Today with the advent of refrigeration and freezing, it makes less sense to me. Blanching and freezing is much simpler and safer and better method. Even they are doing it in commercial level too.
And what is more, frozen vegetable is far superior to canned counterparts. Let me give you an example: I have bought and used both canned and frozen green peas. The canned ones are just tasteless to me.
If I have to preserve A LOT of veggies, I would just get a myself a small freezer for storing frozen vegetables and forget about all the canning complicated work and rules.

Plus canned produce can last for years without freezer burn. Most freezer items are good for a year or so.

It's a personal preference, and evidently your preference is freezing at this time.

Sure some things freeze better than they can, others are superior when canned rather than frozen. But that is usually a matter of personal taste. Many have posted how they much prefer canned green beans over frozen while others prefer the frozen ones. Canned corn over frozen corn usually comes down on the frozen side of the debate. Frozen salsa vs. canned? Canned spaghetti sauce vs. frozen? How about frozen pickles? Peas? My family much refers canned over frozen. But broccoli and cauliflower? Never canned, always frozen. Frozen mushrooms? Frozen beets?

As for easier. That's very debatable. For those new to doing it perhaps freezing is easier than canning but for those of us who have been doing it for many years the routine of canning can be quite easy.

Costs are another variable to consider. After many years of home canning my food preservation costs are minimal as I have everything I need and it has paid for itself many times over. So my only expense is processing power.

Then there is the space-saving advantages that canning provides. 3x the amount of canned food can be stored in the space taken up by one average chest freezer. Stock is easier to rotate too.

Plus canning will always have 2 big advantages that are vitally important to many of us - much longer storage life and no worries about the power outages that are quite common for rural residents.

So it isn't as if one has to choose between them. Most do both. Most also add pickling, dehydration and fermentation to their food preservation plans.

Dave

Does anyone ever have to defend their choice to can?

Why I process my own food

Benefits of canning?

After a lot of years of canning and freezing (we have four freezers, BTW and a generator for power outages), there are certain things we prefer to can vs. freeze. Or freeze vs. can.

Everyone has different taste buds and texture issues (I won't eat canned green beans - the texture just turns me off. Same with peas).

Corn I like better canned. Salsa we like better canned. Whole tomatoes we love canned, but don't care for frozen ones unless they're already sauce. Soups we much prefer frozen.

Yep, canning is a LOT of work. Lots of "rules" to follow. But...

that's why there are different ways to achieve the same goal - good food that you enjoy eating. If you or your family won't eat it after you've canned it/frozen it/pickled it, it's a waste of produce and time and money.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it :-)

I freeze:
tomatoes
berries
peaches (but they are just as good canned)
green beans
grated zucchini
leftovers
broth and stock
herbs (packed with a little oil)
pesto
stuff I am going to make into jam when winter comes
greens when they bolt in spring
some pickles
meat
The only things I blanch are greens and beans.

I can:
jams and preserves
chutney
some pickles
applesauce
peaches if convenient

Looking at my list, I see a lot of what I do is habit :). I could freeze the jams and chutneys and applesauce; I just never thought of it because I grew up with my parents canning them.

I used to can tomatoes, when I bought them from growers and before the recommendation to add acid. I don't want the acid, though, and now that I grow my own it is easier to freeze anyway, because I have smaller quantities trickling in. I can add more to a bag as they ripen :).

I guess that's why I freeze berries, too. And because my parents did ;). But I would be canning one or two quarts a day, for months. That seems a bother -- although I suppose I could use the same pot of water for a long time... maybe next year!

So, for me: Habit and convenience. And cuteness. I like the little jars of jam lined up on the shelf :).

We have a large standing freezer, a smaller chest freezer and the fridge-freezer. We raise and butcher our own pigs each year and this year butchered our (yikes) bottle fed cow. So, not too much room anywhere for any large quantities of frozen veggies when I can can a lot of it without losing a lot of quality. I try to save my fridge freezer for every day items such as some staples (butter on sale, etc), left-overs such as pasta sauces, breads and rolls (it is just DH and I, so a pack of hamburger buns usually goes to waste if I don't stick them in the freezer). Occasionally I will get a few frozen dinners to stick in there to take to work when I wake up late and time doesn't allow for making a meal (rural hospital=no cafeteria at night).

Funny how all our tastes are so different. I prefer frozen spag sauce, corn and peas. I've never "put up" broccoli and cauliflower but would guess those would be frozen as well. As previously stated, I prefer green beans and tomatoes canned. I enjoy reading how others think in their "putting up" process, sometimes it gives me some good ideas.

For me, canned green beans taste way, way overcooked, even right out of the jar. If I blanch and freeze them, and then as soon as they are thawed (on the stove or in microwave) they are at the degree of cooked-ness I prefer. And in the summer I mostly eat them raw, in large quantities :).

> It may take several hours to thaw and then cook some vegetables like dried or green beans.

Wow! You like your green beans very, very well done!

I soak dry beans overnight and cook them for 4-8 hours depending on size of bean. Yes, those ones I like much more cooked than most people. And I guess for green beans I'm the opposite :).

I just learned how to make southern-style collards this winter; before I only ever ate them lightly steamed or stirfried. Yes, I am culturally deprived :).

Another thing, I gather is the TRADITIONal factor. Your saw your great grand parents doing it. It goes way back to the time of pre electrification and indoor plumbing ... it is like the old saying genuine American tradition of Chevrolet, mom, apple pie, And CANNING. lol

I shall try to be as polite in this response as possible. It's pretty obvious that sentence in which you prefaced your ideas reflect you do not understand what a lot of veggies are. My garden alone produced over a thousand pounds of vegetables so far this season. I have a fall/winter gardenin now and expect to be harvesting from that until early November. That does not include the fruits from my bramble patches or orchards, meat we may have butchered or my nut trees. You couldn't even fit my apple production into a small freezer. You couldn't store what I have already put up in canning jars in three freezers. Many people who can and preserve put up in a couple months a major part of their yearly food supply. If you don't produce your own food, I don't think you can wrap your mind around how much space that takes or why we can. It is serious and hard work, and saves an enormous amount of money and provides us with unadulterated, safe food. It's not a lark and it all boils down to do it however you wish to suit your knowledge, lifestyle and preferences. It isn't about Chevrolets,mom and apple pies.

So no, tradition has little to do with it for most of us even when we are farm raised and come from generations of home food preservers. Like calliope said what you may consider "a lot of vegetables" may be very few to many of us.

So far this year - 150 quarts of pain tomatoes, 50 pints of salsa, 60 pints of stewed tomatoes, 30 quarts of carrots, 50 quarts of potatoes with still have the bed to dig, going on 70 quarts of green beans with the fall crop not even picked yet, 40 quarts of various pickles and relishes, not to mention all the jams and jellies, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, canned corn, squash, gallon bags of peppers, loaves of zucchini bread, etc. and we still have several more batches of onions to dehydrate plus all the fall chard and spinach and turnips to do.

Then there are all the quarts of chicken, sausage, and beef already done to supplement all that in the freezers and it isn't even deer season yet. That will top off my freezers plus fill more quart jars. Now if I could only get my hands on all the fresh tuna Carol and others do each year.

Lifestyles are very different for many of us. To each his own.

Dave

I do have to get making more jam and jelly (and apple butter season is starting) so I can free up more freezer space for green beans. The tomato harvest will have to be frozen this year too due to lots of septoria and other diseases of the plants (though the fruit looks fine).

We don't eat store-bought fruit preserves at all, though I do occasionally buy canned (in glass) peaches since I rely on my neighbor's peaches and we don't get enough - esp. this year, only got 6 pints canned due to SWD. The past couple of years I've also bought some applesauce since we've had poor (or no) harvests.

But even with our small family, and the poor harvests the past few years (last year wasn't bad but I sold a lot of tomatoes), we could not possibly fit all the fruits and vegetables we grow for our own use in the 3 freezers (counting the bottom freezer in the kitchen fridge) we own along with the meat I buy - that doesn't last long (OK, a turkey bought on sale after Thanksgiving may be in there until Easter).

I can say that the canning I do has nothing to do with tradition. My grandmother was more than happy to give up canning. Canning is one more piece of the puzzle in attaining a product that I want, giving me control over that product and giving me options.

I got into canning as a way to preserve our garden's (which got bigger every year) harvest, and also to have control over what my kids are eating, they are sensitive to many ingredients in processed foods. Now I sell produce, jams and jellies at market. We've also found that homemade (fermented) pickles and (vinegar) pickled peppers, salsa, jams, etc. taste better than store-bought - I think better than even the "boutique" brands!

As a small backyard gardener, I have very little to spare for freezing or canning. Maybe that is why I do not understand CANNING. And that is why I go grocery shopping every so often.

I freeze green beans and corn because I prefer the taste. Also tomato puree and whole tomatoes. I also make Shirley's vegetable juice (from this site) which I freeze because I always add additional vegetables (parsley, celery, chard, sometimes spinach) and I don't quite know if that would still be safe to can. I also make many loaves of zucchini bread and freeze them to use all winter.

Canning for me is primarily jams, jellies, chutneys, relishes and salsa. My garden is relatively small so space is not an issue. Next year I retire so both my garden and my canning projects may expand.

Elaina

I do this too, with everything!

I lay them on the tray from my toaster oven, which is about the right size, level and in the freezer, until frozen. Great for bone broth!

I like the green beans almost raw too, blanch them, ice them, dry them then lay out on a cookie sheet like I do with berries to freeze before packing them into a FS bag and sealing. Not that I pour them out individually like I do with berries, I reheat the entire quart bag at once (perfect size for family side dish) but I think they reheat/cook more evenly that way rather than stuck together in one icy lump. Plus then I don't have to use the "Moist" setting on my FS and can get more air out.

I got a lot of tomatoes and peppers to use today, and very little freezer space (have some more beans to do), I'll probably chop and freeze some of the peppers for future use, but I'm definitely going to be canning some tomatoes (maybe mostly salsa) and pickling some peppers!

I freeze the green beans and berries in one solid block, so I can get all the air out. I think you're right about them thawing better if not in a lump, but for my uses I'm more concerned about being able to store a longer time without freezer burn.

The berries, I use in one solid block :). I plunk the frozen block in the pan for pie or crisp, or I make jam in winter when not busy. I almost never use a partial bag, and if I do I just chip off a chunk, or whack the bag on the table to loosen them up if they are whole.

I hear that canning has the advantage that it has longer shelf life. But I wonder, who would want to store, say beans, for longer than one season anyway ?? But I admit that canned goods are easier to store. And in case of power black out they wont be spoiled.

Many people. Most home canners work on a 2-3 year cycle with foods in their gardening and canning. 3 year old canned beans look and taste just like beans canned this year. We frequently eat and drink 3 year old tomatoes, juices, potatoes, etc.

Technically canned foods have an unlimited shelf storage life for safe consumption although 5 years is the recommended maximum for best quality. Only appearance begins to degrade and that takes several years.

Dave

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Good to know.
But how come frozen foods have much shorter life ? I am talking about completely sealed ones ? To my understanding, freezing relatively stops chemical/ biological changes. Whereas in canned foods at room temperature it can go on !

Primarily because of the way freezers work. They cycle, defrost and refreeze, defrost and refreeze automatically. The result is frost burned foods.

Plus it is very difficult to fully seal and insulates most foods so air has access to the food.. That's one reason why vacuum sealing freezer food adds so much storage life to them.

Then there is the effect of freezing on cell structures. It causes the liquid inside the cells to expand and ruptures the cell membranes. When the food thaws those cells collapse resulting is loss of texture and flavor.

None of those things happen with properly stored canned foods.

Dave

I really wanted to grow a lot of veggies this year so I could do more canning, but we were hit with record breaking rain all summer. Couldn't catch a break. Next year has got to be my year to do some serious canning (for me anyway).

I never had deer until this year. Now I have to contend with them as well. next year should be fun.

A family of 4 could consume 2-3 quarts/pints daily and not run out before the next growing season.

Thats one impressive accomplishment.

A family of 4 could consume 2-3 quarts/pints daily

That would all depend on how one uses their home canned goods. If only used as side dishes of if one relies primarily on store-bought foods that may be the case. But when all the meals of the day are made exclusively from home canned goods and very little store-bought food is consumed through the year, canned goods go much faster than that. :)

Dave

Now that is some serious canning!

> But when all the meals of the day are made exclusively from home canned goods and very little store-bought food is consumed through the year, canned goods go much faster than that. :)

Depends on where you live, too.

Where I live, in the PNW, I grow pretty much all our vegies year-round. But we get kind of tired of greens and potatoes in the winter and zucchini, beans, and tomatoes in the summer :).

Fruit is here june through maybe march (stored apples and pears keep till december, and persimmons longer).

I grew up in a colder climate, where preserving was a much bigger deal. When I moved here, at first I still did a ton of canning, but in the middle of the first winter I realised there was not a lot of point to it. Why eat canned food when fresh is in the garden?

So now my preserving is more about special items (blackberries in february , and lime-mint pickles anytime:). I do up seasonal stuff like shredded zucchini and tomatoes and figs because we have a surplus, and for variety, more than because it will be needed.

Right now I am struggling to keep up with asian pears and figs, and I JUST got through the main zuke season. And now I have foolishly bought a flat of nectarines at the farmers market because they were so good.... :).

Lime-mint pickles - please share! Cukes are past here (as is most everything - in fact, everything might be dead by morning with frost expected) but there's always next year!

DH walked into the laundry room (where I only had 1 box of tomatoes I need to process ASAP, and 1 dishpan-sized plastic basket of cherry toms picked today for market tomorrow) and said "There are tomatoes everywhere!" OK, I have a few on the kitchen counter, and shelves of ripening ones in the basement picked 12 days ago, and stacking baskets full of ripe ones ready for market down there too, but it's nothing compared to the laundry room full when the kids and I picked everything before the last frost forecast! I mean, I *have* sold/used some in the past 2 weeks!

Apples are coming in now though...

::laughing::

I was just about to go pick today's figs, here, and then it started to rain so hard it sounds like hail. Looks like will clear up in 5 minute, though. this is our fall weather. I cannot imagine frost in september -- well, I guess one year we had it in mid-october, but that was a fluke.

For tomatoes, it looks like this year will be like last, when most of the crop had to be picked green at the end of the season. I was all asking people for their green tomato recipes last fall, but then ended up just letting them ripen in the kitchen. We had fresh tomatoes into december :).

The lime-mint pickles are freezer pickles. They are on the Wisconsin Extension website somewhere.

I keep wondering if I should double bag them or something. My whole freezer smells like sweet mint pickles :). I may regret this later when everything tastes like them. I think I would recc jars or plastic containers.

Oh, DH and DD did gather some hickory nuts but not many and most are husked so they don't take up much room. They're in the basement by the dehumidifer too.

We often get frosts by mid-late Sept. The one forecast for the 6th was early and it was a false alarm. So was last night - we'll see about tonight. But I usually count on one by the end of the month, though we may have a week or 2 of Indian summer in Oct. The past 2 years we've had snow in Oct - in 2011 the snowstorm right before Halloween knocked out power all over the state (leaves still on the trees) and they canceled trick or treat in many towns b/c it wasn't safe.

Some years we get snow and some we don't. It rarely sticks around for more than a few days, though. We are usually cold and clear or warm (40ish) and wet -- not often cold and precipitating.

Some winters we don't get below 24 degrees! Surprisingly, the summers after those warm winters we have LESS of a slug and snail problem than usual. Something about their life cycle, I guess.

Basically we have English weather in the winter, I think. The brassicas and chard love it :). I think 45 is their favorite temperature.

BTW: I am also a new PNW transplant. We may not get very cold winter but we will have six months of rain /drizzle / clouds. This will start some time in November. Pacific Ocean, as the name suggests, is pretty calm but sends lots of drizzles.

Yes, canning is very popular, here. As are reading, knitting, board games, making music, brewing... and of course we are famous for our coffee drinks :). All things cosy-weather-related!

And in the summer, we never set foot indoors :). We have no mosquitoes, no flies, no humidity, long northern daylight -- everyone goes camping and hiking and mountain climbing and river swimming and park-picnicing, and we have outdoor festivals every weekend.