Canning insanity.
This week, I made and canned 21 pints of sweet pickles, 4 pints of dill pickles, and 6 pints of cherry-lime jam. I have an additional 8 quarts of cherries sitting in my freezer waiting to become jam. Why?
Well, first of all, because for $15 I can get a 20lb case of persian cucumbers (as opposed to the 40lb case of pickling cucumbers; even we don't eat THAT many pickles.)instead of $1.50/lb for the same variety if I bought it off the shelf. The cherries weren't THAT cheap, but they were still cheaper than if I'd gotten them off the shelf.
But pickles and jam are pretty cheap in the store! Well, yes. But I know how mine were made, I know what went in them, and what didn't, and I get pickles and jam that are exactly the way I like them. I also get the pleasure of feeding good food that I made to my friends and family.
Mostly, though, I deeply enjoy the process of making and canning goods. I love watching a box of cherries, delicious in their own right, but utterly fleeting, become something that I'll get to enjoy in the dead of winter. I love knowing that I can hand my Grandfather a pint of pickles that he'll love, and that I made them.
Next year, though, I need to remember to stock up on pickling salt, dill seed, sugar (oh GOD, THE SUGAR!), jar lids, lime juice, and maybe pectin before I get started. I also need to remember to do the cherries in the middle of their season, not the end (they were significantly cheaper last week, but I wasn't ready for them).
Well, first of all, because for $15 I can get a 20lb case of persian cucumbers (as opposed to the 40lb case of pickling cucumbers; even we don't eat THAT many pickles.)instead of $1.50/lb for the same variety if I bought it off the shelf. The cherries weren't THAT cheap, but they were still cheaper than if I'd gotten them off the shelf.
But pickles and jam are pretty cheap in the store! Well, yes. But I know how mine were made, I know what went in them, and what didn't, and I get pickles and jam that are exactly the way I like them. I also get the pleasure of feeding good food that I made to my friends and family.
Mostly, though, I deeply enjoy the process of making and canning goods. I love watching a box of cherries, delicious in their own right, but utterly fleeting, become something that I'll get to enjoy in the dead of winter. I love knowing that I can hand my Grandfather a pint of pickles that he'll love, and that I made them.
Next year, though, I need to remember to stock up on pickling salt, dill seed, sugar (oh GOD, THE SUGAR!), jar lids, lime juice, and maybe pectin before I get started. I also need to remember to do the cherries in the middle of their season, not the end (they were significantly cheaper last week, but I wasn't ready for them).