I've been canning my own tomatoes for maybe 25 years, which I then use to make my own spaghetti sauce throughout the winter and use for chilis and soups. I have also made and canned: various salsas, chutneys, jams and jellies (we had some Concord grape vines at our first house) and pickles and mole poblano. I have canned pears and apples and applesauce from fruit from my aunt's trees. Last week I made peach jam (w/ginger) from some lovely peaches I got at the farmer's market from a local grower. I even made ketchup once! And I lived in the suburbs!

Last weekend I used some of that peach jam, mixed it with some of my brother's homemade barbeque sauce and a little hot sauce and used it as a glaze on grilled shrimp. This weekend I think I'll try that on some pork on the grill.

I learned all this from my Mom growing up, so it didn't seem odd to me. It's really not hard at all - everyone should give it a try!

If I had more time I totally would. I enjoy canning.

Peggasus you rock! Very creative ideas! I have a ton of tomatoes, peaches and jalapenos. I need to get busy canning. Any tips or books that you can suggest to get me started?

i've never done it before but my mom and my husband have been talking about trying it this year since we have such a large vegetable garden.

I really want to start canning, but I don't have any equipment yet. This might be the year I finally get around to it, though — like brownsugamar, I'd love any tips!

@brownsugarmama: Awwww, thanks! I mostly use the Ball Blue Book (from 1985!) that my mother gave me for the basic recipes, and of course there are a ton online. For example, for the peach jam I made last week I used a lower pectin (or is it higher? I can never remember) mix (Sure Jell is the most common), which lets you cut down on the sugar used by about half. That means going from maybe 7 cups to 3 1/2. I think I got that one from recipezaar and just adapted it. Once you have the basics down, you can really do just about anything!

I really had to laugh when I saw this question. I just sat down at my computer to print labels for the jars of "stuff" I've been canning for the past three days! Our fig tree came in big time on Monday with 16 pounds of figs in one picking so I have been crazy trying to get them all processed before they are too ripe. Because of this, I have just finished canning 30 jars of fig preserves, 8 jars of habanero jalapeno jelly, 8 jars of spicy orange fig preserves, 12 jars of regular jalapeno jelly, 7 jars of pickled figs and 4 jars of pickled red grapes.

I'm also getting ready to pickle asparagus and green beans and plan to do tomatoes and salsa in the next couple of weeks. However, figs are the biggest priority right now since the tree is full again!

For those looking for tips:
Canning and Preserving is really very simple as long as you are organized and do all of your prep work before you even begin the cooking process. You really don't need a lot of special equipment. As long as you have a couple of large pots all you really need is a funnel and a jar grabber. I use a large stock pot to cook my product and I use a pasta cooker to put the filled jars in (the colander type insert replaces the rack that comes in a canning style pot). Instead of sterilizing the jars in the pot prior to filling, I wash the jars in the dishwasher and leave the "heat dry" setting turned on. (Some newer machines even have a "sterilization" setting). As soon as the heat dry part of the cycle begins, I begin cooking my product and then everything goes very smoothly. Use the directions that come in the pectin box (I highly recommend using the liquid pectin) to accurately make jams and jellies and get creative with your combinations. Have fun with it!

I love to can! That's all I have been doing for the past 3 weeks! I've made 40 jars of green beans, 12 jars of chow chow, 24 jars of pickles,24 jars of tomatoes, 12 jars of peach jelly and today 18 jars of salsa! I think I'm going to do some more chow chow in a couple of days. I too go by the blue ball book on everything except my salsa and chow chow I use my own recipes for those! Chefdrea I use the heated dry setting on my dishwasher as well to get the jars hot, its much easier and works very well! Canning is fun and addictive, I recommend it to everyone! There is nothing like growing your own vegetables and fruits and then canning them to eat throughout the year! Plus they taste much better than what you get in the supermarkets too! If you haven't tried it yet, do it you will get addicted!

Oh and btw if you can low acid foods such as green beans or meats etc you have to use a pressure canner! High acid foods such as tomatoes or jellies you can use a regular canner. I recommend for the pressure canner you get the ones with the gauges they're much easier to operate!

My mom cans her own tomato sauce and tomato juice and sometimes fruit, and when I was growing up, it was always a family event--it went on the calendar and we didn't dare make other plans. (Not that we minded helping--we love Mom's "sp sauce.") Now that I have a house (yay!) and am acquiring the pots and stuff necessary for canning (and hope to have a huge tomato crop next year when I have a whole tomato garden), I'd like to start making Mom's sp sauce for myself--having moved 4000 miles from home (and to another country) pretty much guarantees I won't be getting treated to complimentary jars from Mom's cold storage. Not sure they'd even make it over the border.