There are many benefits of preserving food. Canning and freezing your own food that was picked fresh from the garden is especially welcome in the winter months. We get some food from our garden, some from my Mother and Father-in laws garden and we have even been known to buy some from a roadside stand or farmers market when there isn't much left from the above sources. We love our canned green beans and tomatoes. Frozen corn tastes so good in the middle of a cold winter.
Benefit of Preserving Food: Grow Your Own Food
One of the obvious benefits of preserving food is we know where it came from. We know what pesticides has been applied to our food (none). We harvested it and then chose a method of preservation. An old and efficient way to put food on the table for a family. I enjoy that food so much when winter comes to our area and we don't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
Many times our family ends up with an abundance of produce. We try to share as much as we can with as many people as we can. Putting some of it away for fall and winter helps with our food budget.
Benefit of Preserving Food: Sustainability
However, another benefit to preserving food that might not come to mind immediately is the simple joy of learning age old traditions from a beloved family member. This is a skill that is needed in order to have a more sustainable lifestyle. In my case I have been blessed with a Mother-in law that is the quintessential homemaker. Her job has always been to care for her family from the time she was married long ago to the present. Her children are grown up and her grandchildren are growing up and she even has great grandchildren now.
She has so much knowledge that she has imparted over the years to all of us. One of the things I am grateful for learning from her is the careful art of preserving food. She has the appropriate utensils to use. Many of these utensils have been used by her and her mother before her. These are all dutifully packed away after we finish all of our canning. They wait in a storage container until they are called into use the following year.
It is such a wonderful feeling to look down at the bowls and colanders you are using and realize many hands have previously used this equipment to preserve food for their family as well.
Benefit of Preserving Food: Saving Money
Saving money is another one of the benefits of preserving food. Each food item I preserve has a use. We use canned tomatoes instead of ones purchased at the store. We use canned green beans instead of frozen. This really adds up week after week in the Fall and Winter months.
The winter months bring higher bills in many areas of our life. I can save some money at the grocery in those months by purchasing less because I have preserved food at the peak of the harvest season.
Another Benefit : Tradition
I have canned my own green beans many times over the years, but when canning season arrived this year and she invited me to do it at her house I jumped at the chance. The reason was simple. I enjoy learning from my mother in law and spending time with her. I think one of the reasons she is such a terrific mother in law is that she only had sons so she happily embraced her daughter in laws when her sons married!
We spent a nice afternoon visiting while canning the beans. It was a productive day. I spent time with an important person and have some yummy beans stored away for winter! I am blessed.
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