Ponder your goals for the 2017 canning season and enter to win new storage and canning jars from Ball Canning!
Already today, we’ve talked a little bit about some of the canning and preserving we’re going to be doing together in the coming year (have you signed up for the Food in Jars Mastery Challenge yet?). Now, let’s talk in more detail about how we’re going to do it.
It takes thought and preparation to expand skill set and I find that there’s no better time to do a little planning for learning and growth than at the very start of fresh new year. Whether you’re a goal setter or a resolution maker, now is the time to start lining up our intentions.
Here are a few questions to start with as you dream up what you want to get out of your food preservation practice this year and how you want to shape the Mastery Challenge to work for you.
How does my family currently eat? Try starting with some small changes that will allow you to incorporate more homemade foods into your current habits and patterns.
What’s something I buy regularly from the store? If you find yourself picking up barbecue sauce or strawberry jam, consider setting a goal of making enough to get you through the year!
Is there something that scares me about food preservation? What can you do to release those fears?
What brings me joy in the kitchen? Not every goal has to be about pushing forward. Sometimes it’s enough to make time and space simply to do the things you already love.
How can I make my food preservation habit flow better? Sometimes all you need to do it put your gear in a more accessible part of your kitchen. Or perhaps you need to keep an eye out for a different canning pot. Knowing what you need is so much of the battle!
What do I want my kitchen life to look like this time next year? Sometimes the best way to set a goal is to look at where you want to end up and then plot a course that gets you there (or at least, that gets you closer).
Now, most food preservation goals will, at some point, arrive at the topic of jars. And it just happens that our friends at Ball Canning have recently added some new jars to their product line. In the spirit of helping a few Food in Jars readers further their food preservation goals, I’m giving away some of these new, lovely jars.
Three winners will each get a set of the new Ball Mini Storage Jars (these sweet little jars hold 4 ounces and sport 1-piece lids), a case of the new Ball Smooth-Sided Regular Mouth Pints, and a case of the Ball Smooth-Sided Regular Mouth Quarts.
Use the widget to enter!
I’m looking forward to making a LOT of jam this year!
Canning goals include making time to can tomatoes (always right at back to school/work time) and working on our favorite pickle recipe…a little too salty this year!
I need to can more dill pickles this year. We have already run out. ?
This is wonderful and I’ve recovered from last canning season just in time to start planning for the next one!
I want to learn more about food in jars.
Learning more canning besides jams & jellies.
More stock and tomatoes!
I want to do more canning from my garden
Best canning jars ever… 🙂
my goals are to use up older preserves to make room for new ones, and to make more ketchup.
I’d like to get over being scared of the foods I can!
Can more dilly beans and all kinds of pickles…I didnt have enough to share this year and everyone loved them!!! This year make ketchup.
Oh I like that you can put a label on these jars. I need to get back into my pickling! I took a year off when I had my baby.
Since I have only been canning for 5 months, my main goal is to learn how to get healthy and affordable food stored for my family. I would love to be able to can, or otherwise preserve, enough food to get us through a whole year! Just found this blog. Thank you!!!
My 2017 goal is to can enough marinara cause and homemade tomato paste to get me through until next year. That and not to purchase any more jars… I have a boatload of jars!
Goal: To organize my canning room! Woohoooooo!
I would like to try a new refrigerator pickled veggie recipe.
I would like to try more recipes and techniques this year
Love the smooth sided jars. My canning goal this year is to finally pressure can beans!
Looking forward to more fun in the kitchen. Thanks for your guidance, Marisa!!
My goal is to not cave in and buy a slew of Weck jars. 😀
I need to make more jams & jellies, as PBJ on whole wheat bread is my go-to breakfast 5 days a week!
My goal is to do a better job preserving my garden this year! I wasn’t even able to make jam last year. I did have a newborn so valid excuse… But I missed the feeling one gets from preserving.
These smallerj jars seem like a great option for jams, sauces, etc. I can over 200 jars ( quarts, pints, jelly jars) every year and these smooth sided jars look like a nice variety. Happy New Year all.
I make a fair amount of jams. My goal for next year is to use more low sugar recipes.
Love the smooth sided jars!
I can so I can give family & friends Christmas gifts. I make gift bags of pickles, relish & jams to give away. My hairdresser & nail tech receive small jars of my goodies as tips for services rendered. Once I gave them a monetary tip & they both were offended. Now it’s always a jar of jam or jelly.
Small jars are wonderful for jams and jellies….regular or smooth. Already planning my 2017 garden and what food to buy at the Farmers Market. Happy New Year.
This year my goal is to preserve something besides fruit – So I will be on the lookout for a great veggie canning recipe and some farm grown veggies to make it happen.
My goal for 2017 is to get over my fear of canning so I’m able to actually can some of the produce from our garden.
I love the new small jars. They would be great for the small amount of jelly you might have from making a recipe. The smooth sided jaars are neat too. Thank you for all that you do. PS I did finally get my lids that I won a while ago.
(1) My goal is to plan my garden based on recipes that I want to try, as well as to aim to grow more foods that I can actually preserve, and to grow extra to give some away.
(2) I plan to freeze more cucumbers than pickle them and/or find other ways to preserve cucumbers.
(3) I need to find green bean recipes so that I actually enjoy eating all the green beans that I’ve frozen.
(4) I want to grow more herbs to freeze and dehydrate to make my own spice blends. Can I even grow cumin to grind seeds? I sure use a lot of it.
(5) I guess I should overcome my fear of the pressure canner.
(6) I want to determine ahead of time how I can store squash, potatoes (which I need to try to grow) where I can easily access these things.
(7) I need to not can more things than we can eat – or develop a daily taste for pickles. I need to stop saving my “favorite” things just because I don’t want to use them up.
(8) I’m sure there are more things to list, but won’t take up your space!
I’ve taken a break from canning but plan to get back on track in 2017.
As I was preparing for Christmas, I felt dissapointed that I hadn’t done more canning appropriate for gifts. Having special foods put up and giving them away brings me joy! Heres to canning more gifts in 2017! (With your help, Marisa!)
My goal is to not can any more jam so we can eat up what we have ?. I do also hope to try a few new things!
I try to make something new each year; last year it was a low-sugar recipe for blueberry-rhubarb jam.
I use lots of storebought canned tomatoes. I should make my own. But I’ve been really disappointed with the taste of the tomatoes I found in the local farmers market. And I want to ferment more. I made the fermented hot sauce at the absolute end of the pepper season, and it is fantastic!
I love to can and I love seeing all the goodies in my pantry. My grown kids know that they can raid the pantry so goodies anytime they want something from home.
To can something new
More tomato sauce and more meat. I just canned chili for the first time and it’s wonderful!
More spaghetti, tomato, and marinara sauces. We use a lot of that kind of stuff. Oh, and applesauce too!
Learning an awesome recipe for pickling anything and the veggie still having a bite after processing. I make fridge pickles mostly and by January all of them are gone.
I am pretty new to canning so I just plan to learn and can more this year.
More reasonable expectations about what will get used. Sometimes it’s more fun to preserve than to remember to eat the preserves.
My goal is to just start. Been reading about it and learning but not actually doing.
Make freezer jam. We use a ton of jam in our house, and freezer. Jam is so much better.
I think this Mastery Challenge is just what I need to get me to expand my larder of home preserved foods. Plus my son will stop asking when I am going to make “those pickles” everytime he sees the Zatarain’s Shrimp & Crap boil concentrate. Now I just need to get better at coordinating preserving my bounty as it is coming ripe in the garden – or am I the only one that has that problem?!
My husband & I have been talking about our garden this year. I know I need to plant more tomatoes. Almost out of pasta sauce!
Bread and butter pickles! I never make enough for eating and giving away.
I Need to can more peaches this year!
I’d like to eat healthier and learn more about fermented foods.
Happy New Year!