Canning Season!

Canning season is here!  Last summer was my first effort in canning and it really went well. I am excited to can even MORE this year.  I'll be honest--I don't can to save money. I can to control the ingredients. I get tired of having to read the labels of pasta sauce at the store, looking for the one that has no soybean oil in it and the kids prefer my homemade applesauce to store-bought. It's Bryce's food allergies that lead us all down the path of reading labels, eating simple fresh foods and canning our own at home. I did not do any sort of cost analysis of what I canned last year. I know I got a load of tomatoes from my friend H, and scored a bushel of pears for $7 (off Craigslist!!) and used onions and cilantro from my garden...but I don't know what I spent. I'm really ok with not knowing.

I should add that I have managed to aquire a huge amount of jars via Craigslist, Freecycle, rummage sales and the kindess of others. Brad's aunt in Chicago gave me a LOT of jars as she is scaling back on what she puts up. Jars are your main expense and I have to say, I haven't spent very much on jars!

I will be hitting the farmer's market today to pick up some peaches (no, not Michigan peaches)...these are Georgia peaches and at $12/half-bushel, I can't afford NOT to put them up.

This summer I'm planning to can:
peaches (12-24qts, I'm the only one who eats them)
pears (24-36 qts, assuming I can find some cheap)
salsa (as much as possible--75 pints or more)
dill pickles (45 qts minimum)
pizza sauce (16 pints)
pasta sauce (16 qts)
pepper jelly (16 half-pints or more, for my BFF)
applesauce (50 qts)
dilly beans (8 qts)

and probably so much more. This is just a rough idea for now. I bought a new canning cookbook (BH & G)and dog-eared several more recipes, including a corn salsa, pickles pear tomatoes, and a roasted garlice pasta sauce.

I'll be canning with my friend, G. She's a whiz with canning. We're canning here at my house and we're putting up peaches and making a rasberry jam for her family. I might do a bushel of dill pickles on Sunday, too. We'll see. What are you canning this year?