How many jars have you canned this year?

[Shandy]

Someone mentioned this in another thread. Said something about how much I canned.

 

And I have people here in real life who are shocked by the amounts of food I can.

 

And I went out to my pantry and it doesn't look like much food at *all*.

 

But I'm wondering if, having prepped and stocked for so many years, if to me this much canning looks minor compared to other years or compared to what I wish I had done.

 

And then I read the "what have you canned today" threads, and it looks like some of you are canning as much or more than I am. Some of you by far.

 

Now I do have a big family, with a glut of teenaged type people who eat an awful lot of food, so maybe what looks like peanuts to me may look like a mountain to someone else.

 

So...how many canned jars are in your pantry, specifically or ballpark guess?

 

(I need you to relieve my fears. Ever since a couple months ago when someone just walked into my pantry and said some rather unkind things about me "hoarding", I've been anxiously examining myself...and my pantry...to make sure that my heart and mind are into providing and sharing...not hoarding.)

 

 

[mom11]

I'm guessing, but probably 2000-3000, maybe more. It really doesn't look like much, compared to all the work. A lot of it has disappeared, and I need to move it, but just the thought of dragging those heavy case of jars, out of the basement, and into the back of the van, with 5 chicks....Trip after trip, from the basement, to the van, to the storage unit, and back again, and again...I haven't found the energy.

[Shandy]

Ok. I haven't even approached that many. Not at all.

[MamaTiger]

Hmmmm, over the past year-year and 2-3 months, probably 2000-3000. Not exactly sure to be honest. but enough that I am burned out and weary and tired and wanting to be thru. But the Lord told me the other day that I couldn't quit yet, that I had to keep plodding along and canning whatever was available to can even if I did already have enough of that particular item.

 

who am I to argue with the Lord????????????

 

 

[mom11]

Now, I am curious, and when my husband leaves for work, I'm going down to the two food storage rooms, and count boxes, CUZ...My lazy self has 45 cases, sitting on the kitchen floor, kitchen table, dining room floor, dining room table.....Waiting to be taken downstairs. I keep thinking, I need to store them safely, somewhere else and don't want to drag them down to the basement, only to be drug back out of there...OVER and OVER again. I'm weak and can barely lift one full box of quarts. My back is so bad and I am so lazy!

[Shandy]

You two are amazing.

 

I know MamaTiger cans year round. Do you can year round also, Mom11?

 

I can't imagine doing this all year long. On the other hand, how nice to have that many jars of food in storage!

[Shandy]

Oh. I just counted. When I finish the tomatoes, carrots, and chickens and broths, I'll have toward 1,000 jars of food. But I'll fall short of 1,000. I won't hit it. I only have so many jars, and I guess I should be thankful that I don't have more! LOLOL

[Virginia]

IMHO, no one who has canned that much can possibly be lazy, tired yes, but not lazy.

 

I could guess that we have over 500, but that is just a guess, with some already passed out to the grown children.

 

 

[Crazy4Canning]

Originally Posted By: MamaTiger

Hmmmm, over the past year-year and 2-3 months, probably 2000-3000. Not exactly sure to be honest. but enough that I am burned out and weary and tired and wanting to be thru. But the Lord told me the other day that I couldn't quit yet, that I had to keep plodding along and canning whatever was available to can even if I did already have enough of that particular item.

who am I to argue with the Lord????????????

Yep, I know. I'm having the SAME conversation. I don't think I ever want to see another apple again. BUT...as long as they are there, I will do it.

I'm getting my shelves finished this week and then will clean and take photos. I'll have a count then...but half of what I canned doesn't even reside with me. Does that count? I did it for my parents...so a guesstimate...AT LEAST 40 dozen this summer alone....probably more...

[mom11]

Shurleen, I do can year around and am waiting to do dried bean stuff and meats, until the gardens all freeze. I am really, really tired, but also so frustrated, that so much disappears. The one thing about the "other" things...You aren't under so much pressure. For the most part, those foods can wait, until you are not so stressed...The veggies and fruits...You just never know when they will drop in, for how long, and for how long they'll last...There is that race, to get them in the jars, safely, and before they ROT!

 

I have also given much away and don't keep track of it. I give it to my friends, that need it, or just need to be thought of, and my precious 83 year old friend, who can no longer garden or can. I also can for my 22 daughter and 33 year old daughter and her two chicks.

[Shandy]

Mom11, that's how I can. Just not as much as you do. But always canning "this much" for us, "that much" for others.

 

And I'll tell you something, my husband loves hardly anything more than getting a box, and filling it with home canned goods, a loaf of homemade bread, and some zucchini or apple cake or homemade cookies...and giving it to someone.

 

I have to hold him back from decimating our pantry!

 

But...that lovely generosity, that child like glee in giving...that's part of why I married him.

[mom11]

Well...That's where a lot of mine has gone...Only thing, he is taking it from us, and lots of it.....Not to be generous, but to be cruel to us. Not just my home canned things, but other preps, my wedding band, gas out of my van.....On and on, But that is another, never ending story. Anymore, we almost accept anything the man does....Can't stop him.

[Shandy]

(((Mom11))) I'm so sorry. It sounds like things are very tough at your house.

[JCK88]

I don't can that much! Wow! But I have a small family. I maybe have 500 or so home-done jars down there and this was an exceptionally good year. I am not counting the jams and jellies and pickles, though....(they are condiments, not "food")

[mom11]

Thanks Shurleen....We just have to accept this. I am thankful for my chicks and what we do have.

[Shandy]

So most who do canning of stuff from the garden do about 500 jars a year, more or less.

 

And year rounders do more like a couple thousand.

 

Does that sound right?

[RNMOM]

OK, you had me curious there, so I went and counted. Actually I did an inventory several weeks ago to see what I had and didn't have....that led into cleaning and organizing the storage room, and mopping and washing......anyway...so far I've done 545 jars of stuff. My family has probably eaten a half dozen jars of salsa, but I can say that this is the most I've done in many years. I will probably turn into a year around canner now that I have a canning kitchen downstairs, but I'm still a novice compared to some of you hardcore canners out there. You are my heros!!!!!

[Tx_Woman]

OMG......ok i've never canned but i'm getting the books/supplies and will start pretty soon. How long do canned foods last? I think I read in the Ball book that they last 1 year. Do you have huge families and that's why you can so much? Do they get used up that quick? I'm trying to figure out how much to can, but it's only me and I would do some for my mom also.

[mom11]

Well...I didn't get to count cases tonight...CUZ I was busy increasing the number of canned jars. I added 13 jars of Violet's Apple Syrup and 28 jars of apple preserves. This preserve recipe had sliced, whole lemons in it. More to do tomorrow. Apple goo everywhere!

[HSmom]

At any given time, I have about 200 jars of food canned up. Most of what I can are year-round stuff, like spaghetti sauce, beans, and beef stew. I detest most canned vegetables, so I freeze or dehydrate most of my garden produce. Annually, I usually can: pickles, blackberries, plums, and apples/applesauce.

 

HOWEVER, I annually dehydrate: apples, plums, potatoes, kale, peppers, onion, peas, etc. In the freezer, I have strawberries, potatoes (diced for hashbrowns), spinach, green beans, green peas, brocolli, and pumpkin.

[MommaDogs]

HS Mom, how do the frozen potatoes turn out when you cook them? I'm trying to decide how I will preserve my 100 pounds. Last year I had 50 pounds, and by the second month, they were soft because it's just too warm in my cellar. Thought of the garage, but it freezes out there.

[MamaTiger]

Canned food will last a lot longer than 1 year. that's the recommended storage time because after that they do begin to lose nutrients. but you can use still use them.

 

I to am waiting on the frozen stuff to can until *after* I finish with the fresh stuff. We still have apples coming in and I need to do apple sauce and more sliced apples and then I need to make cider and cider vinegar (my first time trying this). Once that is done, I'll move to canning up the frozen veggies and the dried beans I have.

 

 

[Crazy4Canning]

Ditto to Mama Tiger.

 

I'm SO tired of the mess in my kitchen...but I'm also so thankful that we do have the food available to can.

[HSmom]

Originally Posted By: MommaDogs

HS Mom, how do the frozen potatoes turn out when you cook them? I'm trying to decide how I will preserve my 100 pounds. Last year I had 50 pounds, and by the second month, they were soft because it's just too warm in my cellar. Thought of the garage, but it freezes out there.

Potatoes generally do NOT freeze well. However, we love to buy frozen "southern style hashbrowns" from the grocery store. They are little cubes of diced potatoes, plus a few green pepper bits and onion bits. The ingredient list doesn't show anything else, not even oil. So I gave it a try, following the instructions at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/freeze/potato_new.html

Quote:

Freezing
New Irish Potatoes
Preparation – Select smooth new potatoes directly from the garden. Peel or scrape and wash. Water blanch for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size.

Cool, drain and package whole or sectioned, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal and freeze.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This document was extracted from "So Easy to Preserve", 5th ed. 2006. Bulletin 989, Cooperative Extension Service, The University of Georgia, Athens. Revised by Elizabeth L. Andress. Ph.D. and Judy A. Harrison, Ph.D., Extension Foods Specialists.

So I peeled and diced my spuds, blanched them, and froze them flat on cookie sheets. After 1-2 hours, I transferred them to quart freezer baggies. I let the first batch sit for a few days, then tried them. Put oil in the skillet, added the potatoes, some frozen green pepper and raw onion, stir, cook, stir. Seemed to need to cook a bit longer than the store-bought, but turned out just fine!

[Robert Z]

I am only limited by the number of jars I own. I have bought MANY jars this year and have run out again after my potato canning spree. Those jars get might expensive after a while!

 

 

My experience in freezing potatoes is not good. every time I have tried the just sort of crumble and fall apart. Canning is much better!