Finding Contentment

Canning and preserving

In the past couple of months I have read everything I could get my hands on regarding canning. I have asked questions on Yahoo groups and have amassed quite a collection of used quart-sized canning jars from people who no longer need them. The garden is producing, and it seems like I am cutting up cucumbers and making a squash casserole almost every day.

It wasn't until my husband pointed it out this weekend that I realized I haven't actually canned anything, with the exception of two batches of strawberry jam that I made earlier in the season. So I had to sit down and do some self examination to figure out why I haven't taken the leap from researching and asking questions to actually doing.

If you discount the fact that I love to research and plan, I think the biggest issue is that I am afraid of canning. So I have to ask myself, "why?" And I came up with an answer.

* I am afraid of failure. I feel like all my friends and family who think we are crazy for doing "that homesteading thing" are watching closely and waiting for me to fail. For instance, my first batch of strawberry jam came out perfectly, but the second batch didn't set up right and was runny. Although my husband was very proud of my efforts and told everyone he knew about how he will never eat "that nasty store-bought jam again," I am pretty sure that my second batch FAILED.

So I have tried twice - I won once and I failed once (I'm just a bit competitive with myself!). But what if my next two or three attempts are all failures? Will I have failed at this new "homesteading" lifestyle?

Having identified the problem, I am now determined to try. To motivate myself, I have been reading up on how biotech companies are genetically mutating our produce, how easy it would be for terrorists to infect our food supply and how bad pesticides are for my children. By the way, if you haven't seen the documentary "The Future of Food," I highly reccomend it. You can rent it from Netflix or watch it in seven parts via yoUTube,

Also, I am grateful for our garden, which helped cut our grocery bills since Mark's job loss. But what if it had been winter? By putting food by, I can guarantee a supply of SOME kind of food throughout the year, no matter what may happen to our finances.

Thus, I will begin putting by everything I can get my hands on. Today, Alli and I chopped squash, blanched it and put it in vaccuum sealed bags of two pounds each (the amount I need to make a casserole). They are now in the freezer. Tomorrow I have plans to can my first peaches. Our friends brought 10 pounds of peaches home to us when they went to South Carolina.

And if I have time, I will try my hand at pickling some cucumbers - which I have been saying I was going to do for quite some time now.

Peaches, here I come!

Go For It!!!

11:51 PM, Monday, July 9, 2007 .. Posted by kristina

Good for you at your attempts at canning and preserving food. Keep at it -- practice makes perfect. If something goes wrong, just try again. If people laugh at your mistakes, laugh with them. You are at least trying and by doing so, you are making a better life for your family. Go For It! God's blessings to you!

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01:05 AM, Tuesday, July 10, 2007 .. Posted by meme21713

Practice makes Perfect,,so practice..it is not if you suceed or not, it is that you tried...Don't be so hard on yourself...Debbie Still praying for the job situation..

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07:53 AM, Tuesday, July 10, 2007 .. Posted by ntiveheart

first of all, i love your blog (those bluebonnets are gorgeous!) and applaud your efforts toward self sufficency! it's a sometimes rocky road, but the destination is oh so worth it!
as for your strawberry jam........the first jars are jam and the second batch is ice cream topping *smiles* no failure there!
there will always be the naysayers that wait for you to fall on your face, but for everyone of them, there are 5 of us.....out here rooting you on and patting you on the back for each small victory!
you CAN do this!

warmly,
jayedee-http://lifeinthelostworld.blogspot.com/

canning

09:12 AM, Tuesday, July 10, 2007 .. Posted by thegreatoutdoors

Typing for Gerald, is Nancy, his typist~ My husband says this, don't give up on canning and don't worry about being called a failure. Canning is unpredictable to say the least. He's been canning for about 10 years since his parents died, before that since he was a teenager, he's 45 now. I can tell you that sometimes it's nothing you have done wrong or even different when a batch doesn't come out right. Sometimes it's the weather or the impurities in the air. He says, it can be the water causing it sometimes because tap water has the chlorine and other chemicals in it. His family used Spring or Well water as much as they could. I was curious about what part of NC you're in...I was raised throughout North and South Carolina myself (Nancy).

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10:53 AM, Tuesday, July 10, 2007 .. Posted by Jonash2004

I "failed" several gallons of strawberry syrup for my husband now! One in '05 and one this year. We are pancake people and my dh adores it. :)

I am mainly canning peaches and nectarines this year, although I also like to can new potatoes! I would just jump in. Jam can be pretty fickle. And I wouldn't mention it to friends or family unless I was comfortable with it!

Ashley

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01:48 PM, Wednesday, July 11, 2007 .. Posted by Anonymous

I too was so afraid of failure. I'm also one who needs to learn hands on in order to be comfortable with something new. So one day I went to help a friend do tomatoes, I've been hooked ever since.
Sometimes goofs are great. One year my mom was making blackberry jam, didn't set well, but turned out to be the best syrup ever.
Donna
www.homeschoolblogger.com/alwayslearning/