Happy Friday! It's been a good week here at the Quiltiferous household! I want to talk to you today about a frugal subject we don't often get around to here on the blog. I want to chat home preserving with you!
Last week we talked about a healthy stockpile. This aids in stretching grocery dollars in several ways. First, there's just no need to run to the store last minute. With a variety in the stockpile, you'll usually have a good substitute if needed, or you can use a pantry meal. Part of the pantry includes home preserved fruits.
My main preserving fruit is tomatoes. A sweet friend taught me everything there was to know about making tomato products one year in her hot, small kitchen. We had the best time making pizza sauce, salsa, and spaghetti sauce! I think we even canned just juice, because there were so very many tomatoes that year! She taught me how to use a water bath canner, and I was hooked from there. Since then, I go to the farmer's market, buy a box of canning tomatoes, and can the whole box into various tomato products!
One of the best ways to get started canning is to watch someone else do it. If you can find a local class, that's good, but so are online videos. Make sure you follow a known, tested recipe, as things can go wrong when canning. I love the Ball preserving books for good recipes. Follow the water bath details exactly, as again, this is food that can spoil if not done right.
Canning has been a blessing to my family, as well as many others. I have upwards of fifteen jars of pizza sauce left from last year in my pantry. It's a meal I can put together from any leftover meat, a jar of sauce, and a homemade dough recipe. We use this one ingredient to make calzones, pizza, stir fry, and stuffed peppers. I think I counted their cost at something like 40 cents per can. I can laugh at the cost of tomatoes in the store right now!
I'm looking for an inexpensive way to can some tomatoes this year, as my glass cooktop has a crack in it. I dare not put a heavy pot of water on it, let alone a canner and large saucepan together! From what I'm told, a glass cooktop is not ideal for canning, so I'll need a different set up, even when we replace the cooktop. My sweet mother-in-law has an outdoor set up that I want to ask her more about! I may also choose to make up "cans" of tomato products and freeze them this year. I'll look into that!
I hope this encourages you to get canning before the tomatoes are gone for the season! Good luck to you!
Stacy
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