You Know You're A Canner When...

About six years ago, I learned how to waterbath can from one of my neighbors. Then in the fall of 2015, I learned how to pressure can. That opened up new worlds for me and my little hobby practically turned into a way of life.

Usually during the winter, I can meats, beans and stock. Then in the summer, I can fruits and veggies and I makes lots of pickles. We now have more food in the pantry that I canned than we have of food that was commercially canned. Let me tell you, that is a GREAT feeling.

The other day when I got the sales paper, I noticed Palisade peaches were on sale for 98 cents a pound.

Palisade Peaches are rarely less than $1.99/lb near me so I immediately began imagining all the things I could can from those peaches (peach jam, peach salsa, peach pie filling, sliced peaches...) and figuring up how many pounds I would need.

And I thought..."Welp...you can tell I'M A CANNER!"

And that sparked an idea for "You Know You're A Canner When..." a fun list of all those so-called crazy things canners do.

I started to jot down just a few things, but soon the ideas were flowing. I just kept writing them down...then I asked Mr. LH for ideas (he could see some of my quirky habits better than I could)...

I turned some of the list into a printable...

"You Know You're A Canner When..." digitable printable on Etsy. Or purchase it already printed for you from Zazzle.

which also found its way onto a t-shirt...

"You Know You're a Canner when..." t-shirt available on Etsy (as shown), on Amazon, on Zazzle or on Redbubble.

But I wound up with so many more phrases than I could fit on any one printable or shirt (I'll have to make another soon)...so they're being listed here for your enjoyment.

How many of them describe you?

You Know You're A Canner When...

1. You can spot a vintage jar from across the thrift store.
2. A weekend spent canning at home sounds perfect.
3. (insert random food) goes on sale and you buy 20 pounds.
4. You go back to the store the next day because the 20 pounds you just bought won't be nearly enough for everything you discovered you could can with it.
5. You refer to food as either "high acid" or "low acid."
6. You can identify the age of a jar by looking at its logo.
7. You find yourself eyeing the neighbor's fruit trees.
8. Mason jars have replaced your drinking glasses, your flower vases, and your plastic food storage.
9. You plan your garden based on your canning recipes.
10. Your freezer has more scraps than food.
11. You feel guilty buying commercially canned food.
12. You stare lovingly at your pantry shelves.
13. You think pressure is a good thing.
14. You give canned food away and worry you'll never see those jars again.
15. Extra canning rings are stored everywhere in your home...in bins, on bungee cords, on hangers...everywhere!
16. You have to move because your jar stash has outgrown your home.
17. You are not at all concerned about the zombie apocalypse (or a power outage/blizzard, etc).
18. You look forward to cleaning out the freezer.
19. You're more excited about making stock from the turkey carcass after Thanksgiving than you are about the holiday. (I am also guilty of buying extra turkeys on sale just for canning)
20. You have an impressive jar stash (and it keeps growing).
21. The "PING" of sealing jars is music to your ears.
22. Your refrigerator is full of various half-full mason jars (and you're the only one who can identify everything).
23. You put your life on hold because the (insert ripening food here) is finally "ready to be canned."
24. Food goes on sale you immediately check to see if you can can it and dream up everything you can make with it.
25. Your friends post pictures of their kids/grandkids/pets on social media. You post pictures of food in jars.
26. You check out the canning exhibit at the county fair, critique everything, and wonder if it was all processed correctly.
27. A stranger mentions canning and you feel like you've just met your bosom buddy.
28. You buy jars whenever they go on sale because...they're jars.
29. You tell people you're growing "salsa" and "pickles" in the garden.
30. You're the only person in the house who thinks the sound of the pressure canning weight is soothing.
31. Someone posts free or cheap jars and you treat it like it's an emergency (gotta get them first, right?).
32. Your spices, dry goods and leftovers are all stored in mason jars.
33. You have a kitchen shelf dedicated to canning books and canning journals.
34. You can whip up a tasty meal in under 15 minutes with a stove, a pot and a few jars of canned food.
35. Finding a hidden case of jars in your home is cause for celebration.
36. A jar breaks in the canner and you observe a moment of silence for both the broken jar and the loss of food.
37. You buy vinegar by the gallon.
38. You find out Ball has a jar coupon in the newspaper so you buy 40 copies.
39. Your kitchen looks like a crime scene after pickling beets or pitting cherries.
40. You think “Canning Season” is year-round (because hello...it is).