My $200 pressure canner felt like a huge waste until I put up 40 jars of garden tomatoes

I bought it last fall on a sale, thinking I'd save money on store-bought sauce. For months it just sat in my garage, a big, heavy reminder of a dumb buy. Then my tomato plants went nuts this summer. I was giving them away by the bag. I finally dragged the canner out, spent a weekend processing everything. I did the math: those 40 jars of crushed tomatoes and sauce would have cost me over $300 at the store, easy. The canner paid for itself in one season, and now I have food for the whole year. Has anyone else had a tool that seemed pointless until you actually used it?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna_stone4519d ago

Gotta disagree, that math never works for me lol. The time spent cleaning, prepping, and processing has a cost too. My free time is worth more than a few bucks saved on sauce.

holly42019d ago

Right? The cleanup alone kills it for me... all those little seeds get everywhere. After a long day, opening a jar feels like a luxury I'm willing to pay for.

kai_butler838d ago

But the time is part of the point for me. It's a whole afternoon in the kitchen with music on, doing something real with my own hands. That's not a cost, that's the whole reward. Saving the money is just the bonus on top.