Thoughts from the Canner

It's canning season, which means my kitchen looks like this:

The photo doesn't do it justice because you can't see the pieces of pepper and onion dried to every surface, nor the murdered tomato remnants splattered up the walls. You also can't tell that I have so many dirty dishes that half of them are out in the yard waiting to be washed with the hose. 

It's bad.

So bad.

Which, of course, makes me wonder whether canning is worth it.

It's not.

But it is.

It's not... because it's time-consuming and messy. I have to neglect my children for a really long time to process a batch of food, and then I have to neglect them even more to clean up the mess. 

It's not... because sometimes the jars don't seal, and I have to eat the food ASAP or re-process it, causing it to need a new lid (not cheap!) and to overcook a bit.

It's not... because it's actually quite costly to can food even when I get the produce out of my own yard. First there's the expense of having a garden, then the cost of the supplies (canners, jars, lids, rings, etc), and the cost of ingredients (vinegar, lemon juice, salt, spices, etc). I invest far more time and money into canning than I would invest into a case lot sale.

It's not... because it's hard work. I have to prepare every bit of food, which means hours of blanching tomatoes, chopping onions, pureeing apricots, or what have you, and I always get half-way into it and realize that I've forgotten something or that I don't have enough of something. So there are many spontaneous trips to the store with three kids in tow. Last week I had a batch of carrots ready to put in the canner, and I couldn't find the pressure regulator. I'd set it on the counter, and it disappeared, so I called every kitchen supply store within a 15 mile radius. None of them carry regulators. I ended up having to go buy an entirely new canner ($70) because I couldn't lose my carrots! Darn those costly carrots!*

But it's worth it.

It's worth it because my kids are old enough to help, and they can participate in the process of growing food, harvesting it, preparing it, and eating it - knowing that the end result is from their hard work.

And there's something very satisfying about watching the jars add up batch after batch.

And it's an amazing feeling to open a jar of food we prepared ourselves.

And the quality of food is better, and I know exactly what's in it.

And jars of food are pretty.

*The regulator has since been found, but by the time we found it, I'd become totally sold on the idea of running two pressure canners at once, so the new one is here to stay!