Is it worth the outlay cost?

bearcub

Hi, just seen this thread, so I hope you don't mind me commenting. For years, when our girls were at home, I made jam a couple of times a year, and my OH made chutneys - our kitchen cupboard was full of filled jars. BUT, it really depends on how much your family will eat, and where you access your fruit/veg, as to whether it's economical to make. You can use a large saucepan, rather than a preserving pan, but it will restrict how much you can make at a time. We always used homegrown fruit for jam (we had a large garden then), and most of the veg for the chutney was also homegrown, so the outlay was minimal, and we could be sure of the quality. Reduced fruit is ok, as long as it's not over ripe; if it is, it may ferment, and make the jam go mouldy. Wild fruit or that from friends who can't use all they've grown is always useful.

I don't make jam now, as OH and I don't eat enough to make the effort worthwhile. I always enjoyed it, though - very satisfying!

adelight

Bread and jam- definitely worth it! You don't need to shell out for expensive equipment.
Making your own cheese isn't very economical, it becomes more expensive than the shops when you try making most things other than ricotta, quark, spread cheese.

fester

If you don't have a big hefty pan to make jam in then buy a pressure cooker, which can be bought a very good prices. The pan will be big enough to make quite a few jars of jam - plus you will have a 'free' pressure cooker as well !

freezspirit

Dad makes his own blackcurrant jam/jelly as he prefers it with more fruit and less sugar than shop bought ones. Infact he puts in 2/3 less sugar than the reccomended in the jam making book. And it tastes very sweet to me.

He goods thru the jam like anything, in his porridge, in his sandwiches or toast with cheese plus when he has roast meals he will put it on his plate.

Only money spent was for the sugar atmost a couple of £ depending on size of crop per year on the 2 bushes. He's considering getting a new staining cloth so about £5

riversidegirl

Hi I have an aluminium preserving pan I was given about 20 years ago. I have always been scared to use it for preserving or pickles as I heard aluminium was unsafe to use. Can anyone shed any light on this or can I use my proper pan for preserving?

Evie74_2

I love making my own jams, fruit curds and jellies. I am not sure it's always the most economical choice as you can buy value lemon curd for 22p and value jam for 29p but taste wise there's no comparison. I usually make hampers of home made preserves for family and friends at Christmas and they always seem to go down well. Plus I really enjoy doing it; my grandparents always made their own jams and the smell of it filling the house brings back happy memories.

I used to use my largest saucepan (which I think is aluminium btw, and I am still alive - I hadn't heard it might be a problem!) but 10 or so years ago my mum bought me a proper preserving pan for my birthday, and it's still going strong; I think it will give a lifetime's service as it's very robust.

I also make my own bread, and I believe that it is more economical than buying commercial loaves, and it has the added bonus of being freshly made whenever I want it, and I know what ingredients it contains.

I've never made cheese but I'd like to try! I might look into that actually...!

Evie xx

Angel_Jenny

My problem is that I want to do everything! Knitting and sewing and baking and gardening and now cheese and jam making!

The pan I saw was stainless steel.

Can you re-use normal jars or is it best to buy jars like the Kilner ones?

Then there would be the issue of where to store the jam once it was made. I need a bigger house and garden!

tessasmum

Angel_Jenny

Jam making can be enormously satisfying, but I would take your time in setting up all the equipment: I have two jam pans, which I use for making jam and chutneys, and neither of them were bought new - one came from a charity shop and the other was gifted to me by someone who felt too old to continue making jam. I recycle my jars all the time, and keep them from one year to the next. They still do the job fine after a hot wash and being put in the oven upside down for 15 minutes on 100C to sterilise them - other people can recommend their methods too, I am sure.

If you have friends and relatives who have fruit to spare (strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, plums, for example) as I do, you will find that your major expense is sugar - so keep your eyes open for sales, discounts and bargains; don't just look in the supermarkets but other places as well like the pound shops sometimes sell sugar. Sugar keeps for ages so if you see a good sale, stock up as much as you are able.

This self-sufficiency/make it yourself is great, but we can't do it all, all the time! It's actually quite time consuming and hard work - but I do love it! I cook from scratch, make some bread, pickles, chutneys, jams, etc as well as growing veg and keeping chooks. Good luck, but don't get too excited about buying a lot of new expensive equipment too soon - try things out first.

floss2

Wilkinsons sell Tala preserving pans for £20, much better than £43 at Lakeland!

Angel_Jenny

floss2 wrote: »

Wilkinsons sell Tala preserving pans for £20, much better than £43 at Lakeland!

Much cheaper!! Wonder why there is such a price difference.