Quote:
Originally Posted by kath
Thanks for your feedback, habitat_gardener and Ted. Renee's sells a pole bean mix of Purple Peacock, Blue Lake and Yellow Pole(?) so I may try that next year based on what was said about the sweetness of the yellow beans and what about the popularity of Blue Lake for canning. I must be harvesting my Rattlesnakes early because I never noticed strings on them but the fact that Blue Lake doesn't have any is a plus.
I haven't fully committed to the idea of a pressure canner yet because I don't really care for the taste of canned veggies. To me, the flavor of canned beans doesn't come close to steamed fresh beans and DH says canned beans (or peas or corn) taste like completely different veggies altogether.  But we don't have room in the freezers for all the veggies we need for the year and we don't have good long term storage for things like potatoes and beets either. The goal is to provide as much of our food from the garden as possible. |
We can a lot of dried beans from the store. They are so inexpensive and easy to use. I love having quarts of canned beans in the pantry for breakfast or dinner! Cost is pennies compared to buying canned beans. Plus, taste is much better than store bought and I can mix varieties of favorite beans.
We just did about four canners full two weeks ago.
I also do a lot of chicken and turkey broth, using carcasses and scraps. At $3-4.00 a quart for organic chicken broth, my homegrown chicken broth, using my homegrown chickens is quite a bargain! I use the legs, backs and scraps off the chickens that I raise organically.
I really don't can a lot of veggies. But it's nice to have the canner for the things I do use it for. In fact, I just bought the second canner because it's so nice to use when I do need it, especially for broth and beans.