'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

re: 'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

Danyiel — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 06:32:20 GMT

can you give me your recipe for the slow cooker apple butter. I am a slow cooker mama~~ Sounds great. Thanks ahead of time. And you have the right idea, as long as you enjoy what you are doing, I count it as entertainment. Who doesn't like some time in the kitchen-saving $, creating inexpensire gifts, and using cooking smells to scent your home rather then a spray, or candle-if you really want to get technical about the cost & savings. Think of the candles,plug-Ins, etc... that you are saving.

re: 'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

Deb Gommesen — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:55:08 GMT

I, too enjoy canning. I have done a ton of bread and butter pickles this year and expect to do a few tomatoes as those are still growing in my garden. Not only do I give them as gifts, but I enter canned goods in the fair and make a nice profit there as well. One year I made about $60 by showing my canning, sewing and other craft items at my local county fair. I wish I could find more produce this year. I did put in a request on freecycle, just waiting for a reply.

Deb

re: 'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

Rochelle — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:52:49 GMT

I still have some jars of jam that my mother in law put up years ago. She's infirm now so it's a reminder of better times. I never thought of putting up and ad to pick fruit. What a great idea!.

I haven't canned in many years but it's a great idea for gifts. I don't know anyone who doesn't like home canned jellies and jams!

re: 'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

10 Good Reasons — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:02:33 GMT

I have made jam and canned and made bread and lots of things over the years. My kids talk about the memories they have of helping me and eating the delicious jam with homemade bread. It's those intangibles that make it hard to put a value on things like home canning. Though I admit my original intent was to take advantage of the free produce from our apple and pear trees, raspberries from the garden and blackberries from under the high tension wires. With the stock market crashing today, I think it was a good choice.

re: 'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

Agatha — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:18:22 GMT

Jules, a friend and I made elderberry wine one year. I can't say the endeavor was a success; the wine didn't turn out well. But we did pick the elderberries ourselves. The best and easiest places were out on country roads, next to old barns and sheds. Elderberries also like to grow next to water and I mean real close to water. Find an old broomstick and put either a bent nail or hook on it to pull the full heads into reach.

I now live in a very urban area so I haven't spotted any elderberries but I wish you luck!

re: 'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

Amie — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:31:21 GMT

It's not just that people overvalue their freetime. They underestimate their ability to do something themselves. Recently, my husband and I were going to hire a mason to put in some brickwork in our front yard. The estimate was $700. We didn't really have that much, so we started doing some online research on how to do it ourselves. 3 half-days and $250 later, we have some lovely brickwork, and we have the added pride in having done the work ourselves. Not to mention we learned a new skill!

re: 'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

Michele — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:52:35 GMT

Several weeks ago, my husband and I took a ride to where we used to pick blackberries years ago. The bushes were laden with fruit and we picked for 2 hours. We went back several times over the next three weeks and picked for a couple of hours. I loved being out in the sun and chatting with my husband, though I hated the mosquitos! There are many farm stands around here and a friend with one allowed us to sell them. We made and froze 7 pies, my husband made 24 jars of jelly, I froze too many gallons to count and we made $150 in only 3 days in selling them. Next year we will start selling them WAY sooner. I figure we can make $1000. Family and friends are getting homemade gift baskets for the holidays. I am with you Donna, you can not put a price tag on the time. I enjoyed it very much, and to get $150 at the end was a sweet surprise!

re: 'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

Samantha — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:53:25 GMT

It's definitely worth it in my family, where handmade antipasto, jams, and even a nice crab apple wine are popular holiday gifts. When I think about the gas money, time and dwindling sanity mall shopping costs me at Christmas, I don't consider it a waste at all.

re: 'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

jestjack — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:54:16 GMT

Gifts of homemade jelly's, preserves, wine and the like mean so much more to me than a store bought gift. My DFIL last year made jelly from yellow "bell tomatoes" last year and after observing that I really enjoyed it, gave me a couple of jars over the Xmas holidays. I was touched by the kindness and the thought that he took the time to give me something I would really enjoy. Rather than just buying a gift off the shelf. I'm guessing your family and friends feel the same way when they recieve your jellies and jams.

re: 'Putting food by' -- worth the time or not?

AVE — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:32:52 GMT

I've been putting up our home grown tomatoes and will put up the peppers, too. I think it is fun and am glad to finally have the time to do it as the designated Stay At Home Parent. There is a lot of love in our tomatoes......