May 28, 2025 • 32 mins
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
Welcome to the PerfectlyPreserved Podcast.
I'm your host Jenny Gomes.
And I'm Anna Cash.
Here we come together to bringyou a podcast all about
preserving food safely, easily,and dare I say, perfectly.
At home.
We are master food preserversmoms wives, and we love talking
about canning.
ready to can like a masterpreserver.
(00:21):
Let's get into today's episode.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (00:24):
we're gonna talk about how to store
things properly and in differentconditions.
So I'm excited.
Thank you so much for everyonewho has left a review.
If you haven't, go to thatpurple podcast icon or wherever
you listen and leave us areview.
It really helps new listenersfind our show.
Like we said in previousepisodes, you can find us on
(00:44):
YouTube as well this year, sothat's exciting.
I'm learning how to edit videosand download online.
You can find Jenny at theDomestic Wildflower and me at
Smart Home Canning on Instagram.
You can find Jenny's book, thePressure Canning Cookbook on
Amazon or at your localbookstore.
If you would like Jenny and I tocome and speak at your event, we
(01:07):
absolutely love talking aboutfood preserving.
We could geek out about it forhours.
You can send us an email atPerfectly Preserved
podcast@gmail.com.
Let us know we're open to travelspeaking opportunities and we
love teaching.
Okay, Jenny, let's dive intothis episode.
What's happening?
What are we
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (01:26):
Yeah.
Okay.
So we wanted to talk about howto plan your pantry and save
money and manage.
Imperfect or limited storageoptions because it's great.
And we're gonna go over what theideal storage conditions are for
(01:47):
canned food and other preservedfood.
Because obviously that's one ofthe main reasons people seek out
food preservation is because wewanna avoid food waste and thus
save money.
So it's great if we have theseideal situations, these
perfectly cool cupboards, and.
Great ways to store food, but wewanted to tackle, what do you do
(02:07):
if you don't have that?
And if you live in a place thatjust isn't super ideal for food
storage.
And we wanted to give somesuggestions for people living in
that kind of situation.
And then just some tips for justgeneral saving money on
groceries and how we can storefood all the foods, all the ways
and how we try and approach thatwhole topic of saving money on.
(02:29):
Groceries, which is just, it's adaunting time to be a grocery
shopper.
I think just generally speaking,because prices don't seem to be
coming down and there may bemore expenses related to your
grocery bill.
For better or worse, there itlooks to me like it's gonna say
hi or maybe go up.
I hope I'm wrong, but anyway, wewanted to tackle that.
(02:50):
Anna, do you wanna tell ourlisteners what is the ideal
storage?
Like, where should you bestoring your canned food?
If you have all the optionsavailable to you, where should
you store your canned food, andhow should they be stored?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (03:02):
So ideally you would want your
canned items to be in a dark,cool place free from.
Obviously a lot of humidity ormold, but if you have a
downstairs basement, that'scool.
That's where ideally you shouldstore your canned foods.
You wanna keep it out of directsunlight, and you wanna keep it
(03:26):
between, oh, I would say 50degrees Fahrenheit.
To 75 degrees or 80 degrees isreally pushing it.
But yeah, that really coolTemperature is perfect for
canned foods.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025 (03:41):
Great.
I, for years stored my cannedfoods on an open shelf, a pantry
shelf situation, but it wasn't,there was no doors to it.
It was in my laundry room wherethe door had a big window in it,
an old window that was a singlepane, and the light damage and
(04:01):
the warmth in the summer monthswas significant, easily
noticeable.
It was very clear that havingthose jars in the direct light
and in a warm spot.
Shortened, their shelf lifedegraded.
The quality, they still weresafely canned and the, my lids
(04:23):
still were sealed and that allwas fine, but it just really, it
was obvious within a year or twothis is terrible.
This is not a good place tostore the stuff.
But because our house was stillteeny tiny, that was my only
option.
And it just, you're gonna dowhat you gotta do.
And I that, that's.
We get it, but it is not a supergreat idea if you can avoid the
(04:46):
heat and or the light.
Hopefully both.
But if you can cut down, what Ishould have done is I should
have hung up a curtain.
I should have hung a lightblocking curtain either on the
door or on the, probably on theshelves.
I needed the light comingthrough so I could see to do my
laundry, but I should have hunga curtain on the shelves'cause
there was no doors.
(05:06):
I should have done that yearsago and I never did it.
But.
It does.
It makes your peaches justfeather apart into mush.
It breaks down your cher.
Even my cherries, that normallycanned cherries can hold their
shape pretty well.
Those got soft.
It just dis, just
anna_4_04-30-2025_ (05:21):
Interesting.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (05:23):
your softer.
All your fruit's gonna be softif you can.
It dissolves things.
Your green, your dly beans won'tbe as crisp.
Your pickles get softer.
It's the opposite of what youwant.
So if you can avoid.
That do and do as I say, not asI did.
And if you can hang a darkcolored and if you can, a
(05:44):
heavier fabric curtain to blockout that direct light.
'cause that will help a lot.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (05:49):
Oh, that's such a great insight
because I feel our biggestfailures can be our best
teaching opportunities.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-20 (05:56):
Totally.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (05:57):
I think it's great that you are
able to talk about that now andjust say don't do what I did.
I.
I think that's great and I'mlucky I have a basement.
Not everyone has basements.
I actually received a textmessage this morning from a
friend who moved from Utah toFlorida where they don't have
(06:19):
basements.
They have high humidity and highheat, and she was just asking,
how do I store food?
What's the best way?
What would you focus on Doingsome food storage here?
So maybe we could riff on thatfor a little
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (06:34):
Yeah.
anna_4_04-30-2025_12170 (06:35):
knowing what we know about ideal
conditions, you really need toout your heat, the coolest place
in your house, and also theDarkest place.
So I recommended in closets
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (06:48):
Yep.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (06:49):
and under beds.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (06:50):
Yes.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (06:51):
Yeah, I know that's, not as cool or
glamorous as what people mightwant in a storage space, but you
do what you can.
And a lot of people, I know alot of our listeners live in an
apartment building Apartmentsusually don't have a ton of
storage, and so you have to getcreative.
I was telling Jenny before thisepisode that when I was growing
(07:12):
up, it was recommended thatpeople have a really good food
storage from our church.
They really recommended thatpeople stock up on and.
Flour and wheat and things likethis.
And so one of the things my momdid is she filled two five
gallon food grade containerswith, they weren't gamma lids at
(07:34):
the time.
They were the ones that youlike, really have to work to get
the lid off.
She stacked those on top of eachother, and she made a side
table.
She put a round of wood on topand then a tablecloth over it.
And that's where we stored somewheat.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (07:49):
Yeah.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (07:50):
there are definitely ways that you can
use your food storage forinterior design.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-202 (07:57):
That's, if you're short on storage and
you don't have a garage or likea space that's out of sight,
then it's gonna be inside.
So you have to get creative withwhere you're gonna keep things.
And I'm glad you mentioned the.
Under couches or under bed yousaid?
Under beds.
I remember Marisa McClellan, theauthor of the Food and Jars blog
and four or five very goodcookbooks by the same name.
(08:19):
She canned for years and yearsin a small apartment in
Philadelphia, I think.
And she would, I believe hercanned jars on cookie sheets and
slide them under her couch.
And I thought the cookie sheetswas such a good idea because if
you're sliding on carpet ortrying to access them.
Okay, great.
Those take up, they'll give youno height, right?
(08:40):
You don't lose any height andjust a handy way to access
things.
And Anna said under'cause heatrises.
We don't wanna put things highup on a shelf if we can avoid it
because heat rises.
So underneath
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (08:52):
Right.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025 (08:53):
things or in a cupboard down low is a
good idea because I think.
A lot of people may think thatthe garage is the place to store
things, and that's probably, Idon't wanna say that's the worst
place to store your canned foodor food, but it has a lot of
problems.
And while I say garage, I wannaremind our listeners that a
(09:14):
pressure canner should be storedif possible, in a place where
the temperature doesn't swingwidely.
So a garage is not a great spotfor.
A pressure can or to be soared.
Mine is inside in my closet,like under my tub of shoes,
which is a terrible place.
That's like not a real place,it's not a real kitchen storage
(09:34):
place, but that is where I keepit because it's the same
temperature all year long.
It's in the box.
So the garage is not a supergreat place for canned items
because of the heat,temperature, heat, and the
temperature swings, and it's nota great place for your pressure
cleaner either.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (09:51):
Okay, so I hadn't even thought of
that, Jenny.
Why what?
Why not a pressure canner in thegarage with temperature
fluctuations.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (10:00):
It can make your gauge read
incorrectly.
And also the temperature changescan be problematic if you have a
model that has a gasket, like arubber seal if you have an All
American, you don't have arubber seal, but many other.
Brands of pressure, canners havea gasket or a rubber kind of
flange thing around the insideof the lid.
(10:22):
And heat especially would, andpotentially cold could cause
that to become brittle overtime.
So the dial is the most
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (10:32):
Great.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-202 (10:33):
reason.
And then secondarily, the, andyou don't want dust and mice or
you don't want the garage dust.
Some people's garages are reallynice.
So if you've got a nice one,that's great, but you still
can't monitor the temperature ina garage the way you can inside
or excuse me, not monitor,moderate.
(10:55):
You want that to be stored wherethere's not the huge swings in
temperature.
Good question, Anna.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (11:03):
Yeah.
No, it's a great point.
I hadn't even thought aboutthat.
I luckily have this I store alot of my canning supplies
inside my house, but yeah,that's a great point.
Okay, so then.
We talked about canned goods.
Let's talk about dry goods Bit,because obviously part of a
pantry, we're gonna have somedry goods as well.
(11:25):
What do you recommend for drygoods?
How do you store yours, Jenny?
And we'll go from there.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (11:31):
As a canner, I always have jars
available to me.
So a canning jar is a usefultool for dry good storage.
Use your funnel all day long toget your flour or sugar or
coffee grounds or whatever intothe jar.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (11:44):
flour.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (11:45):
That said, the step beyond that can
be incorporating a tool like theMason Genie.
Mason Genie was kindly kindenough to send both Anna and I a
this, it's like a, what wouldyou call it?
A tool
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (11:58):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (11:59):
Sucks the air out of the canning jar
and then seals the lid.
So it's appropriate for dry goodstorage and we've used it not a
lot yet because it, we just gotthem.
So we'll probably have anepisode all about that coming
up.
But there are several tools thata person could buy, like the
Mason Genie that remove air fromthe jar, which keeps your food
(12:20):
fresh for longer.
The problem with storing drygoods and jars is they're small.
But then the bigger thecontainer, the more heavy it is.
So I think you have to figureout like, is this gonna be high
up on a shelf under the sink?
Like where am I gonna move this?
How will I access it?
And it's hard because what we'reasking To do is live like the
(12:41):
pioneers in like we're saving,we're storing, we're
homesteading.
But some of us don't have thehome structure that suits that.
We don't have a seller, right?
And it's not, you can't just digone tomorrow.
You don't have thatinfrastructure.
So you have to do some thinkingabout where am I gonna store
these dry goods, you can getplastic gamma lid containers
(13:06):
that are pest proof and they areopaque so light doesn't get in,
which is a plus.
What can you add about storagefor dry goods, Anna?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (13:16):
Yeah, I use the five gallon with gamma
lid storage containers for bothmy flour and my sugar.
That's something that I justhave in my kitchen because I do
a fair amount of cooking.
With my business, I use ton ofsugar.
So I go through probably a 50pound bag every month and a half
(13:37):
maybe.
I know it's insane.
But yeah, I, like Jenny said, wegot a Mason Genie from the
company and so I've beentinkering with that.
There's also a food saver has amason jar attachment where you
can suck air out of that.
We haven't really tapped intoMylar bag storage.
(14:00):
That's something that, I've seena lot of people use.
And you can use a Mylar bag withan oxygen absorber for, they
come in all different sizes, butideally it would be in sizes
that you would use maybe, Idon't know, a emergency
situation, Freeze dried foods inthere, you could do dehydrated
(14:21):
foods.
I'm, I haven't done a ton ofMylar bag.
Saving.
Have you used Mylar bags,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (14:29):
Never a friend of mine or I have two
friends that have a freezedryer, and I know they use the
Mylar bags to store their freezedried foods.
And Mylar bags are like I meanlike a Mylar balloon.
So it's like that kind oftinfoil look.
But it's not tinfoil at all.
It's an opaque.
Silver and black on the inside.
(14:50):
Kind of crinkly.
I guess it's a plastic, right?
Is that what that is?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (14:56):
yeah.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (14:57):
Yeah.
So it's an interesting material.
You don't,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (14:59):
I, it's got some metal in it, but
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (15:03):
yeah, it's like an, it's a kind of a
unique thing.
You don't encounter that in yourdaily life other than Mylar
balloons.
But it keeps light from breakingdown the food inside and you can
use it for freeze dried food orjust dried goods, dried food,
dehydrated apple slices oranything you dehydrate in a
dehydrator.
But I haven't done it and Ithink it's because I have a
(15:24):
chest freezer and I can, so Idon't really have the occasion
where I have a ton of dry.
Good.
I don't know, I just don't havethe need for that right now,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (15:35):
sure.
And I think too, one of thereasons I haven't dived into
Mylar bag storage is that I usethe five gallon buckets, and
then I also, I.
of the things that's on my listthis year to get is actually a
wheat grinder.
I want a hand crank one, andthen I also would love an
(15:55):
electric one, for, and then Iwanna get some wheat, like dry
wheat.
And there's different kinds ofwheat that you use for different
products, right?
Like baked goods versus bread Orwhatever,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1117 (16:09):
I think that there's a lot of
options, so you could maybestart with one let's say you got
the Mason Genie.
I think it's a very useful toolthat sucks the air out of a
canning jar.
And it's great for being verythoughtful.
If you bothered to buy, let'ssay I don't know, some good
(16:29):
quality chocolate chips or yousaid you use your use for
shredded coconut, right?
Even those small amounts areworth saving and if you save
them well then they will be gooda long time in advance.
So I think that is a shift from.
I don't know, like the fast sthe two thousands where things
(16:50):
were cheap and we just consumeand toss things out.
Maybe that was like the vibethen it seems like it was,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (16:54):
Maybe that was.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (16:55):
Just shifting that thinking from, and
I'll just like twist the top andjust keep it in the cupboard
rather than putting it in thejar and sucking the air out and
feeling it for later.
I think that might.
Be a really good step towardssaving money on your grocery
bill and preserving food forlong term storage or longer
term.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (17:14):
Yeah.
And it's always good to thinkabout as well, like the pests
There, or the bugs.
I know people don't wanna thinkabout weevils, but there's
almost always weevils that arein wheat.
Flour.
And if you don't take care andsuck the air out or keep it in
an airtight container, those canthrive and ruin a whole batch of
(17:38):
flour or wheat that youpurchase.
And that's just money down thedrain.
Sure that you're taking care ofyour food and keeping it in
airtight containers.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (17:48):
Yeah.
That's actually such an unsexytopic, but pests and rodents
and, oh man, it's so important.
We live, we have mice.
Thank God, knock on everythingwood.
I don't have any in my house,but they're in my garage.
They, it's like a constant thingwith the chicken food.
I gotta try and always bethinking about mice and ground
(18:10):
squirrels and the chicken scene.
That's a whole thing in itself.
And we have really the ant
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (18:17):
sure.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (18:18):
just a little harmless ant it's.
So crazy how quickly you canleave the house and then if you
come home.
This happened when I was makinga, it was such, it was, I had
such a good water keyer going,and I came home and the ants, it
was like apocalyptic level, justdevoured my whole water key for,
and I was like
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (18:38):
Oh no.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (18:39):
in the down the drain that went,
that was like two years ago.
I gave up and I, they,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (18:45):
Oh.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (18:45):
yeah.
So it's like a real thing youhave to think about, I guess is
what I'm saying.
So even if.
Even if you don't want to, youstill have to think about when
you have a bulk of food oryou're shopping, shopping bulk,
buying large quantities, buyingthings when they're on sale, you
have to think about pests.
The more food you have availablefor them, the more likely they
are.
They're gonna try and get toyour stuff.
(19:07):
So
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (19:07):
Yeah,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025 (19:08):
that's one thing that I'll never forget
about the paraffin wax.
Old, an old fashioned, outdated,not safe method of sealing jars
is to dip the tops in paraffinwax.
My grandmother said, no, wedon't do that because it
attracts mice and I have neverforgotten it.
I think about every time I seeparaffin wax or sale in the
canning section in the grocerystore, that's disgusting and
(19:29):
ineffective and I don't wantanything that's attracting mice.
Yeah.
Especially with things thatmight attract
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (19:35):
They are opportunistic.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (19:37):
Yes.
So even if you're, especiallywhen you're shopping for.
Sweet things, especially likesugar ants and other creepy
crawlies will love that.
Mice love anything that smells,has any kind of fragrance you
gotta be thinking about thattoo.
I wanted to say this a littlebit off topic, but I don't wanna
forget it.
There are canning jars that arecolored, so they're not opaque,
(19:59):
right?
There's, you can still seethrough them, but they are a
color.
And while I wouldn't.
Encourage our listeners to goout and purchase them because
they are more expensive.
They're like clear pink or clearpurple or clear blue.
The blue ones are definitelytrying to look old fashioned
than they're farmhouse chic orwhatever, and you might put your
cotton balls in them, but theydo have canning safe jars that
(20:21):
are tinted.
Okay.
While I wouldn't necessarily goout and buy them brand new, they
do block light and they haveamber colored ones, which are
definitely like.
A darker brown, an opaque,darker brown, like a brown beer
bottle color.
And that would be the color youwould choose.
If you're like, okay, I'mcanning.
(20:41):
I can't block all the lightbecause I have to store it in
this garage or whatever area.
Okay, though that is the jar youwould choose.
And maybe you'd go out and buyall brown jars.
I wouldn't, I, that wouldn't bethe worst idea.
That would really prevent a lotof that light degradation.
I should have mentioned thatwhen I was talking about light
earlier, but I forgot.
So yeah.
(21:02):
Anna, what?
Take it away.
What else could you add to thisdiscussion?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (21:06):
no, that's a great point.
That's a great point.
And in fact, I would show youright behind me, these are jars
that I have made for an upcomingmarket and it's just stressing
me out that they're in mysunroom and light is getting to
them.
So I need to, I have a curtainover one side of my And I should
(21:27):
probably just.
Hang another curtain right overit because it does, it breaks
down that fruit, it breaks downthe cell walls of the fruit in
your jars.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (21:37):
It fade your color.
Fade your color.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121 (21:39):
reminder, Jenny.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (21:41):
Fade your color too.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (21:42):
track.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_11 (21:43):
Oh, fade.
Your color.
Just like your skin,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (21:46):
yeah.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (21:48):
So you wanna try and avoid that if
you can.
What about, I wanted to say alittle bit about meal planning.
With the idea being notnecessarily, I feel like my feed
just accidentally has becomelike meal planning for weight
loss.
I, it must have lingered toolong on someone's fitness post
on accident.
But meal planning for groceryshopping is a good way to think
(22:11):
ahead and plan ahead in terms ofbuying things when they're on
sale or buying things whenthey're seasonal.
Anna, what can you say aboutencouraging or helping our
listeners buy things seasonallyor locally or both?
anna_4_04-30-2025_12 (22:23):
listeners?
Yeah.
For, I love this topic.
I could talk about it.
It's Empire.
I could talk about it all day
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (22:30):
yes.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (22:30):
But tapping into your local
community and your local systemsis one of the best to eat
healthfully.
I'm sure you all know this, butwhen you purchase commercially
from a farm, say in the Midwest,or coming from California and
you live in the middle of thecountry or you live in Alaska or
whatever that produce is pickedso early that.
(22:55):
A lot of that good flavor thatcomes toward the end of the
growing season isn't there.
So not only does it not taste asgood, it probably doesn't have
as many nutrients as it could.
Always encourage people to eatseasonally and try and eat as
locally as possible.
That way you know exactly what'sgoing into your food, what the
(23:16):
practices are that are goinginto the growing of your food.
And that's not always going tobe more expensive.
A lot of people think, oh, it'slocal.
It's gonna be more expensive.
But if you have a goodrelationship with farmers or if
you have a good relationshipwith growers, you can ask for
what's called seconds andseconds is just like the
(23:40):
misfits, the slightly bruised,the misshapen.
Whereas commercial growers ifyou get your food from Cisco or
US Foods or whatever, they havea grading scale of what say,
like aroma, tomato should looklike, and anything that's above
or below what it looks like theyreject.
And If you're more open to someof those seconds or misfit
(24:03):
looking produce, you can get alot of really delicious, amazing
food locally if you're open tothat.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025 (24:10):
That's a great point.
We have several episodes that Ifeel like.
We'll link in our show notes orwe can just mention briefly.
Now, that will help you guys ifyou're thinking about how do I
save money?
We have an episode all aboutdehydrating.
So even if you don't have adehydrator yet, you can use your
oven.
We have a episode all aboutsteam canning.
We have an episode aboutpressure canning.
(24:31):
We have three or four episodesthat are exclusively of blood
pressure canning.
And those are tools for you touse to preserve food when you
can get them.
anna_4_04-30-2025_1217 (24:41):
Preserve food,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (24:41):
Great ripeness at a good price.
And that's the name of the gameis being able to preserve them
when you can access them so thatthey are preserved taste
delicious from somewhere thatyou're excited about.
We have an episode aboutfreezing.
We have several episodes, Ithink especially in season one
that are very, like beginner 1 01.
Best tips for getting startedwith those practices.
(25:04):
Like the whole first 10 episodesof season one are just how to
get started with canning andthey're really great if you're
new.
And then I think we had oneother episode about saving money
that actually was a very topperformer of season two, I
think.
Just how we think ahead and planfor saving money when it comes
to.
When it comes to foodpreservation, because there is
(25:26):
just a, there, it's a very bigidea.
And if right now you're feelinglike wow, things are very
expensive and you're trying tostay on budget and it can be
very overwhelming.
So we would love for you guys tocheck out our podcast episodes.
That will will help you, Ithink.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (25:41):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (25:42):
What else do we have on our list,
Anna, that will be helpful?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (25:45):
And I was just gonna say here in the
Northern hemisphere, if you'relistening it is almost summer
growing season, and I.
I would just say bit of advice,and it goes for all different
kinds of food, not just what I'mgonna tell you about.
So I have a friend that livesjust south of me, about 30
(26:05):
minutes, and she and her brothergrow corn They have a cute truck
and they load up all of thiscorn.
It's, she's called the cornlady.
Her mom was the corn lady, nowshe is the corn
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (26:19):
Cute.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (26:20):
she says every year.
Toward the end of the year, weprocess however many bags of
frozen corn we're going to eat.
And on it I label Christmas orNew Year's or Thanksgiving, and
I think about what my year'sgonna look like and how I'm
going to eat corn at each ofthese events.
(26:42):
And she packs it for that andshe writes on
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (26:44):
So smart.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (26:45):
that was so cute.
And such a good idea to thinkabout,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (26:50):
Yeah.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (26:51):
These traditional foods that you're
eating and that you're knownfor.
I have I have a friend thatabsolutely loves dilly beans and
every time I go down to SouthernUtah or I try to anyway, I bring
a can of dilly beans because sheloves them.
And for us, green bean season ispeak summer, it's usually the
(27:12):
end of July, beginning ofAugust.
And I make sure that I makeenough jars so that I can share
with her.
And I think it's reallyimportant that not only do you
get things seasonally, but youalso think about.
Traditions and how Throughoutthe year and what kinds of foods
you will actually eat.
And Jenny and I have an episodeI believe it's a full episode
(27:32):
about canning and preservingwhat you'll actually eat.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025 (27:35):
Right?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (27:35):
And that's something to really keep
in mind as you start buying inbulk.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (27:39):
Yes.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (27:40):
gonna use it?
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (27:41):
Amen.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (27:42):
to eat it?
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (27:43):
Yes.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (27:43):
not, don't waste your time, money,
and effort.
It's not worth it.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (27:48):
So good that you're saying that,
and I was thinking as you'retalking about.
About planning ahead andthinking, okay, what am I gonna
do all year long?
My husband and I just defrostedour chest freezer, which is such
an epic chore because you haveto put all the meat somewhere
that's gonna be frozen, and itwas such a good chore to look
(28:08):
what is at the bottom of thisfreezer or what is on the far
back shelf, the top little nookand cranny.
If you are getting serious aboutfood preservation this year and
thinking about saving money, youneed to take everything out and
clean out what is junk, get ridof what you're not eating and
not using, and really get ahandle on what do I have, store
(28:30):
all like with like store all therice together, have all the
flour together, have all thespices together so that you
aren't overbuying or buyingduplicates when you have
something available that isaging, that needs to be
consumed.
The chest freezers are hardbecause it is such a chore to
figure out what to do with thefrozen stuff.
But if you can do it, now springcleaning time, springtime, do it
(28:52):
now and then you can have asense of, okay, this is the
stuff I still have.
Oh, I found a bag of popsicles.
I bought, I don't even know whatyour, I bought these good pops,
like the kind of nice goodpopsicles and my kids were like,
yay, we have good pops.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (29:07):
My
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (29:07):
They just got stuck underneath all
the roasts on accident, yeah,now's a good time to take stock
of what you have, because ifyou're getting serious and
you're ramping up for thespringtime and summer, you gotta
take stock of what you have andget rid of what you don't need
to be keeping around.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (29:22):
Oh, that's such great advice.
I'm so glad you said thatbecause a lot of times we just I
feel like my my, whatever I.
My freezer is where things go todie.
Like I just put things in therethat I don't want to think
about.
But you're right, like things inthe bottom.
I'm just like, what is this?
I don't even know where I gotthis.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (29:41):
Yeah.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (29:42):
What was I thinking when I bought
this?
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_11 (29:44):
Oh, I'm a hunter's wife.
I
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (29:46):
great.
Thanks for sharing that.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1117 (29:47):
I won't even say on the internet
all the things I found in thebottom of the freezer as a
hunter's wife, I was like, whatanimal is this?
What am I supposed to do withthis random, see some feathers?
I dunno what your, the ambitionsincluded here, Ruben.
But yeah, it's a lot.
It is really good to cleanthings out.
That's the moral of the story.
It's really good to clean thingsout.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:08):
I love that.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (30:09):
it's very real.
It's very real.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:11):
love that.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_11 (30:12):
you have still have wedding cake?
Your wedding cake?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:15):
Okay.
No,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1117 (30:19):
I do,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:20):
do you.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (30:20):
yes.
Yeah, I have the top of mywedding cake,
anna_4_04-30-2025_12170 (30:24):
wedding cake in your freezer.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_11 (30:26):
and it is,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:27):
Oh, that's sweet.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1117 (30:29):
I think we've been married 13
years.
It's gonna be 14 this summer.
Why am I keeping that?
I couldn't make myself throw itout.
I couldn't.
I was like, we've just come thisfar.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:37):
Don't eat it.
Don't eat it.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_11 (30:39):
I'm not gonna eat it now, but I was
like, I'm not gonna have to justthrow it down the hill.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:44):
W what are you gonna do with it,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1117 (30:46):
I dunno.
I dunno.
I'm really sentimental, Sally.
I have a very hard time doingthings out.
We also found a package of meatand my husband labeled it Gus's
first retrieve our bird dogsfirst retrieve.
And I was like, what are wegonna do with this?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (31:03):
Aw.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (31:03):
We're a bunch of snaps.
We're a bunch of SAPs.
That's terrible.
Ah.
Anyway, what,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (31:09):
cute
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (31:10):
on that note, do as I say, not as I
don't keep things for forever.
So anyway, that is pantry
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (31:18):
your chest
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (31:19):
Do clean out.
We, I did throw out a ton ofstuff.
I did.
I really did.
I need to make a social medialike a good reel.
I've got in my mind of my twocanning jars or my canning lid
drawers that I really thoughtof.
Anna very hard when I wascleaning things out.
They're all sorted by size.
They look very organized,looking good.
(31:40):
So here's to planning ourpantries and saving money the
season and just kicking off abig summer of saving money and
food preservation.
That's our show.
We don't want you to miss anepisode, so please be sure to
subscribe.
If you found this episodehelpful and informative, please
give our show a rating andreview.
(32:02):
It only takes a few seconds andit really helps our show grow.
Follow us on social media atSmart Home Canning and at the
domestic wildflower.
Email your preserving questionsto Perfectly Preserved
podcast@gmail.com and we will doour best to answer your
questions on the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
Stay tuned for our next episodereleased every week.
Welcome to the PerfectlyPreserved Podcast.
I'm your host Jenny Gomes.
And I'm Anna Cash.
Here we come together to bringyou a podcast all about
preserving food safely, easily,and dare I say, perfectly.
At home.
We are master food preserversmoms wives, and we love talking
about canning.
ready to can like a masterpreserver.
(00:21):
Let's get into today's episode.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (00:24):
we're gonna talk about how to store
things properly and in differentconditions.
So I'm excited.
Thank you so much for everyonewho has left a review.
If you haven't, go to thatpurple podcast icon or wherever
you listen and leave us areview.
It really helps new listenersfind our show.
Like we said in previousepisodes, you can find us on
(00:44):
YouTube as well this year, sothat's exciting.
I'm learning how to edit videosand download online.
You can find Jenny at theDomestic Wildflower and me at
Smart Home Canning on Instagram.
You can find Jenny's book, thePressure Canning Cookbook on
Amazon or at your localbookstore.
If you would like Jenny and I tocome and speak at your event, we
(01:07):
absolutely love talking aboutfood preserving.
We could geek out about it forhours.
You can send us an email atPerfectly Preserved
podcast@gmail.com.
Let us know we're open to travelspeaking opportunities and we
love teaching.
Okay, Jenny, let's dive intothis episode.
What's happening?
What are we
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (01:26):
Yeah.
Okay.
So we wanted to talk about howto plan your pantry and save
money and manage.
Imperfect or limited storageoptions because it's great.
And we're gonna go over what theideal storage conditions are for
(01:47):
canned food and other preservedfood.
Because obviously that's one ofthe main reasons people seek out
food preservation is because wewanna avoid food waste and thus
save money.
So it's great if we have theseideal situations, these
perfectly cool cupboards, and.
Great ways to store food, but wewanted to tackle, what do you do
(02:07):
if you don't have that?
And if you live in a place thatjust isn't super ideal for food
storage.
And we wanted to give somesuggestions for people living in
that kind of situation.
And then just some tips for justgeneral saving money on
groceries and how we can storefood all the foods, all the ways
and how we try and approach thatwhole topic of saving money on.
(02:29):
Groceries, which is just, it's adaunting time to be a grocery
shopper.
I think just generally speaking,because prices don't seem to be
coming down and there may bemore expenses related to your
grocery bill.
For better or worse, there itlooks to me like it's gonna say
hi or maybe go up.
I hope I'm wrong, but anyway, wewanted to tackle that.
(02:50):
Anna, do you wanna tell ourlisteners what is the ideal
storage?
Like, where should you bestoring your canned food?
If you have all the optionsavailable to you, where should
you store your canned food, andhow should they be stored?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (03:02):
So ideally you would want your
canned items to be in a dark,cool place free from.
Obviously a lot of humidity ormold, but if you have a
downstairs basement, that'scool.
That's where ideally you shouldstore your canned foods.
You wanna keep it out of directsunlight, and you wanna keep it
(03:26):
between, oh, I would say 50degrees Fahrenheit.
To 75 degrees or 80 degrees isreally pushing it.
But yeah, that really coolTemperature is perfect for
canned foods.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025 (03:41):
Great.
I, for years stored my cannedfoods on an open shelf, a pantry
shelf situation, but it wasn't,there was no doors to it.
It was in my laundry room wherethe door had a big window in it,
an old window that was a singlepane, and the light damage and
(04:01):
the warmth in the summer monthswas significant, easily
noticeable.
It was very clear that havingthose jars in the direct light
and in a warm spot.
Shortened, their shelf lifedegraded.
The quality, they still weresafely canned and the, my lids
(04:23):
still were sealed and that allwas fine, but it just really, it
was obvious within a year or twothis is terrible.
This is not a good place tostore the stuff.
But because our house was stillteeny tiny, that was my only
option.
And it just, you're gonna dowhat you gotta do.
And I that, that's.
We get it, but it is not a supergreat idea if you can avoid the
(04:46):
heat and or the light.
Hopefully both.
But if you can cut down, what Ishould have done is I should
have hung up a curtain.
I should have hung a lightblocking curtain either on the
door or on the, probably on theshelves.
I needed the light comingthrough so I could see to do my
laundry, but I should have hunga curtain on the shelves'cause
there was no doors.
(05:06):
I should have done that yearsago and I never did it.
But.
It does.
It makes your peaches justfeather apart into mush.
It breaks down your cher.
Even my cherries, that normallycanned cherries can hold their
shape pretty well.
Those got soft.
It just dis, just
anna_4_04-30-2025_ (05:21):
Interesting.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (05:23):
your softer.
All your fruit's gonna be softif you can.
It dissolves things.
Your green, your dly beans won'tbe as crisp.
Your pickles get softer.
It's the opposite of what youwant.
So if you can avoid.
That do and do as I say, not asI did.
And if you can hang a darkcolored and if you can, a
(05:44):
heavier fabric curtain to blockout that direct light.
'cause that will help a lot.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (05:49):
Oh, that's such a great insight
because I feel our biggestfailures can be our best
teaching opportunities.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-20 (05:56):
Totally.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (05:57):
I think it's great that you are
able to talk about that now andjust say don't do what I did.
I.
I think that's great and I'mlucky I have a basement.
Not everyone has basements.
I actually received a textmessage this morning from a
friend who moved from Utah toFlorida where they don't have
(06:19):
basements.
They have high humidity and highheat, and she was just asking,
how do I store food?
What's the best way?
What would you focus on Doingsome food storage here?
So maybe we could riff on thatfor a little
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (06:34):
Yeah.
anna_4_04-30-2025_12170 (06:35):
knowing what we know about ideal
conditions, you really need toout your heat, the coolest place
in your house, and also theDarkest place.
So I recommended in closets
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (06:48):
Yep.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (06:49):
and under beds.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (06:50):
Yes.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (06:51):
Yeah, I know that's, not as cool or
glamorous as what people mightwant in a storage space, but you
do what you can.
And a lot of people, I know alot of our listeners live in an
apartment building Apartmentsusually don't have a ton of
storage, and so you have to getcreative.
I was telling Jenny before thisepisode that when I was growing
(07:12):
up, it was recommended thatpeople have a really good food
storage from our church.
They really recommended thatpeople stock up on and.
Flour and wheat and things likethis.
And so one of the things my momdid is she filled two five
gallon food grade containerswith, they weren't gamma lids at
(07:34):
the time.
They were the ones that youlike, really have to work to get
the lid off.
She stacked those on top of eachother, and she made a side
table.
She put a round of wood on topand then a tablecloth over it.
And that's where we stored somewheat.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (07:49):
Yeah.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (07:50):
there are definitely ways that you can
use your food storage forinterior design.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-202 (07:57):
That's, if you're short on storage and
you don't have a garage or likea space that's out of sight,
then it's gonna be inside.
So you have to get creative withwhere you're gonna keep things.
And I'm glad you mentioned the.
Under couches or under bed yousaid?
Under beds.
I remember Marisa McClellan, theauthor of the Food and Jars blog
and four or five very goodcookbooks by the same name.
(08:19):
She canned for years and yearsin a small apartment in
Philadelphia, I think.
And she would, I believe hercanned jars on cookie sheets and
slide them under her couch.
And I thought the cookie sheetswas such a good idea because if
you're sliding on carpet ortrying to access them.
Okay, great.
Those take up, they'll give youno height, right?
(08:40):
You don't lose any height andjust a handy way to access
things.
And Anna said under'cause heatrises.
We don't wanna put things highup on a shelf if we can avoid it
because heat rises.
So underneath
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (08:52):
Right.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025 (08:53):
things or in a cupboard down low is a
good idea because I think.
A lot of people may think thatthe garage is the place to store
things, and that's probably, Idon't wanna say that's the worst
place to store your canned foodor food, but it has a lot of
problems.
And while I say garage, I wannaremind our listeners that a
(09:14):
pressure canner should be storedif possible, in a place where
the temperature doesn't swingwidely.
So a garage is not a great spotfor.
A pressure can or to be soared.
Mine is inside in my closet,like under my tub of shoes,
which is a terrible place.
That's like not a real place,it's not a real kitchen storage
(09:34):
place, but that is where I keepit because it's the same
temperature all year long.
It's in the box.
So the garage is not a supergreat place for canned items
because of the heat,temperature, heat, and the
temperature swings, and it's nota great place for your pressure
cleaner either.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (09:51):
Okay, so I hadn't even thought of
that, Jenny.
Why what?
Why not a pressure canner in thegarage with temperature
fluctuations.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (10:00):
It can make your gauge read
incorrectly.
And also the temperature changescan be problematic if you have a
model that has a gasket, like arubber seal if you have an All
American, you don't have arubber seal, but many other.
Brands of pressure, canners havea gasket or a rubber kind of
flange thing around the insideof the lid.
(10:22):
And heat especially would, andpotentially cold could cause
that to become brittle overtime.
So the dial is the most
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (10:32):
Great.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-202 (10:33):
reason.
And then secondarily, the, andyou don't want dust and mice or
you don't want the garage dust.
Some people's garages are reallynice.
So if you've got a nice one,that's great, but you still
can't monitor the temperature ina garage the way you can inside
or excuse me, not monitor,moderate.
(10:55):
You want that to be stored wherethere's not the huge swings in
temperature.
Good question, Anna.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (11:03):
Yeah.
No, it's a great point.
I hadn't even thought aboutthat.
I luckily have this I store alot of my canning supplies
inside my house, but yeah,that's a great point.
Okay, so then.
We talked about canned goods.
Let's talk about dry goods Bit,because obviously part of a
pantry, we're gonna have somedry goods as well.
(11:25):
What do you recommend for drygoods?
How do you store yours, Jenny?
And we'll go from there.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (11:31):
As a canner, I always have jars
available to me.
So a canning jar is a usefultool for dry good storage.
Use your funnel all day long toget your flour or sugar or
coffee grounds or whatever intothe jar.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (11:44):
flour.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (11:45):
That said, the step beyond that can
be incorporating a tool like theMason Genie.
Mason Genie was kindly kindenough to send both Anna and I a
this, it's like a, what wouldyou call it?
A tool
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (11:58):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (11:59):
Sucks the air out of the canning jar
and then seals the lid.
So it's appropriate for dry goodstorage and we've used it not a
lot yet because it, we just gotthem.
So we'll probably have anepisode all about that coming
up.
But there are several tools thata person could buy, like the
Mason Genie that remove air fromthe jar, which keeps your food
(12:20):
fresh for longer.
The problem with storing drygoods and jars is they're small.
But then the bigger thecontainer, the more heavy it is.
So I think you have to figureout like, is this gonna be high
up on a shelf under the sink?
Like where am I gonna move this?
How will I access it?
And it's hard because what we'reasking To do is live like the
(12:41):
pioneers in like we're saving,we're storing, we're
homesteading.
But some of us don't have thehome structure that suits that.
We don't have a seller, right?
And it's not, you can't just digone tomorrow.
You don't have thatinfrastructure.
So you have to do some thinkingabout where am I gonna store
these dry goods, you can getplastic gamma lid containers
(13:06):
that are pest proof and they areopaque so light doesn't get in,
which is a plus.
What can you add about storagefor dry goods, Anna?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (13:16):
Yeah, I use the five gallon with gamma
lid storage containers for bothmy flour and my sugar.
That's something that I justhave in my kitchen because I do
a fair amount of cooking.
With my business, I use ton ofsugar.
So I go through probably a 50pound bag every month and a half
(13:37):
maybe.
I know it's insane.
But yeah, I, like Jenny said, wegot a Mason Genie from the
company and so I've beentinkering with that.
There's also a food saver has amason jar attachment where you
can suck air out of that.
We haven't really tapped intoMylar bag storage.
(14:00):
That's something that, I've seena lot of people use.
And you can use a Mylar bag withan oxygen absorber for, they
come in all different sizes, butideally it would be in sizes
that you would use maybe, Idon't know, a emergency
situation, Freeze dried foods inthere, you could do dehydrated
(14:21):
foods.
I'm, I haven't done a ton ofMylar bag.
Saving.
Have you used Mylar bags,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (14:29):
Never a friend of mine or I have two
friends that have a freezedryer, and I know they use the
Mylar bags to store their freezedried foods.
And Mylar bags are like I meanlike a Mylar balloon.
So it's like that kind oftinfoil look.
But it's not tinfoil at all.
It's an opaque.
Silver and black on the inside.
(14:50):
Kind of crinkly.
I guess it's a plastic, right?
Is that what that is?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (14:56):
yeah.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (14:57):
Yeah.
So it's an interesting material.
You don't,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (14:59):
I, it's got some metal in it, but
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (15:03):
yeah, it's like an, it's a kind of a
unique thing.
You don't encounter that in yourdaily life other than Mylar
balloons.
But it keeps light from breakingdown the food inside and you can
use it for freeze dried food orjust dried goods, dried food,
dehydrated apple slices oranything you dehydrate in a
dehydrator.
But I haven't done it and Ithink it's because I have a
(15:24):
chest freezer and I can, so Idon't really have the occasion
where I have a ton of dry.
Good.
I don't know, I just don't havethe need for that right now,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (15:35):
sure.
And I think too, one of thereasons I haven't dived into
Mylar bag storage is that I usethe five gallon buckets, and
then I also, I.
of the things that's on my listthis year to get is actually a
wheat grinder.
I want a hand crank one, andthen I also would love an
(15:55):
electric one, for, and then Iwanna get some wheat, like dry
wheat.
And there's different kinds ofwheat that you use for different
products, right?
Like baked goods versus bread Orwhatever,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1117 (16:09):
I think that there's a lot of
options, so you could maybestart with one let's say you got
the Mason Genie.
I think it's a very useful toolthat sucks the air out of a
canning jar.
And it's great for being verythoughtful.
If you bothered to buy, let'ssay I don't know, some good
(16:29):
quality chocolate chips or yousaid you use your use for
shredded coconut, right?
Even those small amounts areworth saving and if you save
them well then they will be gooda long time in advance.
So I think that is a shift from.
I don't know, like the fast sthe two thousands where things
(16:50):
were cheap and we just consumeand toss things out.
Maybe that was like the vibethen it seems like it was,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (16:54):
Maybe that was.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (16:55):
Just shifting that thinking from, and
I'll just like twist the top andjust keep it in the cupboard
rather than putting it in thejar and sucking the air out and
feeling it for later.
I think that might.
Be a really good step towardssaving money on your grocery
bill and preserving food forlong term storage or longer
term.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (17:14):
Yeah.
And it's always good to thinkabout as well, like the pests
There, or the bugs.
I know people don't wanna thinkabout weevils, but there's
almost always weevils that arein wheat.
Flour.
And if you don't take care andsuck the air out or keep it in
an airtight container, those canthrive and ruin a whole batch of
(17:38):
flour or wheat that youpurchase.
And that's just money down thedrain.
Sure that you're taking care ofyour food and keeping it in
airtight containers.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (17:48):
Yeah.
That's actually such an unsexytopic, but pests and rodents
and, oh man, it's so important.
We live, we have mice.
Thank God, knock on everythingwood.
I don't have any in my house,but they're in my garage.
They, it's like a constant thingwith the chicken food.
I gotta try and always bethinking about mice and ground
(18:10):
squirrels and the chicken scene.
That's a whole thing in itself.
And we have really the ant
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (18:17):
sure.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (18:18):
just a little harmless ant it's.
So crazy how quickly you canleave the house and then if you
come home.
This happened when I was makinga, it was such, it was, I had
such a good water keyer going,and I came home and the ants, it
was like apocalyptic level, justdevoured my whole water key for,
and I was like
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (18:38):
Oh no.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (18:39):
in the down the drain that went,
that was like two years ago.
I gave up and I, they,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (18:45):
Oh.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (18:45):
yeah.
So it's like a real thing youhave to think about, I guess is
what I'm saying.
So even if.
Even if you don't want to, youstill have to think about when
you have a bulk of food oryou're shopping, shopping bulk,
buying large quantities, buyingthings when they're on sale, you
have to think about pests.
The more food you have availablefor them, the more likely they
are.
They're gonna try and get toyour stuff.
(19:07):
So
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (19:07):
Yeah,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025 (19:08):
that's one thing that I'll never forget
about the paraffin wax.
Old, an old fashioned, outdated,not safe method of sealing jars
is to dip the tops in paraffinwax.
My grandmother said, no, wedon't do that because it
attracts mice and I have neverforgotten it.
I think about every time I seeparaffin wax or sale in the
canning section in the grocerystore, that's disgusting and
(19:29):
ineffective and I don't wantanything that's attracting mice.
Yeah.
Especially with things thatmight attract
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (19:35):
They are opportunistic.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (19:37):
Yes.
So even if you're, especiallywhen you're shopping for.
Sweet things, especially likesugar ants and other creepy
crawlies will love that.
Mice love anything that smells,has any kind of fragrance you
gotta be thinking about thattoo.
I wanted to say this a littlebit off topic, but I don't wanna
forget it.
There are canning jars that arecolored, so they're not opaque,
(19:59):
right?
There's, you can still seethrough them, but they are a
color.
And while I wouldn't.
Encourage our listeners to goout and purchase them because
they are more expensive.
They're like clear pink or clearpurple or clear blue.
The blue ones are definitelytrying to look old fashioned
than they're farmhouse chic orwhatever, and you might put your
cotton balls in them, but theydo have canning safe jars that
(20:21):
are tinted.
Okay.
While I wouldn't necessarily goout and buy them brand new, they
do block light and they haveamber colored ones, which are
definitely like.
A darker brown, an opaque,darker brown, like a brown beer
bottle color.
And that would be the color youwould choose.
If you're like, okay, I'mcanning.
(20:41):
I can't block all the lightbecause I have to store it in
this garage or whatever area.
Okay, though that is the jar youwould choose.
And maybe you'd go out and buyall brown jars.
I wouldn't, I, that wouldn't bethe worst idea.
That would really prevent a lotof that light degradation.
I should have mentioned thatwhen I was talking about light
earlier, but I forgot.
So yeah.
(21:02):
Anna, what?
Take it away.
What else could you add to thisdiscussion?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (21:06):
no, that's a great point.
That's a great point.
And in fact, I would show youright behind me, these are jars
that I have made for an upcomingmarket and it's just stressing
me out that they're in mysunroom and light is getting to
them.
So I need to, I have a curtainover one side of my And I should
(21:27):
probably just.
Hang another curtain right overit because it does, it breaks
down that fruit, it breaks downthe cell walls of the fruit in
your jars.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (21:37):
It fade your color.
Fade your color.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121 (21:39):
reminder, Jenny.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (21:41):
Fade your color too.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (21:42):
track.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_11 (21:43):
Oh, fade.
Your color.
Just like your skin,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (21:46):
yeah.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (21:48):
So you wanna try and avoid that if
you can.
What about, I wanted to say alittle bit about meal planning.
With the idea being notnecessarily, I feel like my feed
just accidentally has becomelike meal planning for weight
loss.
I, it must have lingered toolong on someone's fitness post
on accident.
But meal planning for groceryshopping is a good way to think
(22:11):
ahead and plan ahead in terms ofbuying things when they're on
sale or buying things whenthey're seasonal.
Anna, what can you say aboutencouraging or helping our
listeners buy things seasonallyor locally or both?
anna_4_04-30-2025_12 (22:23):
listeners?
Yeah.
For, I love this topic.
I could talk about it.
It's Empire.
I could talk about it all day
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (22:30):
yes.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (22:30):
But tapping into your local
community and your local systemsis one of the best to eat
healthfully.
I'm sure you all know this, butwhen you purchase commercially
from a farm, say in the Midwest,or coming from California and
you live in the middle of thecountry or you live in Alaska or
whatever that produce is pickedso early that.
(22:55):
A lot of that good flavor thatcomes toward the end of the
growing season isn't there.
So not only does it not taste asgood, it probably doesn't have
as many nutrients as it could.
Always encourage people to eatseasonally and try and eat as
locally as possible.
That way you know exactly what'sgoing into your food, what the
(23:16):
practices are that are goinginto the growing of your food.
And that's not always going tobe more expensive.
A lot of people think, oh, it'slocal.
It's gonna be more expensive.
But if you have a goodrelationship with farmers or if
you have a good relationshipwith growers, you can ask for
what's called seconds andseconds is just like the
(23:40):
misfits, the slightly bruised,the misshapen.
Whereas commercial growers ifyou get your food from Cisco or
US Foods or whatever, they havea grading scale of what say,
like aroma, tomato should looklike, and anything that's above
or below what it looks like theyreject.
And If you're more open to someof those seconds or misfit
(24:03):
looking produce, you can get alot of really delicious, amazing
food locally if you're open tothat.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025 (24:10):
That's a great point.
We have several episodes that Ifeel like.
We'll link in our show notes orwe can just mention briefly.
Now, that will help you guys ifyou're thinking about how do I
save money?
We have an episode all aboutdehydrating.
So even if you don't have adehydrator yet, you can use your
oven.
We have a episode all aboutsteam canning.
We have an episode aboutpressure canning.
(24:31):
We have three or four episodesthat are exclusively of blood
pressure canning.
And those are tools for you touse to preserve food when you
can get them.
anna_4_04-30-2025_1217 (24:41):
Preserve food,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (24:41):
Great ripeness at a good price.
And that's the name of the gameis being able to preserve them
when you can access them so thatthey are preserved taste
delicious from somewhere thatyou're excited about.
We have an episode aboutfreezing.
We have several episodes, Ithink especially in season one
that are very, like beginner 1 01.
Best tips for getting startedwith those practices.
(25:04):
Like the whole first 10 episodesof season one are just how to
get started with canning andthey're really great if you're
new.
And then I think we had oneother episode about saving money
that actually was a very topperformer of season two, I
think.
Just how we think ahead and planfor saving money when it comes
to.
When it comes to foodpreservation, because there is
(25:26):
just a, there, it's a very bigidea.
And if right now you're feelinglike wow, things are very
expensive and you're trying tostay on budget and it can be
very overwhelming.
So we would love for you guys tocheck out our podcast episodes.
That will will help you, Ithink.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (25:41):
Yeah.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (25:42):
What else do we have on our list,
Anna, that will be helpful?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (25:45):
And I was just gonna say here in the
Northern hemisphere, if you'relistening it is almost summer
growing season, and I.
I would just say bit of advice,and it goes for all different
kinds of food, not just what I'mgonna tell you about.
So I have a friend that livesjust south of me, about 30
(26:05):
minutes, and she and her brothergrow corn They have a cute truck
and they load up all of thiscorn.
It's, she's called the cornlady.
Her mom was the corn lady, nowshe is the corn
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (26:19):
Cute.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (26:20):
she says every year.
Toward the end of the year, weprocess however many bags of
frozen corn we're going to eat.
And on it I label Christmas orNew Year's or Thanksgiving, and
I think about what my year'sgonna look like and how I'm
going to eat corn at each ofthese events.
(26:42):
And she packs it for that andshe writes on
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (26:44):
So smart.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (26:45):
that was so cute.
And such a good idea to thinkabout,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (26:50):
Yeah.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (26:51):
These traditional foods that you're
eating and that you're knownfor.
I have I have a friend thatabsolutely loves dilly beans and
every time I go down to SouthernUtah or I try to anyway, I bring
a can of dilly beans because sheloves them.
And for us, green bean season ispeak summer, it's usually the
(27:12):
end of July, beginning ofAugust.
And I make sure that I makeenough jars so that I can share
with her.
And I think it's reallyimportant that not only do you
get things seasonally, but youalso think about.
Traditions and how Throughoutthe year and what kinds of foods
you will actually eat.
And Jenny and I have an episodeI believe it's a full episode
(27:32):
about canning and preservingwhat you'll actually eat.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025 (27:35):
Right?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (27:35):
And that's something to really keep
in mind as you start buying inbulk.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (27:39):
Yes.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (27:40):
gonna use it?
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (27:41):
Amen.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (27:42):
to eat it?
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (27:43):
Yes.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (27:43):
not, don't waste your time, money,
and effort.
It's not worth it.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (27:48):
So good that you're saying that,
and I was thinking as you'retalking about.
About planning ahead andthinking, okay, what am I gonna
do all year long?
My husband and I just defrostedour chest freezer, which is such
an epic chore because you haveto put all the meat somewhere
that's gonna be frozen, and itwas such a good chore to look
(28:08):
what is at the bottom of thisfreezer or what is on the far
back shelf, the top little nookand cranny.
If you are getting serious aboutfood preservation this year and
thinking about saving money, youneed to take everything out and
clean out what is junk, get ridof what you're not eating and
not using, and really get ahandle on what do I have, store
(28:30):
all like with like store all therice together, have all the
flour together, have all thespices together so that you
aren't overbuying or buyingduplicates when you have
something available that isaging, that needs to be
consumed.
The chest freezers are hardbecause it is such a chore to
figure out what to do with thefrozen stuff.
But if you can do it, now springcleaning time, springtime, do it
(28:52):
now and then you can have asense of, okay, this is the
stuff I still have.
Oh, I found a bag of popsicles.
I bought, I don't even know whatyour, I bought these good pops,
like the kind of nice goodpopsicles and my kids were like,
yay, we have good pops.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (29:07):
My
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (29:07):
They just got stuck underneath all
the roasts on accident, yeah,now's a good time to take stock
of what you have, because ifyou're getting serious and
you're ramping up for thespringtime and summer, you gotta
take stock of what you have andget rid of what you don't need
to be keeping around.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (29:22):
Oh, that's such great advice.
I'm so glad you said thatbecause a lot of times we just I
feel like my my, whatever I.
My freezer is where things go todie.
Like I just put things in therethat I don't want to think
about.
But you're right, like things inthe bottom.
I'm just like, what is this?
I don't even know where I gotthis.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (29:41):
Yeah.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (29:42):
What was I thinking when I bought
this?
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_11 (29:44):
Oh, I'm a hunter's wife.
I
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (29:46):
great.
Thanks for sharing that.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1117 (29:47):
I won't even say on the internet
all the things I found in thebottom of the freezer as a
hunter's wife, I was like, whatanimal is this?
What am I supposed to do withthis random, see some feathers?
I dunno what your, the ambitionsincluded here, Ruben.
But yeah, it's a lot.
It is really good to cleanthings out.
That's the moral of the story.
It's really good to clean thingsout.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:08):
I love that.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (30:09):
it's very real.
It's very real.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:11):
love that.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_11 (30:12):
you have still have wedding cake?
Your wedding cake?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:15):
Okay.
No,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1117 (30:19):
I do,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:20):
do you.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1 (30:20):
yes.
Yeah, I have the top of mywedding cake,
anna_4_04-30-2025_12170 (30:24):
wedding cake in your freezer.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_11 (30:26):
and it is,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:27):
Oh, that's sweet.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1117 (30:29):
I think we've been married 13
years.
It's gonna be 14 this summer.
Why am I keeping that?
I couldn't make myself throw itout.
I couldn't.
I was like, we've just come thisfar.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:37):
Don't eat it.
Don't eat it.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_11 (30:39):
I'm not gonna eat it now, but I was
like, I'm not gonna have to justthrow it down the hill.
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (30:44):
W what are you gonna do with it,
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_1117 (30:46):
I dunno.
I dunno.
I'm really sentimental, Sally.
I have a very hard time doingthings out.
We also found a package of meatand my husband labeled it Gus's
first retrieve our bird dogsfirst retrieve.
And I was like, what are wegonna do with this?
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (31:03):
Aw.
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_ (31:03):
We're a bunch of snaps.
We're a bunch of SAPs.
That's terrible.
Ah.
Anyway, what,
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (31:09):
cute
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (31:10):
on that note, do as I say, not as I
don't keep things for forever.
So anyway, that is pantry
anna_4_04-30-2025_121709 (31:18):
your chest
jenny-gomes_4_04-30-2025_111 (31:19):
Do clean out.
We, I did throw out a ton ofstuff.
I did.
I really did.
I need to make a social medialike a good reel.
I've got in my mind of my twocanning jars or my canning lid
drawers that I really thoughtof.
Anna very hard when I wascleaning things out.
They're all sorted by size.
They look very organized,looking good.
(31:40):
So here's to planning ourpantries and saving money the
season and just kicking off abig summer of saving money and
food preservation.
That's our show.
We don't want you to miss anepisode, so please be sure to
subscribe.
If you found this episodehelpful and informative, please
give our show a rating andreview.
(32:02):
It only takes a few seconds andit really helps our show grow.
Follow us on social media atSmart Home Canning and at the
domestic wildflower.
Email your preserving questionsto Perfectly Preserved
podcast@gmail.com and we will doour best to answer your
questions on the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
Stay tuned for our next episodereleased every week.
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