[goat granny]

When my kids were small, 5children in less than 7 years, I did a lot of canning...also jam and jelly making...easy, but you need to have the proper equipment, ingredients, jars lids sealers etc....with jams and jellys you need sure-gel, sugar large pot for boiling jars etc...It could be done over a good fire but stove would be better...It took 17 batches of jelly/jam to go from one canning season to the next. The kids loved to help and I have a son in his 50's that can's and makes jelly/jam, pickles etc.

But in hard times, its nice if you already know how to cold pack for canning...

The good part is all the equipment you use is reuseable the following year with the exception of the sealing lids...I use parafin on the jam's. Tomatoes are easy canning so are peaches, pears, cherries etc. Veggies are not too practical for the cold pack method. Almost need a pressure cooker for your canning veggies...Can your spaghetti sauce without meat. Can be cold packed, add meat when fixing it for dinner...

Haven't canned in decades but once you do it for years, like riding a bike, you don't forget...

[PA Engineer]

The good part is all the equipment you use is reuseable the following year with the exception of the sealing lids...I use parafin on the jam's.

Something you might be interested in: Reusable Canning Lids.

[bgill]

Canning meat isn’t that difficult. Home canned chili - yumm. My bunch pig out on homemade jerky.

Because of their high acidity, tomatoes can be canned in a homemade solar oven.