Canning has been around for a very long time. But it’s a little more rare today to see someone’s pantry stocked full of home canned foods though. Canned food from the grocery store, despite inflation, is still very affordable. Canning at home takes time, effort and equipment. It’s incredibly easy to run to the grocery store and get all the food you need for the week.
In the past, people canned food at home because grocery stores didn’t exist as they do today. Even if someone didn’t have a garden, they knew a farmer who did. People went to the butcher for meat, not Walmart. Or they butchered animals at home. Only in the last 100 years has the concept of getting all the food you need from one store existed.
Today, food is so mass produced in the U.S. that most of us don’t think about where our food comes from or what we would do if there were no grocery stores. This is where canning your food at home comes in. So does canning save you money today?
Canning your food at home is a big step into being self sufficiency. Learning to can at home allows us to fill our larder with healthy food for our families. But the question of whether or not it’s worth it does come into play when you can still get cheap food from the grocery store.
So does canning save you money in today’s world? I believe it can! But let’s start with the basics.
What is canning?
Home canning is a way to preserve food in glass jars by creating a vacuum seal allowing the food to last for up to two years. There are safe rules to follow, but home canning is something almost anyone can do.
There are two main types of canning. Pressure canning and water bath canning. Pressure canning is reserved for low acid foods. Water bath canning is for high acid food. You can find out more about this here at the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
What foods can you can? Most fruits and vegetables are safe to can either through pressure canning or water bath canning according to the specific food. Meat and fish can also be safely canned.
What shouldn’t you can? Dairy, eggs, starch, pasta, rice and flour are not safe to can at home.
What equipment is needed for home canning?
Pressure canning:
- A pressure canner with gauge and weight
Water bath canning:
- A tall, heavy bottomed stock pot or water bath canner
For both:
- Jars: pint, quart, and half pint, are all safe to can with. Half gallon jars are not.
- Lids
- Bands
- Bubble popper, this could be a butter knife, chopstick or one sold in stores specifically for this purpose
- Jar lifter (not technically necessary, but definitely recommend)
- Canning funnel (also not necessary but very helpful!)
Costs of equipment:
Pressure Canner: To get started, you don’t need the biggest and most expensive pressure canner. A Presto pressure canner runs around $130. This can also be used as a water bath canner, so that’s two in one. I have found pressure canners in thrift stores, but they would need new gauges and rink gaskets to make them safe. Those run about $35 together, which isn’t a bad deal!
Jars: Jars are expensive. The prices have finally seemed to become somewhat stable. I’ve watched them rise over the last four years at what I think is an insane rate! At Walmart, a dozen quart jars in the Ball brand are almost $17! The golden harvest brand is always a dollar or two cheaper and has worked just as well for me. Azure Standard also sells canning jars now and they are slightly cheaper than Walmart, but without the lids and bands.
Lids & Bands: Canning lids typically cost around $4 a dozen according to the brand. The bands cost around $5 a dozen. Luckily, the bands can be reused over and over, the lids however, cannot. I have found buying my lids from ForJars in bulk during one of their sales is the most budget friendly way to purchase them. Also, my ForJars canning lids are the best I have ever used!
Jar lifter/Funnel: You can buy these as a set with a magnetic lid lifter from Walmart for $7.
Cost of Ingredients:
The cost of the ingredients is where you can either spend a lot of money or save a lot of money. Growing your own produce to can is so much cheaper than purchasing in most cases. Keeping your gardening costs low by using frugal practices will keep your produce costs to almost nothing. Read more about frugal gardening here!
There are good deals to be had at the farmer’s market when someone is selling a bumper crop of produce they need to get rid of. If you can find the deals, this will save you a lot on your price to can.
However, going to the grocery store and buying full price produce to can is not worth it! One, you don’t know where the food came from. Two, for the cost of full price produce at the store, a can of the same produce is probably much cheaper.
Herbs & spices are called for in a lot of recipes. You can buy these in bulk from Azure Standard at a better price and they are often not irradiated. Pectin is also something you can buy in bulk from Azure Standard.
Upfront costs
Now that we have figured out how much the equipment costs, let’s say you purchase everything you need to can all at once.
- Pressure canner $130
- 6 dozen quart jars (with lids & bands) $108
- Funnel & jar lifter $7
TOTAL OF $245
The great thing is that there is no need to buy another pressure canner, jars, bands, funnel or jar lifter for many years! If all of that lasts 10 years, it only costs $24.50 a year for all of that. There is the costs of the lids and produce though. If you are only canning 6 dozen jars a year, lids will cost around $24 every year without taking inflation into account. Produce prices will go up and down, but growing it all yourself will make it more affordable.
Here’s the deal with home canning though, it’s a lot like chicken math. Once you start discovering new and exciting recipes you don’t want to stop. My first year of canning, I did green beans, corn and a few jars of jam. The next year I did all of that and a whole lot more! Now, we try and preserve everything we can from the garden and most of that is through canning.
So maybe those 6 dozen quart jars eventually aren’t enough. The good news is, that after purchasing those jars, they can be used over and over as long as they don’t chip or break.
Tips on saving money while canning:
Borrowing equipment is a blessing if you are able to do it! We still borrow my mom’s presto pressure canner every summer since they don’t can nearly as much as we do. We do own three small pressure canners, but only pints can be used for them. If you have someone that is willing to lend you a pressure canner and accessories, do it!
Finding canning equipment used is another way to save. I have rarely walked into a thrift store that didn’t have a shelf of mason jars. Often these are sold cheaper than buying a new pack at the grocery store. Just be sure that there are no chips on the rim of the jar. This makes them no good for canning, because the lid won’t seal. Pressure canners can be harder to find, but they are out there.
People give jars and pressure canners away. The vast majority of jars that we own were given to us free by family and friends who weren’t interest in canning anymore or they weren’t able. We own three small pressure canners that were given to use as well.
Being frugal while looking for canning equipment can help answer the question, does canning save you money?
Canning food at home is worth it!
If you are diligent about taking care of your equipment, growing your own food frugally and putting in the hard work, canning can definitely save you money.
On top of the savings, canning food at home gives you security in knowing that you can provide nutritious food for your family without relying on the grocery store.
After the work of processing the food, home canned food is incredibly convenient. We discovered canning meals last summer and now do it regularly. No need to thaw anything out. We open a jar of home canned chili, heat it on the stove and enjoy!
So, does canning save you money? Yes! And it is gives you self sufficiency and convenience. If you have any tips on saving money while canning, let me know in the comments!
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