North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Tom Olenio <tolenio@sentex.net>]

Hello,

Canning fruit and vegetables is very inexpensive, a fraction of retail 
prices.  Then there is also
the satisfaction that comes with doing it, much like the satisfaction of 
growing the fruit and
vegetables.

Personally, I re-use canning lids, and they usually last a number of times 
before they need to be
tossed.

My inlaws run a dairy farm and drink the raw milk on a regular basis.  
However, they are reluctant
to serve raw milk to my family, as we did not grow up on it (their immune 
systems are better for
it).

But we eat/can/freeze as much meat, fruit and vegetables as we can off the 
farm.  Saves a bundle
$$.

More than worth the effort.

Later,
Tom


Naomi wrote:

> About the costs of canning:
> When you can you do not need new rings, you need new lids.  These are sold
> in a box of 12 for a $1.  So you put in your own produce. Sugar, Vinegar,
> Spices, salt and Heat. I would not expect your yearly cost for canning to be
> above $.25 a quart jar.  The jars themselves go for about$.50 and get reused
> for years.
>
> My canning starts with the seeds I select in spring.  I fertilize the plants
> with the help of my donkeys, goats and chickens.  I pick when the produce
> seems ready and I process within hours. I like to make jams of wild
> combinations of whatever is ripe at the moment and I use absolutely no
> water. Jam is about how much fruit I can stick in there, no stretchers.
>
> Pickles! I love pickles.  I can buy a gallon of vinegar for $2 and a 25
> pound sack of sugar for $8.  With a couple of dollars worth of pickling lime
> I can make $14 quarts of the sweet pickles my son likes and still have at
> least 15 pounds of sugar left over.  Can you buy $14 quarts of pickles for
> $6 or $7?
>
> I can make fermented pickles and sauerkraut with just produce and salt.
>
> I know how to make my own corned beef. I got the recipe off the internet but
> it came from the deli 6 blocks away from where I grew up in Louisville
> Kentucky.
>
> And yes, selling milk for human consumption is legally ridiculous.  But
> there are people who solemnly swear that they are going to feed their pets
> goat milk and goat cheese.
>
> You see, I am a city person.  I grew up with cans from the store and a cat
> was the biggest animal we ever had at our house.  I learned how to do these
> things because I chose to do them.  It is lifestyle as I said before.
>
> Quite some time ago I was reading an article in FORTUNE MAGAZINE.  The
> author was describing hanging off the side of a mountain, cold, wet,
> tired...he said to himself, "Is this something I would do for ANY amount of
> money?  NO! There fore I must be on my vacation and I must be having a good
> time."  Well, I am not on a vacation but I am having a good time because I
> sure would not do this for money.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Bruce & Joyce
> Caldwell
> Sent: Friday, December 19, 2003 2:29 PM
> To: mrtejas@lycos.com; North American Fruit Explorers
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Corporate farms
>
> >>The myth of the small farm died in the 1930s after tractors became widely
> used.  You might be suprised that the average farmer...<<
>
> It isn't suprizing that most families don't have a cow these days. A good
> milk cow will give gallons of milk daily, some over seven gallons a day.Not
> many farms can use that much themselves, but it is almost totally illegal to
> sell milk for human consumption. You are supposed to be certified, which
> costs a bundle. Then there is the issue of working seven days a week while
> the cows are lactating. Health maintenance expences, breeding fees... It is
> expensive to mantain one cow, and not likely to be sustainable, let alone
> profitable.
>
> Can your own vegetables you say? It costs less to buy a can of most
> vegetables than it costs to buy the rings for canning. Then there is the
> equipment, the jars, and have you checked out the cost of fuel for the
> stove? You can't compete with the commercial producers that way!
>
> Personally, I would like ot produce all my own food, but you have to be
> realistic about it, and few people today have the interest to resurect the
> old ways, like root cellaring, cold frames, ice houses, etc.
>
> Our government is doing all it can to support those big commercial farmers,
> to the direct harm of the shall family farm. It isn't just about wages. Just
> having to file farm taxes is a nightmare for an individual with a small farm
> income. If the big guys had to spend a proprtionate amount of resources on
> the paperwork, they might well go out of business too.
>
> Joyce
>
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--
Thomas Olenio
Ontario, Canada
Hardiness Zone 5b