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!
More tomatoes
My goal for 2017 is to not overdo it with the canning, but rather to stay focused on what my family most likes to eat.
100# of tomatoes, 50# peaches
My canning goal for 2017 is to cut back a little. I don’t need to can everything and overwhelm myself with projects or overwhelm my storage space with productsome I don’t have room for. Enough to use, and enough to gift, with only a couple experiments this year!
I’m trying to incorporate more home grown/raised foods and home preserved foods into my family’s daily diet. I think it’s important to have a close connection with one’s food and to teach my children where their food comes from, how much work and energy goes into raising it and to be grateful for it.
I am working on balencing my love of preserving with my job, toddler, and a new baby this spring. Perhaos the mastery challenge will help!
I am looking forward to following the mastery challenge!
I’d like to get more experimental with my canning and food preservation this year. I’ve been at it for several years, and I think I’m confident enough to start playing around with my own recipes (within safety guidelines, of course) and choosing shortcuts (like not peeling my tomatoes!).
I joined the Mastery Challenge.
I was gifted ~5 pounds of Meyer lemons the other day. Yesterday I started Marissa’s Meyer Lemon Jam (without the lavender…not a lavender-in-my-food fan) and will finish it after work today. Excited to try this recipe!
I would like to participate in the monthly mastery class and learn some new techniques for food preservation!
This year I need to add more green beans and tomato juice to the inventory. I am also looking for an additional canner to speed up my canning endeavors. One pressure canner takes a couple of days to prepare 18 lbs. of dry beans.
I’d like to do a better job of canning my garden produce. I ended up giving most of it away instead of preserving it last year.
I did chopped tomatoes for the first time last summer. I realize I need more and in smaller jars for less waste. My goal is to can way more tomatoes and more pickles
What beautiful jars! I’m planning on preserving smaller batches of m more food to have more variety!
I’d like to learn how to pressure can
Thanks for the encouragement. This will be fun!!!
I hope to preserve at least double what I did last year and have the majority come from my own garden. I’m still learning on this gardening stuff.
I hope to do a little more with canning savory items this year! I actually would love to can some venison.
i always try something new every year. i still haven’t mastered the fermenting thing
Fermenting is on my list!
To learn how to can different sauces so my kids can eat healthier at college.
I would really like to do more vegetables and new recipes. For instance, I’ve been eyeing a recipe for pecan pie filling. But then I’d have to make a pie. And eat it. And that’s where the trouble starts….
To be able to preserve more for my family
my resokuruin is to preseerve more of what I grow and to get more variety through trades with friends.
I would like to do more canning this year of tomatoes. My last two years haven’t been successful.
My resolution is to be more organized in my growing and canning.
I’d like to be more aware of seasonal, local produce and be more active with preserving it. I’ve also promised myself to make better use of what comes out of my own garden. I’ve tried just about every preserving method out there, but I should utilize them more often.
My hope is that I will learn more ways to preserve food to feed my family better.
Those little jars are too fun!
My goal is to be more organized and preserve as much as I can from our garden. Also to learn more about fermenting. I have made 3 jars of sauerkraut.
I received a couple of new canning books as a holiday gift, so my goal is to choose several recipes from each book and make a batch of something I’ve not made before. Not sure WHAT I’ll make, but there’s still time to narrow it down.
To be more practical about what I can. To can what we really use.
Homemade bread and canning tomatoes!
I love canning and these jars would come in handy. Would love to can more tomatoes, cucumbers, salsa, jam, rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries, cherries.
My hope is to make many more preserves and USE THEM!
I want to make more dikon pickles. And, since I have figured out how to make jam in my crockpot, Make more small batches of jam.
I am so excited to start off this challenge with marmalade. It’s always been on my list!
My goal is to can goods with my Mother in Law 🙂 Thank you!
I hope for peace and safety in 2017!
I want to use my 4th burner pot more this year – more small batches!
For 2017 I have to put to use the beautiful Mauviel 5 quart copper preserving pan I purchased online from France. It is such a better size for small batches of Jam using Marisa’s wonderful recipes than the very expensive 10 quart that is generally sold in the USA. These jars are just the thing to get me started.
Marshall
My 2017 canning goal is to not go too crazy! I find all these beautiful recipes and feel like I absolutely HAVE to do them all. My aim is to pick a few recipes, do them really well, and enjoy the fruits of my labor!
I hope to have a bigger garden, so o have to buy less produce to can.
I hope to get back into canning more of my garden’s vegetables this year.
I hope to not let things rot on my watch….
I would love to have a better tomato crop this year!!!! Didn’t get enough salsa or tomato sauce put up this year.
It’s my goal to have my family eating a completely whole food diet. I’m working towards canning 100% of our canned staples rather than buying them at the grocery store.
These are great for displaying food for photo shoots!
Continue canning our organic garden bonanza! Love the smooth side jars…easier to label.
Pickling veggies I have under control, now it’s on to learning about fermenting!