easier to avoid certain things if you have diet restrictions like salt or sugar or just the preservatives that are added. Canned food, whether from the garden or your farmers market is so worth it.
I was blessed to start with my grandma’s jars and added from there. My daughter’s coworker just gifted her an entire basement of jars. She’ll be starting off with those.
A couple of weeks ago my husband asked me what my grocery bill is per month. I told him that's it's pretty much zero, apart from the luxuries (like you said) of cheese, cream, alcohol, oh and pork and chicken as I don't have a homestead source of that yet. And flour/grains, oats, rice .... like you. But I am so proud of what I achieved this year, after 4 years of working up to this, AND I know exactly what has gone into my food. Like others have said in these comments, so much of this lifestyle is about health. I haven't been sick for years, maybe 8 years now? And that is primarily due to what we put into our bodies. The commercial food industry is killing us, but not any more for us. Thank you for your inspiration Rachel, and your stories. We love you.
Maybe I've missed this in a previous video, but have you looked into reusable lids? When it was so difficult to get lids in 2020, I bought a bunch of reusable ones (Tattler brand, in case anyone's interested, although I'm sure there are others). It took so long for them to arrive that I couldn't use them in time for that years harvest, but I've finally started using them this year, and they work really well. I'm excited at the prospect of reducing the number of single-use items I'll need to keep buying. If you're gifting canned items, you probably would want to still use the disposable lids for a few jars in each batch, but otherwise, seeing as you reuse your jars, anyways, I'd think reusable lids would be an attractive option and the next step. Interesting video!
Absolutely it has saved us money. Our budget past and present is exactly as yours is, as it’s just two of us. You could throw in the purchase of canners and equipment and still come out ahead. Rachel, I have to say, I was coveting you Amish water-bath canner, but yesterday I went upstairs looking for things to donate and saw my old oval copper canner. The wheels in my head started turning! I will research it first, but I could use that to water bath large batches. I’m so excited!!
I also tell people when I "gift" apple butter or jams or whatever, that if they return the jar, I will fill it up again. Most people return jars to you if you remind them.
I personally think it's a big savings once you have equipment and not having freezer space and being able to have a stash of meats is fantastic for myself. I love to garden and putting that up just feels great and a fun journey all while knowing what's in all my jars and food .Cooking from scratch is were it's at . Love the breakdown of this video a valuable teach !
For me, growing and preserving my own food, is not about cost saving. Not wholly anyway. There are some cost savings, for sure, but it isn't why I do it. I do it because of quality of produce, no airmiles, organic practices, no plastic, a sense of accomplishment, convenience, mental health and well being. Honestly, something as simple as having pizza for dinner knowing that I made the crust, I canned the pizza sauce and the chicken, etc, is immensely satisfying. And being able to have a homecooked meal on the table in five minutes on busy days is a life saver
Love getting some number ideas. Always feel like I learn something from the channel. Would love a video on say your top 3 favorite things to can, top 3 most cost effective, top 3 least cost effective, etc.
I upped our garden game this past summer looking at it as an experimental year to see what I could do. Last start in spring with only adding a bit of mushroom compost to our neglected raised beds (2 3x20 ft). I wanted to see what I could do with spending as little $ as possible. No fertilizer, did make some tea from my grandson’s bunny poo…. Voraciously ingested this channel MI Gardener and I am Organic gardening to educate myself about soil. Phenomenal results with lettuce, peas, spinach beets. Started potatoes in cardboard boxes, plants looked awesome, disappointed yield on the harvest but…. Great soil was created and now will help new garden spots! Looking at this re-start to gardening and canning with the view it is one step at a time, learning process and improve each season for healthy eating! Bonus is sharing with the grandkids who are so excited every time to see what has grown and eat things straight from the backyard grocery store. We live within city limits on .10 acre.
After years of saying I wanted to learn how to can, I started canning last year with just tomatoes and this year did enough jam for the entire year, along with the tomatoes and peaches, pickles and salsa. My goal is to have a pantry just like yours in 5 years. I love that you talked about saving money, but it really is more about getting free from the processed food. The food that we can ourselves tastes so much better than anything you will find in the store. I wish I had started sooner, but so glad I did start at all. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us and the story of your friend who was healed by changing her food.
Just a heads up, what you pay for a case of jars, we pay for a single jar here in NZ. If you want to can you have to pay the price. They are really hard to get now...I actually keep a notebook with names (even family) who have a jar. I have too, so hard to replace. Wishing you and Todd all the best.
Horrible what's happening to you in NZ. We are being threatened with no more diesel in the USA and we've been prepping for over 10 years. We don't sit idle over threats. It's NWO going to back fire on them.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
I figure I have twice as much canned right now, Rachel as you have. But I can alot more of each kind of thing that I can. That way I might not have to can somethings, like tuna but every third year. Next tuna season I will be almost out, so then I will buy them off the boats. I live on the oregon coast. Just giving tuna as an example. Also I have been canning for 44 years now on my own. So I have jars that I have been using for 44 years now. And I was always on the lookout for used jars in the off seasons. Got great deals in the past. So spread out for 44 years. The costs of my jars now are pretty much zero. Also have had my pressure canner for 44 years Also. One was my grams, one I found for 5.00 at a garage sale 30 years ago. I can, because the taste is so much better. Also I'm allergic to gluten and dairy and a few other things like garlic, corn syrup and a few other things. So alot of stuff like soups, I can't even find to buy. So I can all my own homemade soups. So looking at just starting a canning pantry, yes it can seem expensive. But the younger you start. The longer you will collect the jars etc. And the cheaper each year it will be. So take the advice of a 63 year old canner, that started when she was 19. Just do it. You'll never regret it.
Ooh I'm pinning this comment! Perfect example and wisdom from a pro!
@@1870s thank you. Learned to can from my gram and mom and aunts. Everyone we knew in the 60's and 70's canned. It was just natural that when I got married at 19. That I would can too. I just love seeing all that wonderful put up food in my pantry. I can alot even though there has only been my hubby and I for the 44 years we have been married come this December 9th. I'm a canning addict! They say the first step is admitting you have an addiction. Lol 😆
Hi from Canada, I'm 43. Been canning a little more each year since I had 4 Littles under foot. Now that my baby is 16 and the rest are gone, I have accumulated almost all the jars I need used, some free. This is good advice! Spread out over the years, my jar cost is pretty much free. And when I hit something very cheap, ie. Got 2lb bags of lentils near expiry for 75cents, I Canned 7 quarts soup, using broth from leftover chicken bones and veggie peels so a very cheap 7 jars of covienience meals. Plus I find that I REALLY enjoy it now, it's my hobby. After Thanksgiving turkey here in Canada last month, the adult kids played a board game and I Canned up broth, they happily each took a couple jars home after of mom's broth. But I always say bring back my jars!
@@loritanner4478 enjoyed your comment.I turn 62 next month,got married at 18 and started canning solo at 19....Oh yeah and I also live in Oregon more North east..small world
@@kathlenemackley1335 Hey sweet Sister. I love this channel also
and never miss a video. Your post sure reminds me of our younger days when all of our kids were growing up and we were just starting our families. I have some wonderful memories of those days. We were canning and sewing everything in sight. Love you sister. 😍
RachelI I just love you and your channel. 💛💛 I am also from Oregon
For me it’s about health. When I was pregnant with each of my 3 kiddos, I had gestational diabetes. I was told that by the time my youngest turned 10 I would be diabetic that’s “just the way it is”. So I went whole foods plant based and tuned up my canning game. My youngest turns 14 next month and not only am I not diabetic, my A1c is so low that they’ll no longer pay for the tests because my risk is nonexistent. I owe it all to eating from my garden, orchard, and bulk store.
I was Dx with Gestational diabetes with pregnancy #3. I changed diet to awesome from pretty darn good. Two more kids, & rigorous testing showed no indication of Gestational Diabetes. Now my youngest is 17. Not diabetic. I homestead, preserve all that I can. I do not go to restaurants, no fast food, & I avoid processed (by others ) foods entirely. We grow and cook our own.
@@katiemoyer8679 Exactly! We also don’t eat out, don’t eat processed food, etc.
Mine is also for health, I have food allergies and hubby and sis have to be on a low salt menu and those are hard on commercial produce. I rent my home so I hit the local farmers market.
🙌 you rock! Have you heard of Brittany Jaroudi of The Jaroudi Family? She’s my favorite WFPB RUclips channel
@@crystalh1402 thanks! I haven’t heard of her. I’ll check her out!
I had been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, it was my 4th time having cancer. I went into remission at the beginning of the pandemic and started a garden, canning, eating homemade meals every day.....the pandemic actually saved me by forcing me to slow down and put myself and my health first .
I know being in lock down drove some people crazy but I thrived. I finally had the time to heal and work through some emotional issues and I'm now medication free.
My pantry looks great, shelves are full, freezers too, cold room is full and I'm very happy.
For those in the comments here’s a take from a single person who lives in the city on the East Coast in an apartment. Canning and preserving food has saved me hundreds if not close to $1k or more maybe since late 2020 early 2021.. probably actually. Anyway, I started following Rachel and Todd, and a couple of other RUclipsrs to teach myself how to do it and I’m so happy I did. I buy ONE 25lb bag of bread flour for $10 from Sams Club and it lasts me over a year, I bought a bread maker from the second hand store for $7. I have saved an INSANE amount of money making my own sliced bread using the dough cycle. One day a week I make a loaf for myself lasts the whole week. Spaghetti sauce , I get a case of crushed tomatoes for oh idk anywhere from $8-$11 pending on the sale, spices and onions and garlic and peppers whatever I feel like it and can myself a ton of spaghetti sauce in PINTS because I’m single so it’s just enough for me to make for myself and nothing is wasted. Again that saves me a ton of money. Once I seen the change in just the bread and spaghetti sauce (figured start with the two main things I buy the most for my pantry constantly) I knew I could make even more of a difference in my life. I made Rachel’s apple butter, I can my beans her way too. Spend $1 -$4 a bag on dry beans and can my self a ton of pint jars of beans . I don’t buy them anymore. I buy a big bag of baby carrots from Sams and can a ton of carrots, don’t buy them anymore. Fresh green beans, chili starter, chicken, salsa, jams.. and so on. My comment is already a crap ton too long 😂 My point is.. I wish more single city girls like me realized you can be a homesteader too, you can do this and save so much money and eat so much better for yourself. It’s more convenient than it is hard work in my opinion. I owe it all to RUclips because without all of you showing us how to do it.. we would never know 🖤 I’m forever great full ..
K that’s enough.. I know 😂
Wow! You are awesome! I loved reading this! Keep it going! We have a saying, do what you can right where you are. And you are!
I follow Rachel from Rockville, MD - older single (guessing Rachel's age) and living on no money. Have ginger, beets, turnips, lots of different peppers, tomatoes are doing better this year; growing in windowsill. Bought 10 lb. flour a few months ago with giftcard but don't bake anymore with diet change. Getting fungus, candida and all out without sugar. Cut out pasta, white rice and potatoes. Still can eat! Have brown rice and get wild (YUM) when I can. Have an excellent store of beans. Whenever I have something I love (learned to cook Lima beans correctly to mush) I save enough to plant. The trading box is priceless which is where I get rid of the pasta and take something out. Looking for an organization to sponsor a garden spot, and I will teach them about the mushrooms I've learned (but won't give away the spots!). Will can when I get the spot! Talking with a group now. Rachel, thank you for everything, and was wondering if you were brave enough to talk about the herbs used in doing an inner cleanse and parasites we aren't told about. I'm using rosemary, wormwood, juniper leaf (for the fungal environment they thrive in) and green black walnut hulls in drink, douche, and holding nose in bath 2x week at the moment. A lot of die-off yucky feel, but I know it will pay off. Thanks!
Yes! I live in a city, too and am on a similar journey. It makes a huge difference and tastes so much better, too!
Good for you! Check out Artisan bread with Steve on RUclips. He has simple no knead recipes for bread.
Are you in a regular apartment or one of those micro ones?
A few years ago, I hit the absolute jackpot for jars. Someone on Craigslist was giving away cases and cases of jars that were full of their grandmother's preserves and other food items. They gave them away for free because whoever took them had to dump them and wash them. It was over a hundred jars, and I was over the moon! I felt bad dumping all that hard work but the food was over 10 years old. I still think of that little old lady whenever I do a canning project, and am thankful for her.
Something similar just happened to me! One of my very good friends gave me about 100 canning jars from her Mom's cellar and all I had to do was clean them out. It was a fantastic lesson also in understanding how long canned goods last, what it looks like when a seal is bad, checking for cracks and chips and integrity of the jars.
Also, I discovered that most of them are ANTIQUE, well over 100 years old. I found a couple of Atlas jars, some really gorgeous Ball jars and a few other brands of jars I knew nothing about until I looked it up. I wasn't going to use them for canning but I didn't have enough newer jars for the last batch of my tomatoes. They worked perfectly! I have been using them for storage for dehydrated foods and I still have a lot of them left over. I absolutely love looking at them in my pantry -- I have some colorful plastic lids I got on Amazon and the old and new combo makes me so happy!
How did the food smell when you opened each jar? 50 years I've heard, still good. A friend found canned tuna that old. He is a chemist. He said it was delicious. I'm not a chemist. I wouldn't try it.
That food might've still been good. Some of it anyways. Check out Alaska Prepper channel who does a video where he cooks some meals with "expired" food and some he canned years ago. He said it tasted good. His point was don't assume old food is bad.
@@rockyll0508 Old food isn't necessarily "bad", the thing is unless you know her standards of cleanliness there is room for doubt.
I don't want to trivialize the money part because that is important, but I am less concerned about the money than I am the **capability**. To me, the capability to preserve food on a shelf, long term, is priceless.
Skills are hard won, non-refundable, irreplaceable, and yet free to share. My Grandma called all that work and initial expense of "tuition" to the University of Life.
nice, I agree.......also, she mentions that some folks will say "I can get that from a store for $0.75c"....but what happens when the store doesn't have that can of $0.75c beans or tomatoes or corn?.....or flour or sugar......what happens then? What happens when no store in your area has food currently (for whatever reason)...what are you going to do.....and whatever you do, there's 1000 or 10000 ppl doing the same thing.....its too late....(fwiw, I just finished reading One Second After, great read)....for me it's about being prepared....its about walking the self-sufficiency talk....I also like learning a new life skill....this preserving stuff is fun and this is coming from a 49yr old IT geek....:)
I was in my Meijer store last week. I found 3 cases of half pint jars on a clearance shelf for $3.29 for each case of 12. I will always buy jars when I see them on sale.
My pantry is about (no order) convenience, budget, health, taste with an addition of interest (hobby), food insurance (went hungry before), pride and happiness, made with love, to create and relive memories.
My girlfriend Kim who i grew up with through grade school and high-school , Her mom Carol and I follow each other on Facebook too. She always comments on my garden stuff and our canning. Carol contacted me and asked if I needed jars. She dropped off four boxes of canning jars at my house over the summer. My husband was thrilled. He does most of the canning while I'm at my regular job.
We do it for the health perspective (my mom had cancer)
I do food preservation and homesteading so my children learn where food comes from and how to do this for themselves. Also, me doing the preservation lets me put what I want into the food. I don't look at it from a financial perspective.
Same!!
Me too, it’s always been about the control of what is in the jar for me.
Thanks to you, I just canned up my first 12 pints of green beans from my suburban backyard garden! I'm so proud of them and I couldn't have done it without you. Oh, and a Presto 23 qt canner is now about $150...❤❤❤
I canned my first 8 quarts and 1 pint of green beans from the garden and I know the feeling! I went and bought a bunch of veggies to can just because of how fun it was. I even pickled some eggs... now I just need more jars 🤔
Congratulations! Great job!!!
Congratulations! I’m proud of you too!
I have been canning for almost 3 years now. I still like to sit back and just look at my finished product sitting on my kitchen counter while they are cooling. I get a lot of satisfaction and pride from the work I do and the security it gives me.
Thank You for this video.
I cannot afford canning jars or the equipment. I am a poor old lady. I live rural. I live alone. My intuition told me to stock up almost 5 years ago. My budget was tiny. I had to do it for a few dollars a week. I had to come up with low cost recipes. I make it work on my budget. I also have health problems that makes life difficult to do as much work as I need to get done.
I have 30 of the #10 survival cans. I purchased 15 of them for under $8 each. The others cost me $15 each. Many of those cans are going for around $80 and higher online.
I was given 3 of those 30 day buckets as a gift. They were around $100 each but are now over $200 each this year. I also purchased 2 buckets of 10 pound single ingredient buckets for $20 each. I DIYed 3 food grade buckets for less than $20 each filled with 25 pounds of a grain in each.
For equipment, I have a dehydrator, vacuum sealer and a few small appliances that can be plugged into my truck. I have a simple indoor salad garden set up with a grow light. I have backup lights of battery operated from Dollar Tree as well as a solar power inverter light that can keep my winter salad garden growing no matter what. The total grow setup was $25 for the lights and containers. I get my garden seeds on clearance for 5 cents a package on clearance in the late fall. I store them in a cheap back to school sale pencil box. I get about $5 in fresh salad fixings in the winter when I have the indoor salad garden running.
I had to setup backup ways to cook and prepare food. I had to make space to store food. I had to clean out the linen closet and other areas to make room. I worked hard at filling up my linen closet with food.
For some things, the investment of being able to grow and process your own food can be worth it. It has been baby steps for me. Eventually, I want canning equipment setup but I am not there yet.
Rachel, thank you this chat. We changed our diet after my 3rd bout with cancer. I knew there had to be a connection with what I was eating. (This was 20 yrs ago and when I said that to medical staff they thought I was nuts.). So thanks to you sharing canning, and gardening, I am growing and preserving our food. So thankful that you and Todd share your lives and continue to encourage us!
True story- for years I was annoyed at all those pricker bushes on my property. Then one day I saw a big, beautiful Berry sticking out of those pricker bushes. The Lord let's you see things when you are ready.
After some research, I found out they are dewberries. I harvested them, froze them and made jelly.
This prompted me to start gardening. Lots of failures lots of successes since then.
I've found that canning is a labor of love. I don't look at it as work. It's security and convenience. I love knowing exactly what's in my food. There are no mystery ingredients.
Yes there is up-front cost involved but it's so worth it.
I spent $20 on my water bath canner (so wanting a steam canner now)
And around $100 on my 17 qt pressure canner. Well worth it. Thank you Rachel for sharing your insights. 🥰
I am not on the same sized scale as you, but I have saved money by investing in a canner, water bath canning, cooking from scratch, saving scraps for soups, saving carcasses for broth, making home remedies (less meds), etc. I buy in bulk, all organic and now I sleep better, have more energy and clearer mind. I can only grow so much on my patio in this condo, but supporting local farmers makes me feel good (also saves money and closer to my food). Thank you for the honest look at the investment. There were some ideas in your video that I had not considered. Have a wonderful day!
I live in a semi rural area with poor thrifting options and few clearance produce deals (just not the population density, everyone uses their jars more or less, extra inventory is donated quickly). I'll be asking my family that live closer to cities to hit up their local thrift stores for Christmas gifts of jars and sale produce to preserve, perhaps together(!). This is not the economic time in our particular lives to ask for a pony. It's the time to be thankful for canning, passed down recipes, and conversation in the kitchen.
Knowing what is in my jars, and how it was grown processed is more important, and healthier way to go, it is so worth it!
Another attribute to canning is all the packaging you keep out of the landfill by reusing your glass jars year after year. Just think about how much trash you go through in a year by way of food packaging. Cans, boxes, and plastic. Huge impact on reducing waste by canning and preserving.
Yes, good point! It’s hard to believe how much trash people put out at the curb every. single. week! I think Costco is a huge contributor to the problem, lots of packaging.
I completely agree with you about the food industry. I have been sick for the past 2 years. I canned all our food when our children was young. Then life happened as with everyone. This spring I ask my husband for a garden. He thought it would be best not to have one this year. So I went to the Amish and ordered all my produce. We have canned up a storm. My 7 year old granddaughter loves to can with me. It warms my heart to teach her. The food is so much healthier. Next spring we will plant our garden. I truly believe a lot of the problems the children have today is do to the food they eat. Thank you for sharing
I’ve started canning, I’m in the uk and I had to import my canner from the usa! The jars are about £3.50 each! I have found them in France for about €17 for a cash and then extra for the lids.
I like the fact that you know what’s in the food!
I’m disabled so my husband helps me with the chopping and packing the canner, this was the reason we make the food as some days I can’t cook so hubby can open a jar of something and do veggies or rice! I love your videos!
😊
It always seems that it is more "fun" to chop and peel with someone. I have had two illnesses where cooking wasn't an option. All I could do was open a quart of my vegetable soup and heat it. What a Godsend.
Hi Lesley, I am in the uk as well and have just bought my first pressure canner for my induction hob.
The jars I agree are expensive and I will be getting them off Amazon.
Like you I want to know what is in my foods and plan to can seasonally when food is at its lowest.
Growing your own garden and canning the results is so rewarding. Yes you can buy cans in the store, but there's no comparisons to taste.
I looked at just tomatoes for the year. I don't start mine from seeds as I don't have room. So I bought $25.00 of plant starts. This provided me with all the tomatoes, tomato sauce, pizza sauce, etc for my 2 person household, for my mother, as well as gave some away to my sister. I noticed one can of canned tomatoes in our grocery store was over $3.00 last week. This was a huge savings. Also, one bag of seed potatoes of about $12.00 supplied our household, my mother and my sister's household for the year. I agree with you Rachel - I also know what's going into my food. Oh yeah - back when I had babies I made all their baby food. Huge savings there too.
I would say that while 40 years ago we had a small grocery bill, food costs have gone up. You would not be able to buy that same amount of food today for $300. While you are not counting the costs of your garden, you do have costs in all the meats you raise, butcher, and can or freeze. I am in the process of getting back into canning and do it so that I know what is in it, and also to hedge against shortages and price increases in the future.
It’s so much more complex then just saving money. It’s about having that control again and being proactive rather then reactive. Pre 2019 when there were no shortages health would have been a motivator but price it couldn’t compete on. If you wanted a tin of tomatoes or a pack of eggs you would just go buy some but both those items in the uk at the moment have definite limitations or restrictions on purpose and there are shortages in every kind of products. So growing your own preserving when you have a good deal all these things aren’t for the immediate need they are so you can still have choices when natruly yours are diminished. It’s a bit wordy but I will give you an example I am a full time university student who has a son who is a full time university student so only me and husband at home. Since September I have only had to do two very small trips to the shop for a couple of fresh items as I have everything I need in pantry’s and freezers. I planned this as I knew the usual way of spending £150 a week in groceries would no longer be something I could do. Planning ahead building a pantry means not only you have what you need when your financial situation changes but also in the post 2019 world you can make sure you still can get what you need when you need it and also help other people who haven’t planned ahead. I always say to people who ask isn’t it cheaper to just buy some tin tomatoes. I say to them how much is that tin of tomatoes worth to you if it is not in the supermarket shelf? You just can’t compare like to like
I got my pressure canner for 10 bucks at a thrift shop. It’s a Presto, and I did buy all new seals, and weight set which cost $50.00
I think canning my own definitely will save money. My daughter thinks I make more work for myself, since I can still get food at the grocery store.
Maybe, but you can’t wait till you need something to learn how to make it.
Yes..organic healthy food is so hard to get in stores unless you pay some ridiculous price.
I have autoimmune problems..and I have helped myself so much by eating clean from my own garden.
And it not only saves money but I feel so much better, I get satisfaction from doing it..and gardening gives another peace and mental health.
Thanks.
THIS! I spend over $1000 a month on healthy, organic food.
If you have been buying jars for decades, it was not expensive. I have jars from the 80’s still being used. My jars have paid for themselves many times over. My water bath canner is over 40 years old, cost me $12. Canning should be considered a long term investment. It’s not just the cost of a can of green beans. Growing it, harvesting and preserving allows me to eat healthy, tasteful food. And by reusing my jars, that’s less going to a landfill.
AND just think how many metal cans or plastic bags were saved from the landfill. Thats how I look at it too.
All this!! 🙌
Estate sales have been a great place for us to find jars. At one sale we bought all jars they had, mostly empty but also some with old food in them still. We ended up with almost 150 jars for $30. We dumped all old food out of the ones with food and washed the jars. Often find them thrifting too but, as you mentioned they do run $1.00 a jar.
It is an investment....but SO SO worth it!!! I am loving my canning journey. Always canned with my mom....but never on my own. Now I do both!
I echo your statement. Once people knew I was canning, jars came out of the woodwork. Coworkers, friends and neighbors have all given me jars or returned them. My parents and I cleaned out my grandmothers old shed and we found hundreds!! So exciting and such a gift she had left me almost 20 years after her passing! Our local thrift store also has jars 25 to 50 cents so I’ve bought probably less than a dozen flats of new jars.
Once you have all those jars though , it gets cheaper every year, as you only need to replace the lids for the most part. This year I spent a quarter of what I did last year and my pantry is so well stocked! I do trade full jars for multiple empties with a lot of folks, as so many people around here have a bunch of them laying around.
I also trade my gluts for raw foods I don't have. This year all my tomatoes croaked, but my plum trees exploded, so I traded a bunch of my plum jellies, jams and chutneys for buckets and buckets of tomatoes. Pasta sauces tomato jam and salsas a plenty! So many creative ways of building up stock and making sure you have a good variety!
Jams, jellies and especially tomato based products have really shot up in price, so now it's becoming more an more economically viable to make your own. Not to mention the superior nutritional quality of hand made products. 🥰
I try to can (or freeze) everything I can from my homegrown garden. I don't factor in cost of time. Having food on my shelf during these uncertain times, is priceless to me.
You would not believe how many people put canning jars in their original case out for recycle on recycling day. I have picked up maybe 10 dozen this way. Also yard sales.
You can add to your stock gradually, I try for 8 cases a year which is around 100 jars. This year I'm at 150 and I only bought one case of wide mouth quarts. The rest were gifts or yard sale. Total cost under $50. My husband doesn't hesitate to ask at yard sales if they have canning jars they want to get rid of. He knows they might say they haven't cleaned them up... his response is my wife doesn't care, she cleans them anyway!
Ask for jars as gifts!! I’ve been canning about 30 years, ppl have given me at least 1/2 my jars, water bath canners, & my mom got me my pressure canner as a gift. I DO use a lot of “gadgets” food processor, slicers/chopper, Mandolin, bc the arthritis in my hands has gotten so bad. My kitchen Aid, food mill & all those attachments were gifts that’s lasted for decades. Once your friends & family know you’re canning, they’ll gift you things. If you take good care of your supplies, they’ll last for many years!! I STILL have my 1st canner-30 years.
If you amortize your canning jars and supplies, you make it even cheaper (say over 10+ years) You have to spend some money on garden seeds and tools, but the tools can also be amortized over a long period. But... when you take away almost all the costs of poor health...what it costs to be sick all time ,from over the counter meds to all medical costs, you gain big time because you also feel helthy and good! It is a win win on every level!
So very true. I know for myself, my doctor has told me whatever I am doing, just keep it up because my numbers are perfect. I credit it to clean Organic foods and being aware of what I put into my body. I freeze dry and powder almost all my greens to add to my smoothies and to my foods. Body needs greens, beets and ginger...those are my super foods. All organic and my water is filtered too, to remove those PFAS chemicals and any other chemicals in the water.
I agree with you completely! We have to take control of what we put in our bodies and that is the reason I started on this journey. Another reason is supply chain. It’s fragile and depended on decision makers that don’t always have our best interest in mind. Thank you both for sharing your journey with us and encouraging us that we too can do this ourselves.
Made up oil shortages. We can all see right through their games. We buy from local dairy, butcher, farms. I'm in blue state of commie Connecticut. Egg farm told me they are regulated and can't sell to the public. Grrrr.
I grow and preserve my food purely because of two major reasons, I am sick and tired of 'supermarket quality' as there is no flavour especially with items like tomatoes and the other I can guarantee the freshness of my veggies. Apart from those two I suppose my enjoyment of growing my own food and then getting to eat it and share with my friends really gives me a good buzz. My mental wellbeing is way, way much improved as well. So, like Todd and you Rachel, money does not come into it but it is still economically sound. Therefore thank you Rachel for your inspiration for me to go that extra step!!
I have two Presto canners one does 7 quarts/9 pints and the other 7 quarts/18 pints, and they cost $6 and $15 at auctions. The rest of my equipment was mostly purchased new, but many years ago so for ridiculously low prices compared to today's prices. Jars came from my grandmothers, auctions, and free. Some of the free required me to dump spoiled food, some a friend and I rescued from a collapsed storm cellar. Another time my sister and I bought enough jars at auction to fill a station wagon for $1. After the spoiled food mess, my dh insisted I only buy new!! Stock pots were auction finds. Jar lifter 5¢ at garage sale.
Most of my jars are second hand. I put a post out a few years ago on FB, and received about 10 cases of jars of varying sizes, all free! People knew Grandma, Mom, Aunt, or themselves that had some.
I am building my pantry by asking for jars and seeds as my gifts for all holidays! Gift cards for them for those who don't like to shop!
Absolutely a money saver! Most recently our local store had fresh pineapple for $1.00 each, I bought 7. From those 7 pineapple, it made 9 pints of slices, 9 pints of chunks, and 2 pints of juice. Big savings! Also, watch for meat sales, pork butt roasts go on a good sale about twice a year and average $7-$9 a roast. I buy a handful and cook down in the roaster, add bbq sauce and can in quart jars for ready to go pulled pork sandwich meat. I average 5 quarts per roast so very affordable if you can stock up when they are running sales.
One of the benefits i love is that we can make things to suit our tastes and have things in the pantry that we can't buy in the shops.
It has definitely saved me money at the grocery store. Not to mention that it is healthier, you are prepared for an emergency and your food ALWAYS tastes better than the stuff from the store. It is just a win win for me. ❤
In February I bought a lot of jars. I had plans to can everything I could get hold of. I knew prices would rise this fall and winter and my heating bills would be higher. For the past two weeks, I have hardly purchased any groceries because the sale are not sales anymore. So relying on my jars.
I started growing and canning after doing alot of research about the health benefits. Being a diabetic and overweight with feet issues I had to figure out how to change my health. I watched my numbers in all my blood work go down the longer I ate what I canned from my garden. In two years I have reduced all my meds and lost weight and loving how I feel. The beginning cost is so worth it. I have friends who have seen my health issues that are wanting to learn how to can. I love watching your videos and learning new things to can and make for dinner. Keep up the hard work.
Yes to the video on growing costs for you!😅😊
Also important to consider the cost of water/electricity/gas when canning/freezing!
I started 3 years ago and started buying food and increased size of my garden. I have about 2 to 3 years of food...so with canning jars and other food my cost is little under 5 thousand dollars over 3 years. I have around 150 cases of jars.
TO add. Keep all your jars or try to gather up good size canning jars from used jars. I visit the recycle centre. They sell for 10cents each. Have noticed that the price of new canning jars in the store has sky rocketed.
Have you heard of Sue Becker of Bread Beckers? I am learning to mill my own flours and that in itself is a cost saving. Let's not even mention "health" overall and lack of spending on hospitals, doctors, and medicines! That IS priceless!!
Right now, many farm stores, gas stations, and produce markets in the U.S. Midwest sell carrots and apples in 60# bags for $5-7, for hunters That's a lot of food to put into the freezer or into jars.
Growing and preserving food for sure saves me tons of money. Yes it takes time but honesty when you factor in the time saved on food prep on the back end (like for soups, beans etc.) and the time it takes with frequent visits to the supermarket, I really don't think it is that much more time (once your are used to the process). Depending on what I am canning, I can multitask quite a bit once things are in the canner. And yes jars came out of the woodwork as soon as I mentioned I was canning things. Hands down my biggest single cost saving item has nothing to do with canning. It is growing salad crops. If you are a salad eater like I am, it truly is the biggest bang for my buck. At around $5.00 per one of those plastic containers for organic greens (half of which you throw away because they go bad so quickly), growing your own is like gold.
I have a similar story with my dear auntie. She was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, 6 yrs ago. through organic diet, eliminating bread and processed sugars, along with all the treatments the drs recommended she is cancer free today. It’s been a long fight for her but when chemo therapy started killing her tiny body she stopped using conventional medicine and focussed on holistic living. I decorated her Christmas tree with her yesterday this was the first time in four years that she has been well enough to help! ❤ In our province, being a farming community. You can basically get jars for free around every corner. Still much like anything… I would say it’s worth it to spend the money and build slowly some food is better than none. Love your channel ❤
I cannot thank you enough for taking the monumental effort in crunching the numbers on your pantry. It has given me some options to expand my pantry ( especially jars), and preserve organics. Frankly, cost isn't a big issue for me as I live in the Arctic, so any fresh, organic, preserved food is a treat and blessing. I have gained so much knowledge and confidence to get into growing, canning and meal planning just from your videos. Thank you so much!!
The way I do my figuring on the price of my home canned goods varies a little bit ( I believe this is what you were talking about at the beginning of the video about seed cost etc but this is a big consideration for me). I can buy a pkg of 4 tomato plants for $1.89 ( so less than50 cents a plant) so anything I make from those 4 plants that I don’t have to buy from the store is a cost savings for me. And we use organic methods so to me we’re saving even more. There’s very very few products out there, organic or not, that are less or equal to the cost of one of those plants. I get dozens of jars of food from those plants. So even if I factor in the cost of the jar and lid I’m still saving money. A lot of money. I agree with you 100% that people can make preserving food as frugal or expensive as they wish but, in my opinion, even using the most expensive of everything will probably still end up saving money in the end when compared to purchasing pre made from the store (especially where their health is concerned). One tip to save money is to be patient and wait until the end of the growing season to purchase produce from farmers markets or local farmers. By that time most people have already purchased all they’ve wanted and prices are/can be drastically reduced. The lady I buy some of my produce from was GIVING AWAY tomatoes if you came and picked them yourself at the end of the summer. And right now a local orchard is selling bag your own apples for 25 cents a pound. Make friends with your local growers as well. I bring empty produce boxes to the previously mentioned lady and she was so grateful that she gave me a 50 % discount on my purchase!
Mason jars are popular for holding flowers at weddings. After someone got married I bought their jars. 104 jars for 20 bucks. It was trash to them and treasure to me. (Facebook marketplace)
They didn't know what they had, lol
Where I live food is expensive, I can what I grow to help offset the expense. My 23 qt pressure canner was over $200, 16 qt was over $100 as well as the electric. I also have a steam canner, and water bath canner. They have paid for themselves with amount of food I have canned. I really enjoy your channel, the wonderful recipes, pantry and garden tours. ❤️
LOVE this. I guarantee your food tastes a million times better than the commercial industry's good also. Homegrown is always best.
Commerical industry's food*
Love your candidness and willingness to be vulnerable on camera. You have inspired me to can for first time this spring, now I look forward to canning most weekends - once my garden was emptied out it’s store bought veggies getting canned - or meats. I started canning this year; to get ready I watched a lot of videos (that’s how I found you!) spaced out the purchases of jar cases and finally the canner and a dehydrator. I’m an avid master gardener but shied away from growing much food as I wasn’t sure what to do with the bounty once family and friends were exhausted. I bought and read a couple canning books, practiced and awaited my tomatoes, bush beans, green peppers, carrots and herbs. I’m thrilled to share with you I did freeze (temporarily) the excess tomatoes as you had in your video, made marinara and spaghetti sauce - this is an overdue thank you for that guidance! Now I have a small bookcase with preserved meats, vegetables, soups and sauces. I emptied out the bottom half of the hutch and it’s filling up with potatoes, carrots, bush beans, and soups. I dehydrated all my herbs and those are labeled and on the kitchen shelves. I look forward to whatever else you may share with us in the future. 😎
Same. This is my first year. Garden didn't produce much but have about 1000 jars canned up or dehydrated. Next year is going to be a focus on the garden and learning that! Good job on your canning.
I am in Michigan as well we have lots of online auction services that you can get jars cheap and you can also go to community pages for your town. I bought my first canner at auction and then bought a bigger canner new. I have probably as many jars or more canned up and grateful for my pantry
Hi Rachel. Thanks for the info. I have always believed that I saved money, but have never put pen to paper on it. There is also an amazing sense of satisfaction that I get from planting a seed, nurturing it, harvesting it, and putting it on my shelf. I feel blessed each time I do it.
1600$ !!! Lucky you, here in the U.K. They are so much more
I save money but I also know what is in the jars and quality of products. The soups and stews are superior and shelf ready. I take pride in my pantry and share with family and friends. You also don’t need a garden as the market is a great source to purchase from. Give it a try.
Those estate auctions are awesome. I picked up 8 cases of pints and 4 cases of quart jars from one auction this summer for $40! Now I dont just can. I also dehydrate and fement too. I dont know how old these jars are so I used them for that and saved my newer jars for canning. I spent about $2000 on new jars this year which I do about every 10-13 years. I can for myself and my kids at home as well as for my grown kids families too. Growing your own food and preserving will save you a ton of money and its so much healthier. I know exactly what is in my kids food and we dont have to worry about commercial recalls. The kids just come over and shop in moms basement and I get to see them every week or two! There is a method to the madness LOL
Thank you for the pantry chat! Your numbers and perspective was very useful.
I just got into canning this year and I do it to have control of what goes into my food. Slowly we have been buying less processed food and buying more organic food and cooking from scratch.
For those of you reading this:
I was at Costco yesterday waiting in line to make a return. While waiting I was looking at what people have in their carts as they leave the store.
Every person was taking cancer and disease back to their house and feeding to their family.
The commercial food industry is in bed with the pharmaceutical industry - when you get cancer/get sick - they all make more money.
Once you realize how expensive it is (loss of health) to buy food at the store, you will see how economical it is to grow and preserve your own food.
Very well put!
Excellent topic, Rachel. I caught a glimpse of an article,I didn't read through it, but basically those who grew small gardens during covid, grew an average of 600.00 worth of produce. My garden bc of drought didn't do as well this yr, but we ate fresh every night and canned or dehydrated every last bit of it. Tomatoes here were 1.99lb at grocer, lettuce was crazy. I do look to see prices and grin bc I don't have to buy any. To my family gardening and preserving is our grocery store especially in wintertime. My time spent growing and preserving, is like cooking, it's a labor of love!! My pay is a healthy, well fed family. I cant put a $$ amount on that.
I started preserving and growing my own food when my kids were small but ate a lot. It was a lot of work but it was much cheaper. When they all left home, for a bit I started eating from the grocery store. My health went south quickly. I went back to growing and preserving my own food and took out the chemicals and my health is much better. I don't spend much at the grocery store either. I would say if you are comparing apples to apples Organic, clean and healthy even paying yourself for your time it is still much cheaper to grow and preserve your own. Not to mention healthier for you. My jars, some are 40 years old, STILL using them. Yes some have broken or the rims have chipped, those get saved for things that don't need a good seal. Over the years I have added to my "stash" I still buy jars when I find them new or used. Very seldom do I throw out a jar. My pantry isn't as nice as yours but it holds probably as much. Has helped enormously since my daughter and granddaughter have moved back home, plus it is teaching my granddaughter how to grow and preserve her own food.
Agree! It's not about saving money for me, it's about knowing what's in my food, knowing it's clean and truly healthy for my body!
I started buying jars in 2020. I would buy a couple cases at a time. Got my Presto pressure canner for Christmas. Bought a water bath canner and then another. I felt stuff was going to get worse. I kept buying lids too. The pints used to be $8.97 and $11.97 for quarts. I can't bring myself to pay the prices on them now. Thank you so much for this video. Appreciate the time you took.
Everytime I buy cases at Walmart, I buy triple the amount in extra lids to store away.
@@livenletlive7537 I bought extra lids also every time I bought jars.
@@livenletlive7537
Buy the reusable lids instead. Way more cost effective!!!
If you just buy a case of each when you go to the store each week, you could have a good stockpile by time to can next fall.
I have found most of my jars in 2 separate buys off facebook marketplace. They were both brides who used them for desserts, drinks, vases etc. And then cases/ asst lots here and there also through marketplace, varage sale, craigslist
thanks for your video!.
we figured our savings this last year and I have saved more than a 500.00 in just gas savings by not running so much for the every day needs. I was always running 2 to 12 miles to get butter or cream of something to finish a meal or milk, bread etc.. Now we stock all the add on items heavily to save the last minute trips.
The only way you lose is if you don't grow.
Most people don't realize how many chemicals are used even on fresh veggies. Years ago i found out that I had many chemical allergies/sensitivities. Because the doctor said I probably had food allergies also I decided to put all of us through an elimination diet. My son's were good sports.
Our family had all been very big on potatoes so once that food passed after about 2 weeks of being clean the next morning we were going to have hash browns as part of our breakfast so I had bought a bag of frozen hash browns as a treat (usually we had fresh). By the time we got through with breakfast I was becoming angry to the point of rage for absolutely no reason. I knew something was wrong and after banging things around and yelling I told my son's to go to their rooms to be away from me etc. My oldest son went to the garbage to pull out the hash brown bag. I had never bothered looking at it before because it was just potatoes, right? Turns out they do rinse them in chemicals to keep them from turning black.
It never occurred to me that what I was eating could cause things like rage. How many behavior issues do our family members experience that may be caused by the processed foods we eat?
On fresh foods even lettuce can be an issue. There is a chemical bath that much of the non-organic lettuce is washed with that they don't have to list as an ingredient . It first started being used by hospital, restaurant's and other food service facilities to keep lettuce crisp longer and reduce costs. It used to be if I went out to dinner I enjoyed having a salad. Then it got where the number of places could have it decrease until now I have fewer digestive issues eating a McDonalds cheeseburger than a salad at a nice restaurant.
Your health is priceless so if you are growing your own produce and processing it you have that assurance you aren't accidentally consuming something you didn't intend to.
Love your pantry.
I love your channel thank you for all your knowledge. I’m a nurse and I find it so much better for your body if you eat what you grow. You know what you are putting in your food.
I have been canning for about 30 years. I have canned over 1000 jars this year and I'm not done for the year. I can't imagine going an entire year without my garden. We love our fresh veggies and with the price in the stores I couldn't imagine having to buy them. I wish you good luck next year taking a year off but I'm truly worried for you. I would hate to see your shelves empty and have to pay triple the price to build your pantry back up. It's just my husband and I in the household and we easily go through 1000 jars a year. Be blessed I wish you well.
Living in Southern California, where I have to water everyday in the summer, I wonder if my garden is worth it financially. This year, despite my efforts, my tomato harvest was dismal. I did manage to get some produce canned and dehydrated, but not much from my garden. There is a church nearby that gives away surplus produce, so I’ve made good use of that! Still, I love gardening! I keep trying! Last week I was gifted a big bag of onions, so I watched your video on making carmelized onions, then canned some sweet onion jam! Thanks for all your inspiration Rachel.
Great video! I grow because of health. I have not done much canning but want to. This year we struggled with our garden. Since I have grown more food and I do ferment some, I feel better then I did when I was buying everything. I bought my pressure canner and water bath canner over 33 years ok when we had a little mini farm. I bought a case of jars every month for about 8 months last year. I also have bought jars at thrift stores and auctions. Last year we canned venison for the first time and loved it. We plan to do it again if we get a deer. I grow alot of my herbs and dyhrate them. I am getting more into foraging as well.
A cousin of mine is really big on canning lately. She says she will help me out. I work full time and so tired when I come home. My roommate has lymes disease and it is hard for him getting around so most the work falls on me now.
The meat is another factor. You have your freezers. The cost of meat has gone up at the stores. I live in a more urban area in FL and have started canning this year from a few things in my garden but mostly from buying vegetables at the local places when on sale. It is definitely a nice feeling to know I have some healthy food stores in case we need them or just for everyday meals. Love your channel. Have a blessed holiday season.
I'm in Australia and prices are so expensive for us. like a 12 pack of ball pint jars is $55 average, 12 pack of quart jars is $90. To buy a presto canner, $300. Our Australian brand of preservers (Fowlers Vacola) is $200 for the cheapest preserver and their 12 packs of jars ranger from $60 to $100. I am so jealous its so cheap for you in the US.
I'm in the UK and have only been canning (US style) for a couple of years but it has enabled me to preserve so much of my garden produce without having to use my freezer. It's also enabled me to take real advantage of good deals on meat which I wasn't able to before. I reuse a lot of jars that many would be horrified at but they can beautifully and I don't have the original outlay of canning jars (Ball-type jars run at approximately $6 each, over here!)
I still have to shop at the store for a lot of things, but definitely less than I ever had, and I feel that I'm feeding my family with good, wholesome food that will serve us all well health-wise. Your channel has been instrumental in giving me the confidence to pressure can and I'm already planning my 2023 garden to maximise what I can put up. Thank you!
I love this video. I was just sharing with my coworkers yesterday about the reasons I can. Where we live I am really struggling with having a garden but we have apple houses everywhere that sell local produce and I have really been taking advantage of those. My husband is a cancer survivor and I an a heart attack survivor so knowing what is in but more importantly what is not in our food is very important. That being said there is a financial savings as well as a huge difference in taste. I am so glad I’ve learned this skill and thank you and Todd for showing us ways to use our canned goods. Keep it up, we love y’all!
That’s what I’ve been doing now that they seem to have them stocked is buying them every paycheck and in 2020 I bought 2-4 cases of jars so I’m slowly gathering jars and my hope is to fill them next year as much as I possibly can
Quality of food is much better then buying at the grocery store. I hadn't canned for years and I started again 2 years ago. I couldn't believe the taste of the tomatoes! They were like as if i picked them fresh from the garden. Also, it is easier to avoid certain things if you have diet restrictions like salt or sugar or just the preservatives that are added. Canned food, whether from the garden or your farmers market is so worth it.
I was blessed to start with my grandma’s jars and added from there. My daughter’s coworker just gifted her an entire basement of jars. She’ll be starting off with those.
A couple of weeks ago my husband asked me what my grocery bill is per month. I told him that's it's pretty much zero, apart from the luxuries (like you said) of cheese, cream, alcohol, oh and pork and chicken as I don't have a homestead source of that yet. And flour/grains, oats, rice .... like you. But I am so proud of what I achieved this year, after 4 years of working up to this, AND I know exactly what has gone into my food. Like others have said in these comments, so much of this lifestyle is about health. I haven't been sick for years, maybe 8 years now? And that is primarily due to what we put into our bodies. The commercial food industry is killing us, but not any more for us.
Thank you for your inspiration Rachel, and your stories. We love you.
Maybe I've missed this in a previous video, but have you looked into reusable lids? When it was so difficult to get lids in 2020, I bought a bunch of reusable ones (Tattler brand, in case anyone's interested, although I'm sure there are others). It took so long for them to arrive that I couldn't use them in time for that years harvest, but I've finally started using them this year, and they work really well. I'm excited at the prospect of reducing the number of single-use items I'll need to keep buying. If you're gifting canned items, you probably would want to still use the disposable lids for a few jars in each batch, but otherwise, seeing as you reuse your jars, anyways, I'd think reusable lids would be an attractive option and the next step. Interesting video!
Absolutely it has saved us money. Our budget past and present is exactly as yours is, as it’s just two of us. You could throw in the purchase of canners and equipment and still come out ahead. Rachel, I have to say, I was coveting you Amish water-bath canner, but yesterday I went upstairs looking for things to donate and saw my old oval copper canner. The wheels in my head started turning! I will research it first, but I could use that to water bath large batches. I’m so excited!!
I also tell people when I "gift" apple butter or jams or whatever, that if they return the jar, I will fill it up again. Most people return jars to you if you remind them.
The biggest cost is starting up. I always tell people to start small and go at your own pace.
This is my first time watching any of your videos and it's such a blessing... I love rawness of this. It's a breath of fresh air! 😊🙂❤️
All those "many words" you said, were really worth my precious time. Thank you.
I personally think it's a big savings once you have equipment and not having freezer space and being able to have a stash of meats is fantastic for myself. I love to garden and putting that up just feels great and a fun journey all while knowing what's in all my jars and food .Cooking from scratch is were it's at . Love the breakdown of this video a valuable teach !
For me, growing and preserving my own food, is not about cost saving. Not wholly anyway. There are some cost savings, for sure, but it isn't why I do it. I do it because of quality of produce, no airmiles, organic practices, no plastic, a sense of accomplishment, convenience, mental health and well being. Honestly, something as simple as having pizza for dinner knowing that I made the crust, I canned the pizza sauce and the chicken, etc, is immensely satisfying. And being able to have a homecooked meal on the table in five minutes on busy days is a life saver
Love getting some number ideas. Always feel like I learn something from the channel. Would love a video on say your top 3 favorite things to can, top 3 most cost effective, top 3 least cost effective, etc.
Top 3 Favorite Things: ruclips.net/video/6K_q_ZApLIk/видео.html
Top 3 Disliked Things: ruclips.net/video/FurRLj9obGg/видео.html
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@@1870s thank you! Can’t believe I missed them both.
I upped our garden game this past summer looking at it as an experimental year to see what I could do. Last start in spring with only adding a bit of mushroom compost to our neglected raised beds (2 3x20 ft). I wanted to see what I could do with spending as little $ as possible. No fertilizer, did make some tea from my grandson’s bunny poo…. Voraciously ingested this channel MI Gardener and I am Organic gardening to educate myself about soil. Phenomenal results with lettuce, peas, spinach beets. Started potatoes in cardboard boxes, plants looked awesome, disappointed yield on the harvest but…. Great soil was created and now will help new garden spots! Looking at this re-start to gardening and canning with the view it is one step at a time, learning process and improve each season for healthy eating! Bonus is sharing with the grandkids who are so excited every time to see what has grown and eat things straight from the backyard grocery store. We live within city limits on .10 acre.
After years of saying I wanted to learn how to can, I started canning last year with just tomatoes and this year did enough jam for the entire year, along with the tomatoes and peaches, pickles and salsa. My goal is to have a pantry just like yours in 5 years. I love that you talked about saving money, but it really is more about getting free from the processed food. The food that we can ourselves tastes so much better than anything you will find in the store. I wish I had started sooner, but so glad I did start at all. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us and the story of your friend who was healed by changing her food.
Just a heads up, what you pay for a case of jars, we pay for a single jar here in NZ. If you want to can you have to pay the price. They are really hard to get now...I actually keep a notebook with names (even family) who have a jar. I have too, so hard to replace. Wishing you and Todd all the best.
Horrible what's happening to you in NZ. We are being threatened with no more diesel in the USA and we've been prepping for over 10 years. We don't sit idle over threats. It's NWO going to back fire on them.
Very true. Our cheap Countdown quart jars are more than $5 each