5 Reasons You Should Learn to Can Food

5 reasons you should learn to can your own food are:

1.) Save money 

2.) Ensure the quality of your food 

3.) Preserve family recipes 

4.) Become independent of grocery stores 

5.) Utilize excess produce from your garden

The first reason you should learn to can is to save money. It's true that canning requires a modest investment to begin, but the equipment quickly pays for itself. The jars and rings are reusable, and replacement lids are very affordable. There are even reusable jar lids (made of glass) available on the internet. Once you have the tools you need to can your own food, your only cost will be the seeds to plant your garden and a box or two of lids.

Another reason canning is making a come back is because of the worry of the food supply becoming tainted. Every time you turn on the TV you hear a story about an E. Coli outbreak or tainted food. If you can your own food, you know exactly what goes into the jar and you can rest assured that the person who prepared the food practiced good hygiene and that the food is safe.

Learning to can is a great way to pass on family recipes. Canning used to be common and many families have special recipes for canned goods. By learning to can you can preserve these recipes and pass them on to the next generation. Grandma's famous jam that won the blue ribbon at the state fair could be lost forever if nobody takes the time to learn and replicate the recipe. Why let a wonderful recipe be lost forever? Keep the tradition going, and spend time with the ones you love.

On a more practical note, learning to can your own food will give you independence from the grocery store. We are very reliant on the food supply system these days, but just a few generations ago you couldn't always run down to the market for some tomatoes. You had to grow what you ate and can what you could for the winter. Learning to can your own food will give you back your independence from the grocery stores because you will be able to eat what you grew in the summer all winter long. When you are in hurry on a weeknight, you won't have to stop at the grocery store if you have a few jars with the ingredients for a nice stew or some spaghetti at home.