Canning your own foods at home is a rewarding and practical way to preserve fresh produce and enjoy your favorite fruits, vegetables, and meals year-round. Beyond the satisfaction of creating your own pantry staples, home canning offers numerous health benefits and contributes to a more sustainable lifestyle. In this blog, we'll explore why you should consider canning your own foods and the health advantages that come with it.
The Process of Canning
Canning involves preserving foods by sealing them in airtight containers and heating them to a temperature that destroys microorganisms and inactivates enzymes. This process prevents spoilage and allows foods to be stored safely for extended periods. There are two primary methods of canning: water bath canning and pressure canning.
Water Bath Canning: Suitable for high-acid foods like fruits, pickles, and tomatoes. The jars are submerged in boiling water to achieve the necessary temperature for preservation.
Pressure Canning: Used for low-acid foods like vegetables, meats, and soups. A pressure canner heats the jars to a higher temperature than boiling water to ensure all harmful bacteria are destroyed. I have the Nesco Electric Pressure Canner that I find very easy to use, if your worried like I was about pressure canning this electric canner takes away all your worries and concerns.
Health Benefits of Home Canning
Control Over Ingredients
Eliminate Additives and Preservatives: When you can your own foods, you have full control over the ingredients used. This means you can avoid artificial additives, preservatives, and excessive amounts of sugar and salt commonly found in store-bought canned goods. Growing your own garden is a great way to provide you with an abundance of fresh, nutritious produce for your canning.
Choose Organic and Non-GMO: When purchasing from your local grocer always try to select organic and non-GMO produce. This will ensure that your preserved foods are free from pesticides and genetically modified organisms. If purchasing from your local farmer or local Market don't be afraid to ask if their fresh produce is free from pesticides and herbicides as many people only think that the big corporation farmers use these in their fields but unfortunatley even small farmers use these unhealthy sprays on their crops.
Nutrient Preservation
Retain Nutrients: Home canning preserves the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables at their peak freshness. Proper canning techniques help retain essential vitamins and minerals, providing you with nutritious options throughout the year.
Minimize Nutrient Loss: Unlike some commercial preservation methods, home canning minimizes nutrient loss, especially when using fresh, high-quality produce. Always use fresh unblemished, unbruised produce in your canning.
Reduce Food Waste
Utilize Abundant Harvests: Canning allows you to preserve surplus produce from your garden or farmers' market, reducing food waste and making the most of seasonal abundance. Don't throw away those veggies or fruits that may sit in your fridge to long. Can them up for later use and save on waste and your hard earned money.
Long Shelf Life: Canned foods have a long shelf life, enabling you to store them for months or even years, reducing the need to discard expired fresh produce. This is a great way to stock up on your families favorite foods during peak season and when those costs are lower allowing you to feed your family healthy all year round.
Promote Healthy Eating
Convenient and Ready-to-Eat: Home-canned foods provide convenient, ready-to-eat options that can be quickly incorporated into meals, encouraging healthier eating habits. Taking the extra time to preserve food ahead it will help on those days when our mornings or night time meals need to be rushed, ensuring your are enjoying good food and not processed foods.
Customizable Recipes: You can tailor recipes to suit your dietary preferences and needs, such as reducing sugar content in fruit preserves or creating low-sodium vegetable soups etc. You can find many recipes and ideas throughout the web allowing you to stock up on so many homemade and homecooked foods, meals, sauces and more.
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Economic Benefits
Cost-Effective: Canning your own foods can be more cost-effective than purchasing commercially canned products, especially when you take advantage of seasonal produce and bulk buying. This also helps you to reuse and recycle items, helping to create a healthier earth.
Save Money on Groceries: Stocking your pantry with home-canned foods reduces the need for frequent grocery trips and reliance on processed convenience foods. So many processed foods have hidden and unwanted ingredients leading to many health issues. Canning your own foods will help to keep your family healthy.
Sustainable and Eco-Friendly
Reduce Packaging Waste: Home canning reduces reliance on single-use packaging and plastic waste, contributing to a more sustainable lifestyle. When purchasing good quality jars they can be used over multiple times and can even last many years.
Support Local Agriculture: By preserving locally sourced produce, you support local farmers and reduce the carbon footprint associated with transporting and storing commercially canned goods. This is also how you can control the quality and location of where your food is sourced.
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Getting Started with Home Canning
Gather Supplies: Invest in basic canning equipment, such as jars, lids, a water bath canner or pressure canner, a jar lifter, and a funnel. Many of these items can be purchased new at places like Walmart, Amazon or your local grocery store. You can also find many items second hand on marketplace, thrift stores, garage sales etc. Just always make sure to check jars to have no chips or cracks and that the pressure canner seal is still good. It is important to use only new seals/lids for your canning jars, although you can re use the rings that are still in good shape. Any old seals/lids can be used for dry storage of goods etc so they are not wasted and recycled.
Learn Safe Canning Practices: Familiarize yourself with safe canning practices and guidelines from reputable sources like the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Ball Canning and Kerr canning websites are excellent as well for safe canning practices and safe recipes to use.
Start Simple: Begin with simple recipes and high-acid foods that are easier to can, such as fruit jams, pickles, and tomato sauce.
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Expand Your Skills: As you gain confidence, experiment with more complex recipes and low-acid foods, ensuring you follow proper pressure canning techniques.
Canning your own foods at home is a healthy, cost-effective, and sustainable way to preserve the bounty of each season. By taking control of the ingredients and process, you can enjoy nutritious, homemade foods year-round while reducing food waste and supporting a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Start your canning journey today and experience the numerous benefits of home preservation!
For more tips and ideas for canning and food preservation there are a lot of groups that you can follow on Facebook and Instagram, where you can ask questions, save and even share your own recipes. A couple of my favorite are The Canadian Pioneer Woman, Canning Addicts We Just Cant Stop Beginners Welcome, Canning Recipes Safe and Tested
Happy Canning!
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