Satisfactions. Why garden or preserve food at home? Most gardeners will cite a number of reasons:
—The best of good fresh food with no unknown additives or ingredients
—Healthy exercise
—Family pleasure working together toward a goal
—The joy of giving
—The challenge of growing a seed into edible food
—Prestige
Cost of Home Food Preservation
| Energy | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Time | Fuel | Human effort | Dollar cost from kitchen to table | Quality satisfaction |
| Freezing | Minimal low | High | Low | Very high | Very high |
| Canning | Moderate | Moderate | High | Moderate | Moderate to high |
| Drying | High | Moderate to high | Moderate | Moderate to high | High (specialty items) |
| Low, if only method available | |||||
| Pickling | High | Low | Moderate | []Depends upon type chosen | High |
| Storage (Unprocessed) | Low to moderate | Low | Moderate (Checking/culling) | Low | Moderate to high |
[A]Some (such as quick dill pickles) are quick to make, take little effort, and use inexpensive ingredients. Others require prolonged brining over several days’ time plus expensive sugar and other ingredients.