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Farm Kitchen:  Economics of canning  |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 14 2006 : 1:42:39 PM
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i did some canning last month here at the farm and had all four burners going on the electric stove for several hours two or three times.
Today DH got the electric bill, and it was $20 higher than usual. He said "it's just not worth it, brenda...." He's an energy engineer so he is focused on the energy cost.
I am wondering if anyone has done a formal study of the economics of canning. If you get your vegetables for "free" (out of your garden, and let's not go there to consider the cost of gardening, seeds, tools, Neem, fence, stakes...) by the time you buy jars, rings and lids, then sterilize the jars and lids in the boiling water bath canner, while cooking the jelly, salsa, applesauce, whatever, what the heck is the kilowatt-per-hour charge that lets you break even with equivalent (organic, maybe?) food from the grocery store? And I'm not even considering the cost of my time/labor...
I know it's easier to freeze food but then you have to worry if the electric goes out, and ours does fequently.. plus you have the ongoing electric for the freezer ($10 a month, usually) Of course if it's on all the time anyway then you're better off with a full freezer than a half-full one...
Should I be doing my canning with old jars and a wood stove to be more cost-effective? Do I need to do a batch of 50 jars at once to make it worth heating up the water?
Or should I just stop trying to preserve food altogether and plan to buy what I need every day on my way home from work (this is what he advocates...)
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2006 : 2:03:39 PM
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It IS cheaper on a gas stove. I use a camp stove sometimes as my kitchen stove is electric too. I have a zillion jars..so I use old jars and just have to replace lids each year. This year I did seem to buy alot of new jars..just needed more pints..but will have those for year. I have some jars (quarts) that I got in the late 70's..they have the bicentennial bell on them. Got them my first year of canning when I first Married in '76. So they really do last. Plus I have usually always been able to find people (mostly elderly) giving away canning jars since they stopped canning since their families were grown)
I won't stop canning..and I think alot of why I do it is the sense of security from all those jars lined up in the cellar just waiting. Plus, knowing for a fact where the food was raised and what is in that jar. I don't freeze much stuff at all. Just meat and butter and cheese in the freezer most of the time.
I would hate to not have extra food in the house all the time. BUt I like to have a stock of things. I hope you don't give up on canning.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2006 : 2:49:23 PM
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The food supply in the stores has either been sitting there for too long, full of pesticides or who knows what or let your imagination run wild. I think it's alot healthier to grow your own food, then at least you know where it came from and how long it has been on the shelf. Fifteen years for hot peppers might be stretching it a lil.  You can also dry your food, freeze it or keep some things in the ground with good cover in the winter.
Don't give up!!!
Sarah |
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Leezard
True Blue Farmgirl
950 Posts
Elizabeth
Novi
MI
USA
950 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2006 : 5:16:57 PM
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| Could you break it down a bit for your husband...hours with the stove running divided by the number of jars of food you ended up with, etc... Compare that with what those items would cost you in the store and the lack in quality and nutrition in most store bought products. Maybe that would help a little. Like Jenny, I reuse all of my jars until they're not able to be used anymore so the only thing I generally end up buying is lids. This year I did buy some new jars as I did far more canning than I usually do because my sister asked me to do some for her too and I made up some extra apple pie filling to donate to our church's bazaar next month. I don't care to freeze food, in my experience I've not come out with the good quality like I get with canning. I hope you're able to work something out so you can continue enjoying canning :) |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2006 : 8:33:16 PM
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I guess I never look at the price. First of all I have a gas stove and oven and I do re-use my jars, year after year - getting new rings and lids when needed (which are cheap). My husband wishes I would can more - he thinks it is the greatest thing to get something out of the backyard or from a local farmer and then have an end product like jam or juice or salsa. If you divide up the cost by the number of jars you do up, it really is not that bad in price. Also you can use some of these items as Christmas gifts, house warming gifts, etc that you would normally spend money on anyway. Also everything just tastes better when you can at home - can't your husband tell the difference?
Anne in Portland
"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them" Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh
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MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2006 : 11:28:17 PM
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| I also re-use old jars. I pick up most of mine at yard sales or auctions. |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2006 : 07:47:04 AM
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Initially, you are probably right about start up costs and the fuel. Once you are like everyone mentioned stocked with jars, etc your overhead is really only the produce and the fuel. I am with everyone else regarding being concerned about what we eat, where it came from, etc... There is nothing better than knowing that jar of tomatoes has nothing in it other than what I put there. I too think the quality of what we can is superior to almost anything we can buy.
$20.00 comes out to 5-6 jars of applesauce at the market, did you make more than that? I don't think 20.00 is extreme for knowing you have made your family the healthiest food possible.
PS...That 20.00 is less than a tank of gas! How many trips to the market did you save?!
with a happy heart |
Edited by - bramble on Oct 15 2006 07:49:05 AM |
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tziporra
True Blue Farmgirl
234 Posts
Robin
Seattle
WA
USA
234 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2006 : 9:16:50 PM
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Okay -- I've given this a lot of thought myself because we are trying to pay off all our consumer debt while my husband is in graduate school and I'm a stay-at-home-mom. So frugality is my middle name!
To cut costs:
-- I get "free" produce from my family farm and from people who know I can in the neighborhood. This cuts down on my costs quite a bit, but I've found that I can purchase produce directly from local farms and STILL can for less than storebought. The only crop I've grown up till this year has been blackberries, and since I always have more than I can pick I try to give back to my neighbors who've been donating pears and plums to my canning efforts by inviting them over to pick.
-- As mentioned by others, I re-use jars, and only buy new rings and lids. If you re-use rings too you can save even more. Estate sales and family members are very helpful for finding supplies of jars.
-- If you have a canning "bee", you will cut costs, particularly if you use a friend's gas range (maybe one who will take payment in your delicious canned produce?). It's also more fun to share the work with other women.
--Wash your jars as they empty, but save them up to sterilize all at once right before you can. I sterilize in my super-duper energy efficient dishwasher (for which I am eternally grateful to my wonderful husband) by Fisher & Paykel. Again, if you can with other people you can sterilize all your jars at once.
--For things like pickles and applesauce and salsa you will almost always come out ahead because you are paying for the glass jar /each/ time you purchase the product at the store.
In the end the areas where you save money are:
-- produce costs (as long as you grow your own, have nice friends and family, or know where to shop a bargain)
-- refuse costs. Since we live in the city my husband is fanatical about keeping our trash to a minimum to save money. Glass jars, plastic bottles and steel cans take up lots of precious recycling space (better used for junk mail!). The difference between pickup every week and every other week really adds up!
-- Transportation Costs. The /only/ way to frugally buy canned goods is to watch for sales and grab a good deal in bulk. But this adds considerable running-around costs to your grocery bills. And, if you aren't careful, you csn spend more in other areas of your grocery list because it's a challenge to shop all those stores.
-- container costs. Someone has to pay for those pickle jars and that applesauce packaging, every time you buy, and it's sure not the Treetop or Nestle people.
Where you pay:
--Energy costs. As you've discovered.
--Initial jar costs. Lids anually.
--Produce costs. If you are canning stuff you didn't grow or acquire.
--Freezer costs if you freeze.
I have a stand-alone freezer which I pay an exorbitant amount of money to run, so I fill it as much as possible. I freeze the following:
Blackberries
Applesauce
Baby Food (in ice-cube trays)
Pumpkin Puree
Squash Puree
Pie Cherries, pitted
I can the following:
Peaches
Salsa
Tomatoes and Tomato Sauce
Jams and fruit spreads
Apricots
Pickles
Plums
Pears
Hope some of this is useful.
Best,
Robin |
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2006 : 9:28:23 PM
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i cannot add anything that wouldn't reiterate what everyone else ahs said, except to remind him of the health benefit and better health means fewer trips to a doctor where you are more likely to pick up more germs from other sick people and bring them home with you....
If you spend $20 per year on your energy for canning, then I imagine it's better than spending allt he money of fuel for grocery shopping and co-pays for the Dr and prescription charges, etc.
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
blog: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com |
Edited by - GaiasRose on Oct 15 2006 9:28:51 PM |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2006 : 04:54:33 AM
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Everyone interprets 'value' a little differently. For me, it's always knowing where the food came from and how it was produced. I can make my jams with real cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. I can pack my organic tomatoes without salt. I can make sure that all the chickens that went into my soup are tumor-free, no antibiotics or growth hormones, etc. And it's unlikely there'll be any e. coli in my produce. 
The energy costs are higher in the summer, but while you're eating all your yummy home grown canned goods this winter, they'll be normal; and your gas bill will be lower due to fewer trips to the grocery. He needs to look at it on an annual basis instead of a monthly one.
And you'll KNOW where that food comes from. To me, that's priceless. |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2006 : 06:22:16 AM
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I used to put up hundreds of quarts of food a year. Then I started growing earlier in the spring and keep growing later into the fall. We eat in season as much as possible. We now use a lot less frozen and canned food than ever before. It's cut my costs down drastically. I do love green beans in February so I put up 50 quarts a year now. The only other thing I can is tomatoes.
It's worth the price. What we aren't paying in medical bills and are gaining in vitality is worth a little extra cost in putting up our own food.
Robin
www.thymeforewe.com
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MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2006 : 06:51:20 AM
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| Amen to the lesser medical bills. We see so many people with cancer these days. I have to wonder where it is all coming from. I don't believe it has always been like that and we just didn't know it. In the last 50 yrs or so our way of eating has changed dramasitcally. People have gone from growing alot or most of their own food to eating alot of processed things. I think somewhere there is a link. There is just no replacement or comparison to home grown food. |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2006 : 4:54:13 PM
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You all have given me some "ammunition" to keep on canning.
As I read the comments about health costs I am reflecting that I have lost about 12 pounds this summer without dieting, which I am attributing to eating fresher foods with more vitamins and enzymes in them and also to the exercise I am getting in my garden and yes, even while canning!
The comments about the costs of gasoline, running around to shop, are also valid points - which reminds me of one of the reasons I signed up for the CSA this year in addition to my own garden - I wanted to stay out of the grocery store as much as possible. I am an impulse buyer and every trip to the store means I spend more money. That $20 could be spent in one trip by buying 3 magazines waiting in line at the checkout!
Robin, I do appreciate your list of things you can versus freeze - and also your comment about the sterilizing in the dishwasher. My dishwasher has a "sanitize" cycle and I wondered if that was enough to actually sterilize the jars. I also remember my grandmother sterilizing her jars by putting them in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or so, but I don't read that in any of the canning books so I assumed that was not recommended.
The other Robin- I also liked your comment about growing earlier and later in the season - I came home from Michigan this weekend to find that everything in the garden here had frosted and turned black- except my parsley, carrots, Swiss Chard and lettuce. I have a bunch of lettuce seedlings started in the garage that I never got around to planting yet, do you think I can still put them in the garden?
Mary Ann, your comment made me think of a new Mastercard commercial...
Garden tools and seeds..... $100.00
Canning jars..... $50.00
Lids and rings and pectin.... $20.00
Going to the pantry in the middle of winter and opening a jar of home-canned peaches.....Priceless!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2006 : 07:15:19 AM
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Brenda, you make me think of a Greg Brown song I heard years ago about canning on A Prairie Home Companion. I can only remember snippets, but it was something about his grandma:
"When I go to see my grandma
I gain a lot of weight.
Her dear hands have played at the plate.
She cans the pickles sweet and dill,
She cans the song of the whipporwill,
And the morning sun
And the evening moon;
I've really got to go see her pretty soon
'Cause those canned goods I buy at the store
Ain't got the summer in 'em anymore.
"Peaches on the shelf,
Potatoes in the bin;
Supper's ready everybody come on in!
Taste a little of the summer,
You can taste a little of the summer,
Yes you taste a little of the summer.
My grandma put it all in jars."
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MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2006 : 08:55:01 AM
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Hi Brenda...I absolutely love this
Garden tools and seeds..... $100.00
Canning jars..... $50.00
Lids and rings and pectin.... $20.00
Going to the pantry in the middle of winter and opening a jar of home-canned peaches.....Priceless!
Sarah |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2006 : 10:24:34 AM
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It also depends on your needs. We go through so much jelly in a year...but I also sell it.
Sometimes its just plain FUN! Sure, the strawberries 'aint cheap, neither is the gas to get to the farm. Blackberries on the other hand are free and out in a field I love to roam in the summer. The exercise that comes w/ this is priceless too.
Think of canning as a labor of love...something you love to do and something you do with someone else in mind.
Sometimes new lids and rings can be found at thrift stores, same of course goes for the jars. Put a word out to friends and family and you might be over run w/ their donations!
A few years ago I got all bummed out when all my canned tomatoes for the season were ruined. Then I thought about it for a second and thanked God we did have the ability to go to a store and buy such items when we need them-on demand!
We tend to take much for granted sometimes.
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MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2006 : 3:45:51 PM
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Sometimes I use my canning jars for freezing things when they are not full of other goodies. I save my used lids for using on the jars for the freezer. Used lids also make cute photo frame/refrigerator magnets.
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2006 : 6:23:57 PM
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Oh I love Garrison Keillor and a Prairie Home companion - here's some more of his stuff about canning:
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/features/deskofgk/2005/old_scout/10/04.shtml
Excerpt: People tell me I work too hard, but I don't work nearly so hard as my mother did, raising six children, cleaning, cooking, washing clothes and hanging them out on the line, and then there was the late-summer orgy of canning. We scoured the garden for every last tomato, string bean, ear of corn, cucumber. The kitchen was a boiler room. Billows of steam from the pressure cooker, teakettles boiling - hot water to skin the tomatoes! Boiling water to sterilize the glass jars! Children chopping and slicing! Mother slaving away, her hair damp as if she'd swum the Channel, sterilizing, steaming, aware that one little mistake could mean a jar full of botulism - "Clostridium botulinum," which is Latin for "pushing up daisies." One jar of stewed tomatoes gone bad could wipe out our whole family.
Quotations: - "Where I'm from we don't trust paper. Wealth is what's here on the premises. If I open a cupboard and see, say, 30 cans of tomato sauce and a five-pound bag of rice, I get a little thrill of well-being-much more so than if I take a look at the quarterly dividend report from my mutual fund. "
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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Farm Kitchen: Economics of canning |
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Economics of canning
