Why Do I Can and Preserve

A friend stopped by a couple weeks ago and we went to my back porch, which is where all of my canning is stored. She remarked on all of the canning I had back there and was amazed that there was so much, so the talk turned to why I do it. Why do I can so much stuff? There are a few reasons, most of which are common sense, but there is at least one that may surprise people.
First of all, I can because I enjoy it.
I actually find it very satisfying to put things in jars and put those jars in the canner, watch it, and then take the jars out and put them on the counter. It is hard work, but it is work I really enjoy doing.
Second of all, I can so things don’t go to waste.
When I have an abundance of produce, or meat, or bones from roasts or turkeys, I like to can preserve the produce or broth so it doesn’t go bad. I just saw a video a few days ago about having a “scrap bag” in the freezer and adding any vegetables that are getting past their prime to the bag to make vegetable broth. I haven’t ever done that because my chickens get all of that stuff, but it is an option. I tend to use more chicken broth than vegetable broth, anyway.
I can and preserve to save money.
When I can buy produce or meat on sale, canning or freezing saves me money on groceries. Rick likes roast beef sandwiches for supper, so I buy roasts when they are on sale or marked down, roast and slice them up. I let them soak in the au jus for a day or so in the fridge, then package the slices in freezer bags and put them in the freezer, then a bag of sliced beef is always ready and will last for several days in the refrigerator while he makes sandwiches from it. A bonus is that the rest of the juice gets canned or frozen for use in soups and stews.
A lot of time I can to save space in the freezer.
Rather than storing a lot of broth, stew meat, or the like in the freezer, I just can it up, which opens up space in the freezer for other things.
And I can for convenience.
It is much more convenient to have stew meat already canned and ready to go; I also can stew meat with a mix of vegetables in beef broth so I have stew ready to heat and eat. I do the same with bean soup, plain pinto beans, pork and beans, and other things we use like that. It makes it so easy to have a meal on the table. Open a jar, put it in a saucepan, and heat. Make some toast, or biscuits, or cornbread, and presto! The meal is ready.
Here is one of my favorites. I can’t actually give you amounts on this because taste varies and I don’t think I have ever measured anything when making it.

Canned Beef Stew
Beef for stew, cut into small cubes
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Celery
Salt and pepper to taste
Other seasonings to taste
Prepare vegetables by peeling and chopping — they don’t have to be tiny — and line up bowls with your prepped vegetables on counter. Lightly brown the meat, being careful not to let it get too dark. Set it on counter also.
I always start with the beef: put about ¾ cup of beef in a wide-mouth canning jar, then go down the line, putting in the vegetables or whatever else you like in your stew. Fill the jar to the shoulder (where the jar starts to move in to the top). Fill with hot broth, leaving 1-inch headspace. Pressure can for 90 minutes at 13-15 lbs. pressure. Always remember when canning combinations of ingredients that you must process for the longest time needed by any of the ingredients used. For our stew, that would be the meat, which pressures for 90 minutes for quarts.
To serve, heat to boiling in an open kettle for 10 minutes. I like to add a can of green beans, or some macaroni while cooking; it can also be thickened and served over biscuits or flatbread. Sometimes I add another quart of broth and make a soup.