Canning...

I've been trying my hand at canning more than strawberry jam lately. I got a book called Canning for a New Generation by Lianna Krissoff and Rinne Allen. It's a fantastic book with lots of interesting things to preserve... and lucky for me it's organized by season so that I can easily figure out what I should focus on right now!


First up was Rhubarb and Orange Jam. What a fabulous twist on the old Rhubarb and Strawberry! It isn't too sweet, but not too tart either... a nice balance... but probably most appreciated by adults. The kids didn't think it was sweet enough.


Next up... pickling. I've never pickled anything in my life, but I thought I'd try out some beets. I was intrigued because the spices in the recipe were cinnamon and allspice (but I didn't have allspice, so I used cloves).

Then, standing in the kitchen this morning, looking at my beautiful beets... I realized that if I made $10 an hour for my labor, you figure in paying for the beets (I have no idea what I paid for them), the cider vinegar, and the spices... the nine jars I made are conservatively worth $50. Hmmm... that's some expensive beets!

It makes me wonder a bit if it makes sense to can in this day and age. I guess most people don't do it for the financial savings, but for knowing exactly what's in it and not having to ship it anywhere. I also know that I feel some real satisfaction from opening a jar of my own jam, or pickled stuff.

It must be some kind of strange addiction on my part, because I just realized that I came home with extra cucumbers today because I intend to make refrigerator pickles! LOL! I'll let you know if they are good... and how expensive they turn out to be!