Does anyone here do canning?

I am going to start making my own jam and canning fruits. I was just wondering if anyone else here cans their own fruits and vegetables. I can't wait to get started! I love the fall harvest season and I am going to take full advantage of all the yummy fruits and veggies that are currently available to me.

I have done jam for quite awhile, and a couple years ago started with pickles and fruit. Sadly I haven't had time for any fruit or pickles this year. They are delicious though. Our favorites are peaches and pears. They dont even make it till winter and they are all gone. I tried plums too, didnt really care for them. But I used the syrup in them to make plum sauce, so it wasn't a total waste. Eventually when I have time I want to do spaghetti and pizza sauce, and maybe venture into veggies. I enjoy it, and I love having my own food that I know exactly whats in it.

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Originally Posted by DooLittle

I have done jam for quite awhile, and a couple years ago started with pickles and fruit. Sadly I haven't had time for any fruit or pickles this year. They are delicious though. Our favorites are peaches and pears. They dont even make it till winter and they are all gone. I tried plums too, didnt really care for them. But I used the syrup in them to make plum sauce, so it wasn't a total waste. Eventually when I have time I want to do spaghetti and pizza sauce, and maybe venture into veggies. I enjoy it, and I love having my own food that I know exactly whats in it.

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Thanks for replying Doolittle! I want to eventually make my own sauces too! I am thinking some homemade chili would be great canned for the winter season! I am so excited to get started!

I havent but would like to try it someday!

I am looking into it and planning for the future. I actually bought a magazine today about canning and preserving food!

The reason I haven't yet is because I'm having a really hard time keeping a garden going. Unfortunately where I live we are completely over-run with ground squirrels. Because there are so many squirrels, so few natural food sources, and so few natural predators, they are really over populated and relying on us people to feed them. They steal pet and livestock food (other people feed their dogs outside, I have the livestock), steal all the fruit, nuts, and vegetables they can (even before it's ripe!), they eat each other when they die, and everything else they can possible fine. It is horrible (both for them and us). And they just keep reproducing (no joke, I could walk outside and count 24 squirrels at any one time). We started trapping this year to weed out the population a little bit, and things are looking a lot better now. I'm hoping next year I can have a garden with good production, and maybe start canning/preserving food.

Squirrel is good eating just fyi lol. I don't do jelly or anything but I do can tomatoes every year and sometimes salsa if I get enough peppers.

We can and do jams/jellies. We love doing sauces because the longer it sits the more the spices and herbs release their true flavors. We grow most all of our herbs, spices and vegetables. Our cucumber production was off this year so no pickles this year.