Having a dull canning moment..is it really worth it??

Less salt or any other additives that are added? You know what is in your beans.

 

I think it is. Sure, you can get canned tomatoes for next to nothing, but it's so satisfying to open a jar of your own, and knowing what went in there. That doesn't even account for the things that you can't really buy commercially - where are you going to get your candied jalapenos? Where would I get Brandywine pizza sauce? Or the best chicken stock ever?

I do love to look at the jars all lined up in my pantry too. It's a rewarding hobby, as far as I'm concerned.

 

My canned beans taste better, look pretty and are ready in a snap after a hard day at work. I was always buying dried beans but mostly forgetting to plan ahead to cook them unless I was home all day. So I was buying various canned beans. It is also nice to have pintos one night and not have to figure out what to do with the rest of them over the next few days.

When you figure your savings are you comparing it to cooking dried beans? I compared mine to buying canned beans and the price of a can of beans around here is .75 to $1 for a can. I bought my dried ones on sale. I don't remember the calculations but I know I saved much more than $5.


A favorite "I'm hungry but tired meal": boiled eggs, pinto beans, cornbread and a leafy green such as cabbage, spinach or kale served with milk. Quick and yummy but chocked full of nutrients.

 

What about the cost of the flats and the electricity or gas to cook and can them?

I grow a garden and put up my produce and raise chickens because I enjoy it, not to save any money.

Canning dried beans wouldn't be worth doing to me but that's just me.

 

I don't understand the concept of canning dried beans. I mean all you have to do is cook extra when you cook a pot of beans then freeze what you don't have with your meal. We always can stuff that is perishable like fresh veggies & fruits, but dried beans? I would think dried beans will last alot longer than canned ones as far as shelf life.

 

I would say it is definitely worth it. 1. You know what you're eating and 2. What if things get bad and you couldn't buy beans? There is alway those possibilities with the crazy weather we've been having. It's nice to know that if times get tough your family wouldn't go hungry.

 

have any amish stores where you can buy in bulk? I always fund cheaper prices in Bulk food stores. I have never canned beans but would like to try sometime.

Edited to say...

Canning them saves you time for when you have to go to the store. I never have my dried bean soaked in time to cook. I always forget to plan ahead. I can imagine that chili would taste so much better if I could actually say that everything that went into it I canned/raised myself. That would just be awesome. and satisfying.

 

I'm not going to be real encouraging here. To me, canning dried beans is not worth it. The only advantage is that they are precooked. How much that is worth to you in convenience is something for you to decide. I usually use my pressure cooker (not pressure canner) and do a quick soak, so for me the precooked is not a huge convenience. It may be for you.

I grow my own dried beans, the black turtle beans because my wife likes them. I also let most of my Blue Lakes go to seed after I have all the green beans canned I want, just keeping a few picked to eat on. I'd personally not grow dried beans and just buy them in bulk at the store, but my wife likes them. I just don't think the time to grow and harvest them is worth it considering quantity and difference in quality, but my wife wants them so I do it. Once I get them hulled, I just put them in a zip loc type bag in the freezer. Freezing them preserves any that are not quite dry, plus it kills any weevils or any other creepy crawlie that might be in them.

We have our own special meals for when we are tired or in a hurry. Precooked beans do not enter into those meals. To me, the only real advantage to canning dried beans is convenience, and that is purely personal preference.