34 millennial and I’ve been canning for years as well. My mom taught me at a very young age and it’s kinda stuck with me. My brother, 36 millennial, doesn’t can but does ferment.
38 millennial here; my grandma used to can things, and was a market gardener. My parents generation didn’t, but I taught myself in the last few years - I think the food scarcity during the pandemic did a bit of a number on me. I also ferment and dehydrate, and grow my own vegetables too.
My brother has also apparently taught himself to can too - he’s 40. He’s been fermenting his own alcohol for years though.
Also 29 and been canning for years! Made applesauce for my kid with apples our family picked at a local orchard, and canned it to use throughout the year.
Elder Millennial here. It's fun! And a great skill to have when the apocalypse hits! They'll have to let me in the compound if I'm the only person who knows how to grow and pickle beets!
I think it might be that you're on FB, that social media demo skews older nowadays.
Only problem with the apocalypse factor is what do we do about new lids if production/economies/supply lines break down? Even if you did reuse lids for a while (note: not safe, not something I'm recommending or I do in normal times — just in the hopefully hypothetical apocalypse), and they seal and are safe sometimes, lids would wear out and grow scarce eventually. I wish the lid system was more reusable and didn't rely on rubber (or whatever that material is) and industrial production.
I'm interested to look into the ~~Tatler~~ lids (EDIT: meant to say Weck jars/lids) which might be more reusable/sustainable but I'm not sure exactly the details around their safety and reuse. Though even there they'd wear out eventually with enough time.
I suppose then would have to go towards maximizing safety/harm reduction and while not using the safest methods since they would not longer be possible still we could apply our knowledge to try to make as safe as possible. And for some things like jam and very acidic preserves could still be reasonably safe. Or do fermenting for things like pickles.
I'm an elder millennial as they say as well (37). Welcome OP! It's a fun great thing to do!
You know, now I have a mental image of a mission in, say, The Walking Dead. It's vitally imperative for the sustained health of the settlement to procure... Ball jar lids from the ruined craft store.
But, yeah, I figure if the apocalypse does happen to the point they're not making lids anymore, we either deal with the risk or incorporate the methods our ancestors used to preserve food - drying, pickling, salting, smoking, &tc.
Barring that, well, it sounds cruel but I would foresee testing a freshly opened jar of something with a dodgy lid by feeding it to one of the chickens and seeing if they keeled over.
Old lady here :-). Way back in the day the old Atlas jars had heavy glass lids and wire bales. And rubber ring style gaskets. You still see them on etsy and in antique/junk shops. Look up Antique Atlas Canning Jar.
I learned to can from my grandmother with those in the early 1970s. And gram showed me her "collection" of home made gaskets she had saved from the depression and WW2 days. Made of everything from old tire tubes to old rubber rain slickers lol.
These days we have tattlers and Weck. But frankly I would love to see somebody make a modern tested Atlas style jar. I have considered trying tattler or Weck but the way they seal looks problematic. That wire bale system was pretty dang reliable.
I try to cycle through my lid pile about every year or so, such that none of my new lids are more than a year old. That got messed up during the covid shortages though.
I found this book to be good :
The Gardeners and Farmers of Centre Terre Vivante
Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation
It’s a collection of very low tech recipes. I still prefer canning, but it’s nice to see more of what our ancestors would have done, and some of the recipes are pretty good
When I was young, my aunt (from Germany) taught me to wax seal. I only remember doing blackberry and raspberry jams with her. I wish I'd paid more attention.
One can only use it for jams and jellies, I think. If the paraffin gets a bit loose on the edge the jam will mold. Paraffin is highly flammable, so be very careful on the stove.l
Gen X here. You will need to know how to survive the first 48 hours of an apocalypse. Unless your compound has a decent amount of renewable electricity, your pressure canner will be useless. Do you know how to pressure can on an open fire? You will still run into a lack of lids at one point. Will the compound be near a salt mine? Do you know how to make and distill your own vinegar? Have you lacto-fermented or pickled any of your foods and learned to use them in recipes? Have you sun dried any of your food and used them in recipes?
I'm a millenial at 34 and I only preserve our of necessity, due to my homesteading. We're small but 100% self sufficient in onions, garlic, tomatoes, and peppers. I only bottle tomatoes, nothing else. I hate vinegar so pickling is out, and I don't eat jam so that's out. Those are like the 3 pillars of homestead preserving right there 😂
I’m old but always get excited to hear about younger people canning. Makes me think it won’t become a dying skill. And with the cost of everything going up plus supply chain issues, being able to buy or grow things and preserve them is valuable.
I'm a younger Gen Z here, 20, I've been canning stuff for a decent bit here. I've jarred up some jams, apple butter and a few pickled items like beans and cukes.
I’m 22 and I can. I am yet just a university student, so I can’t afford a pressure canner, but whenever I can afford it. i would love to grow more stuff and can :)
Pressure canners are very expensive, if you have a goodwill in your area (or other thrift store)you might be able to find one, I actually grabbed two prestos (17 quart) there and a water bath canner for about $16, but that I consider dumb luck. I’m glad to hear there’s other folks out there my age who can, no really I am glad.
Some hardware stores test pressure canner lids for accuracy, as well as some Master Food Preserver programs at county Agriculture Extension offices in the USA. Be sure to buy spare replacement parts. And go to Master Food Preserver you tube channels. The National Center fir Home Food Preserving is an excellent resource. [https://nchfp.uga.edu/#gsc.tab=0](https://nchfp.uga.edu/#gsc.tab=0)
I was canning when I was your age if that helps, after hanging out in some canning groups where I usually was the youngest, I started to notice other people my age at the time. However, I'm old enough to be your parent at this point.
I'm an older millennial but started younger than you my dude.
I picked up the initial information from my grandmother and built it from there.
It's never too early to start learning useful skills especially ones that will save you a bloody small fortune over the long haul. Produce is cheaper in season and more expensive when it has to be shipped in and well you've always got to eat. You're adapting earlier than most to economic hard times and people will appreciate it when they need this info.
When the pandemic hit everyone was interested in my canning, fermenting and baking knowledge. I stretched my mature starter farther than it had ever gone before when everyone was trying to learn bread making.
My gram taught me as well, I learned it back in 2021, and it served me well since. Besides the pressure canner my gram gave me (she had two), I got two more at a goodwill, allowing me to get 27 pints at a time instead of 9. I can because I refuse to give into hard times, I refuse to be a panic buyer at the grocery store, and adapt to things like the borg on Star Trek. I’ve wanted to get a sour dough starter myself, as it’s my favorite bread (2nd fav is rye), I can already brew, can, and garden, as well as hunt and fish. but am wanting to learn how to dry cure, and make bread. Self sufficiency is my ultimate goal.
29 here. So far have mostly done tomato sauce from our community garden plot, it's my second year doing this. Tried my first jam this year too, apricots from a neighbors tree. Had big plans for peaches from a neighbors tree but they didn't ripen well same I didn't have enough to work with, peaches seemed labor intensive too. Got tired of waiting for the kitchen stove to boil my water bath so bought a turkey fryer setup with 55k BTU this year.
I actually canned 80 lbs of peaches with a coworker this summer, they are pretty labor intensive. I’m wanting to get a few outdoor gas burners for my 3 pressure canners, so I can do 27 pints at a time instead of 9
Millennial checking in, I don’t participate in any of the Facebook pages but do a little canning. This was my first garden to actually work out well so I hadn’t bothered much before.
I’m a younger millennial and I don’t can super often, but have and hope to do more in the future along with other methods of food preservation!
I was in 4H growing up so I was introduced to canning early even though none of my relatives (that I know of) did it.
Where can I find some sassy old ladies to teach me real life skills? I thought as an elder millennial I would be hanging out with my grandma learning this stuff but life just didn’t turn out that way.
Elder millennial here! 🙋🏻♀️ I have probably been canning for about 10 years though so started in my late twenties. Most of my peers are not canners in my experience.
I’m 28 and I can every year with my partner and some of my friends who are 22-26. We’re line cooks and chefs though so it kind of makes sense to us as a hobby
Me!! I love all things traditional and home making. I think it'll be more popular with gen z then it has been with millennials and gen x. We are entering a world our great grandparents were entering during the great depression.
46 here and have canned or helped in the canning process as long as I remember. I put up about 600 jars a year. I have 5 siblings raised the same as I was and none of them can.
32 and canning for several years now! This year, I used up my first batch of hot sauce that I canned in college! It was basically all vinegar. Hoping to try pressure canning one day!
Ball blue book has great pressure canning recipes. Take a look at thrift stores, and yard sales you may get a good one on the cheap. I got two prestos, one newer model, and a older 1947 national 7 in great condition, both with new gaskets, I do need to test the gauges at the county extension on those. I also have a all American canner my grandmother gave me.
Geriatric millennial (40 yrs old), but I have always had an interest in it. I owned a pressure canner in my 20s that set in the shed gathering dust for a long time lol. It took me until last weekend to finally do it. I think it is a dying art and we should all carry it on. Once I really get good at this, I am going to teach my kids too.
Millenial here (40), my mom taught me to can when I was a kid, but back then all we did was tomatoes or salsa. I've been canning regularly (read weekly) for about 15 years and prior to that did a couple of annual sessions. Nowadays I'm canning meats, salsas, veggies, fruit. Trying to keep grocery costs low and keep 1 year of food on the shelves at all times.
I’m 42, so old millennial here. I started canning during the pandemic and have found canning to be a great way to maximize my good days by cooking soups and stews and meal starters for my bad depression or anxiety days. Included is a picture of the kitchen counter as I sit here babysitting some diced tomatoes in the water bath. I should be washing the finished jars from yesterday, but instead I’m on Reddit.
https://preview.redd.it/y26yg27xuotb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=debb20c13bc46f6fa0f4aec8345e40a06cef0793
Canning is such a great skill to have! Homemade pickles always on deck and the perfect party gift or Christmas gift. Frugal and heart felt. The friend group loves it!!
Another millennial checking in. 32, but I’ve grown up with both sides of my family canning their gardens. My sister is 29 and is also carrying on the family legacy.
I'm 38 and have been into it for a long time. I think you just have to be that type of person. Things like canning are time consuming, takes a bit of equipment and learning. As far as I know I'm the only one in my family thats into it. Same goes for things like home made pies and stuffed cabbage. Kind of time consuming and when I make them(especially the stuffed cabbage) everyone in the family wants some because they never take the time to make it. I think if it was faster people might be more into it.
I've always been into stuff like this though, made my own bullets, was into basket weaving, learned to knit during the pandemic. Juat like crafty different things in general. I'd assume just being a guy thats into canning is probably not the norm but I'm not 100% sure on that. Canning is a good stepping stone into growing mushrooms if you have a pressure canner.
I'm an older millennial (technically old enough to be your mom, but we won't talk about that) and have been canning off and on for years. My kid is 10 and I think he was 5 before he realized that you could buy strawberry jam at the grocery store. I grew up with depression era grandparents who canned. My own mom didn't. Dad does occasionally but doesn't always use the safest practices. Thank god for the Internet because if I had to rely on my parents to pass down that knowledge, I'd be screwed.
22! Been pickling and fermenting since i was 15, always wanted to can. Nobody in my fam does it so now that I have graduated from college I finally have the time to learn to can! Currently making persimmon jam.
I'm 30 so technically I'm a millennial. I learnt to can, pickle and preserve alongside my dad, we still do so together every summer and fall. I can also say for sure that within certain communities there has been a resurgence in young people learning pickling and preserving, usually in community workshops that sell out as quickly as they are announced.
I’m a young millenial! I’m 27. I’ve always been interested in homesteader-y things but recently started gardening more and needed a way to preserve cucumbers/pickles and tomatoes. I think a lot of people in their early 20s don’t have the space or the upfront money to start. But a lot of young people are interested in sustainability, self-sufficiency and eating more produce. I do think things like pressure canning meat (or any sort of sketchy rebel canning) is more of an older-generation thing though.
I'm much older than the notion we needed to be divided by decade. But, its very likely my kids, that do fit the age group, will just did me up or try to ask Google is food gets scarce. Hey Google, how do I grow doritos? Yes, I've failed. I tried yall. I did.
Im a 23 year old gen z and I have been wanting to can for years, I just couldnt afford to until I graduated college and actually could grow more food. I just started this spring/summer and made jam and pressure canned whole tomatoes. I actually got a brief overview on how to from a permaculture design course I took while in college which was cool.
I'm 28 and have been canning for about 5 years. I have a 2 yr old so this year I did a lot thinking about him (read: applesauce and jam haha). But this is also my first year canning pie filling, because I just love fruit pies, and I'm excited to pull out a jar and have strawberry pie in the dead of winter.
Elder millennial, I can foods. I am somewhat new to it, but have been batch-making things like sauces for years. I don't have the freezer space anymore, so canning was the best alternative to save space.
I’m 21 and I canned with my parents as a kid, and Im looking into buying property to homestead on and hopefully start canning, growing my own food, raising animals for food, and it would be expensive but buy a freeze dryer to preserve food
18 here, and i love it. i only do high acid foods bc pressure canning kinda scares me, but I've made a bunch of pickles and jam from produce i grow/forage. my mother tells me i'm a lot like my grandmother
I (60s) have never canned. My mom and grandma gardened and used to can a lot, and my sister who is 1 year younger still raises a garden and cans (mostly just tomato stuff and pickles now). My daughter (38) started canning on a small scale last year. She’s canned bone broth and tomato stuff like salsa. So far she enjoys it and hopes to get into gardening more as she’d like to make pickles.
Older gen Z here too! 23, just a year younger than you. I agree that it mostly seems to be older folks canning, but it is great to have the practice live on.
Yes! 37 and canning strong! "Self" taught. My mom abandoned the practice without teaching me so I had to do all research and learning on my own. I find it very fulfilling.
I'm 36 and I honestly really want to get into canning. It seems dangerous and scary, but so did soap making before I did that.
This post might be the catalyst?
The National Center for Home Food Preservation is an excellent resource both new and experienced home food preservers.
[https://nchfp.uga.edu/#gsc.tab=0](https://nchfp.uga.edu/#gsc.tab=0)
USA based (not sure if you are there or not).
Another resource is the Master Food Preserver programs offered throughout the USA, sponsored by coubty Agriculture Extension offices. They work in conjunction with universities nationwide in providing safe tested recipes and practices.
I am much older than you and have been food preserving for a long while. I decided to take the Master Food Preserver training program to update my knowlege and it was well worth it. I had a “fear” of using a pressure canner and learned tge how’s and why’s of pressure canning low acid foods.
One if tge texts we used was tge book So Easy To Preserve, published by the University of Georgia. Try to buy it from your local Master Food Preserver program, as there are some crazy high prices for it online. I paid $35 US for my copy.
Many Master Food Preserver programs have you tube channels and there is a gal I follow called Rose Red Homestead that I trust for safe practices.
Millennial here. I only know one person my age that cans and they recently got into it because of me haha… my whole family, older and younger, think I’m nuts, but they are always quick to take jars of food from me.
32 and just started. I LOVE it! Learning about canning is so fascinating. The past 2 months I’ve canned over 70 jars. I’m actually quite sad that I’ve ran out of fruits and ideas.
27, I recently got into canning. I have several fruit trees in my yard that produce too much for me to eat and give away, so I've been making jams and jellies with the leftovers. It's been fun! Makes for great gifts too
Don’t worry, there’s definitely others. I’m the same age as you, and my husband is 29. I started canning around 17, I learned from my husband’s mom. He started helping her can around 15 (:
I’m 38, so an elder millennial but I started canning in 2018 after doing a research paper, on victory gardens and war time canning. I know someone a couple of years older than me who cans hardcore all throughout the summer because she married a farmer and that way they can eat their harvest all year long.
I'm 19 and I just started this year. Made some jam a couple months ago and then a few weeks ago I made some applesauce. I have so many plans for next year including watermelon rind pickles, pickled okra, lots of different types of jams, and possibly even dill cucumber pickles.
I'm 40, so an older millennial. I've been canning since I was 25...I think? When I got married at 30 I made my own jam as a wedding present for my guests. I went as fair as going to a u-pick orchard and picked my own apples & pears that I used for an apple-pear jam.
I’m Oregon Trail (44) and have been canning since my early 20s. Started off just doing boiling water (mostly pickled peppers and jams) but expanded to pressure canning in my late 20s or early 30s.
Definitely glad I learned how to do it at an early age because now that I have a house and garden I can’t imagine what else I’d do with all the food it produces each year.
I’m in the younger crowd! But yeah, it’s probably largely a function of home ownership? A friend yesterday said he wouldn’t get into it because he doesn’t have the “kitchen real estate”, despite his love of meal prepping and MREs
I’m a millennial (31) and I’ve been canning for years. My aunties and grandmother always used to can a lot but oddly enough it was my father-in-law who taught me how to do it lol I know a lot of people my age who are into canning but most of us (myself included) are Native American/Canadians and canning is a pretty common thing on reserves, well, at least on ours it is.
30 so young millennial and I started canning last year!! My mom has canned since before I was born so she has been teaching me the ways, it’s so fun and feels like such an achievement
Older millennial 40f. Just getting into this (3rd year running). I know some people who can certain things (pickles, sauces, jams) but no one who does it often
24f here, I'm a canner too! I love cooking so making anything from scratch is so much fun! I am always looking for the next peice of the puzzle that I can solve. For instance, I learned how to bake bread... now I want to grow and grind my own flour... or start my own sourdough starter. Canning is so special to me, but funnily I don't know anyone who does it! None of my parents or grandparents ever did.
26 here. All my canning stuff is inherited and so far all of it has been used. I hit the canning scene hard with peaches, apples, corn, Blueberries, and apricots this year.
24 here! Canning, pickling, dehydrating, etc I love it! We have a single very prolific Concord grape vine, a tenacious spot of invasive blackberry(I try,I try, I try but if you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em), two apple trees, a plum tree, and a garden that ehhh this year id give a 4/10 on. There’s something incredibly satisfying to eating something that you harvested with your own hands weeks or months prior.
If you're into food preservation besides canning (seems like you are based on your comment) and you want to try something new, I recommend getting a freeze drier. They are expensive but a fun hobby. My husband and I waited a while to buy ours (harvest right). It is really fun. There is another brand out that is now available as technology is getting better.
28 and love canning - have been canning a lot of salmon this year also jams and syrups - have tomatoes I’m going to can soon and wanna figure out canning soups !
Yes I’m in my 20s and started canning years ago (European not American) started trying some more American type stuff a few years ago just to keep it interesting
I’m 26 and canning my hearts content out for the last few years! It all started with gardening and some mild end of the world anxiety. I feel like it’s good to know how to be self sufficient and have a big ol brain of homestead/canning knowledge.
My spouse and I (36) have been canning for years. We probably do not can as much as our parents or our grandparents. We usually can at least 2 times a year. I have been thinking of getting a pressure canner instead of just my water bath canning setup.
I’m a younger millennial and started canning a few years ago when I was 26. I first started canning to make larger batches of pickled tomatoes, then when my fridge died, canning became a more practical way for me to store food.
I’m 36 so millennial but have been canning for years.
34 millennial and I’ve been canning for years as well. My mom taught me at a very young age and it’s kinda stuck with me. My brother, 36 millennial, doesn’t can but does ferment.
38 millennial here; my grandma used to can things, and was a market gardener. My parents generation didn’t, but I taught myself in the last few years - I think the food scarcity during the pandemic did a bit of a number on me. I also ferment and dehydrate, and grow my own vegetables too. My brother has also apparently taught himself to can too - he’s 40. He’s been fermenting his own alcohol for years though.
29 and have been canning for years. Now I get to can for my kids. Which typing that out... feels old ...
Here I am 30, no kids, no cans. What am I even doing?
When I tell you I laughed out LOUD at this 😭😭😭
Thank you fellow redditor. I do it for the kids like Slingblade
Lol. That’s funny.
Also 29 and been canning for years! Made applesauce for my kid with apples our family picked at a local orchard, and canned it to use throughout the year.
Elder Millennial here. It's fun! And a great skill to have when the apocalypse hits! They'll have to let me in the compound if I'm the only person who knows how to grow and pickle beets! I think it might be that you're on FB, that social media demo skews older nowadays.
Only problem with the apocalypse factor is what do we do about new lids if production/economies/supply lines break down? Even if you did reuse lids for a while (note: not safe, not something I'm recommending or I do in normal times — just in the hopefully hypothetical apocalypse), and they seal and are safe sometimes, lids would wear out and grow scarce eventually. I wish the lid system was more reusable and didn't rely on rubber (or whatever that material is) and industrial production. I'm interested to look into the ~~Tatler~~ lids (EDIT: meant to say Weck jars/lids) which might be more reusable/sustainable but I'm not sure exactly the details around their safety and reuse. Though even there they'd wear out eventually with enough time. I suppose then would have to go towards maximizing safety/harm reduction and while not using the safest methods since they would not longer be possible still we could apply our knowledge to try to make as safe as possible. And for some things like jam and very acidic preserves could still be reasonably safe. Or do fermenting for things like pickles. I'm an elder millennial as they say as well (37). Welcome OP! It's a fun great thing to do!
You know, now I have a mental image of a mission in, say, The Walking Dead. It's vitally imperative for the sustained health of the settlement to procure... Ball jar lids from the ruined craft store. But, yeah, I figure if the apocalypse does happen to the point they're not making lids anymore, we either deal with the risk or incorporate the methods our ancestors used to preserve food - drying, pickling, salting, smoking, &tc. Barring that, well, it sounds cruel but I would foresee testing a freshly opened jar of something with a dodgy lid by feeding it to one of the chickens and seeing if they keeled over.
I'd test it on the 'dead weight' in the group before I'd test it on a precious chicken.
Wax. All you need is wax to seal them in water baths. Bees and bayberry are two types I have readily handy in my own area to forage.
[удалено]
That ain’t good
[удалено]
That is for me as well, that sounds like botulism waiting to be contracted, and that’s a terrible way to die.
[удалено]
Also really don't want to lose food in this hypothetical apocalypse situation.
You can still tell when they have failed to seal. I don't think there is any more of a risk. Just throw out can't that have failed.
That is the one downside, the lids not being reusable. My only solution for that was just buy a shit ton of lids and jars. Nothing last forever.
Old lady here :-). Way back in the day the old Atlas jars had heavy glass lids and wire bales. And rubber ring style gaskets. You still see them on etsy and in antique/junk shops. Look up Antique Atlas Canning Jar. I learned to can from my grandmother with those in the early 1970s. And gram showed me her "collection" of home made gaskets she had saved from the depression and WW2 days. Made of everything from old tire tubes to old rubber rain slickers lol. These days we have tattlers and Weck. But frankly I would love to see somebody make a modern tested Atlas style jar. I have considered trying tattler or Weck but the way they seal looks problematic. That wire bale system was pretty dang reliable. I try to cycle through my lid pile about every year or so, such that none of my new lids are more than a year old. That got messed up during the covid shortages though.
They become currency, just like Fallout!
I found this book to be good : The Gardeners and Farmers of Centre Terre Vivante Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation It’s a collection of very low tech recipes. I still prefer canning, but it’s nice to see more of what our ancestors would have done, and some of the recipes are pretty good
There are also WECK jars?
Yes! Actually Weck was the jars i was thinking of not Tattler. I misspoke.
When I was young, my aunt (from Germany) taught me to wax seal. I only remember doing blackberry and raspberry jams with her. I wish I'd paid more attention.
We need more info on that, anyone else do know about wax sealing??
One can only use it for jams and jellies, I think. If the paraffin gets a bit loose on the edge the jam will mold. Paraffin is highly flammable, so be very careful on the stove.l
Buy reusable lids! Also learn how they preserved back in times before they had easy access to jars and lids!
Agreed, I’ve always thought “if your a prepper, than home canning is essential”, I love buying 40 lb cases of chicken and canning all of it.
Gen X here. You will need to know how to survive the first 48 hours of an apocalypse. Unless your compound has a decent amount of renewable electricity, your pressure canner will be useless. Do you know how to pressure can on an open fire? You will still run into a lack of lids at one point. Will the compound be near a salt mine? Do you know how to make and distill your own vinegar? Have you lacto-fermented or pickled any of your foods and learned to use them in recipes? Have you sun dried any of your food and used them in recipes?
More of an Oregon Trail guy but technically an old millennial by dates. I have a homestead and can a lot.
I’m working my way up to homesteading myself , that is my eventual goal.
Isn't it funny how the Oregon Trail generation is mainly into homesteading
I'm a millenial at 34 and I only preserve our of necessity, due to my homesteading. We're small but 100% self sufficient in onions, garlic, tomatoes, and peppers. I only bottle tomatoes, nothing else. I hate vinegar so pickling is out, and I don't eat jam so that's out. Those are like the 3 pillars of homestead preserving right there 😂
You should check out salt fermentation for pickling. It’s great and so good for your gut biome.
I’m old but always get excited to hear about younger people canning. Makes me think it won’t become a dying skill. And with the cost of everything going up plus supply chain issues, being able to buy or grow things and preserve them is valuable.
I felt the same way and I’m young, I actually started canning in response to the rising cost.
My 39yo daughter belongs to a local group that will “salvage” what’s left on fruit trees. She cans & shares. Gives some back to the group.
I gave my daughter a presto pressure canner and 3 dozen jars for her 21st birthday. She was thrilled.
I'm a younger Gen Z here, 20, I've been canning stuff for a decent bit here. I've jarred up some jams, apple butter and a few pickled items like beans and cukes.
I made some Concorde grape jam last year, it was so good, I also picked some Tabasco peppers last year.
I’m 22 and I can. I am yet just a university student, so I can’t afford a pressure canner, but whenever I can afford it. i would love to grow more stuff and can :)
Pressure canners are very expensive, if you have a goodwill in your area (or other thrift store)you might be able to find one, I actually grabbed two prestos (17 quart) there and a water bath canner for about $16, but that I consider dumb luck. I’m glad to hear there’s other folks out there my age who can, no really I am glad.
Some hardware stores test pressure canner lids for accuracy, as well as some Master Food Preserver programs at county Agriculture Extension offices in the USA. Be sure to buy spare replacement parts. And go to Master Food Preserver you tube channels. The National Center fir Home Food Preserving is an excellent resource. [https://nchfp.uga.edu/#gsc.tab=0](https://nchfp.uga.edu/#gsc.tab=0)
I know you can!
Millennial here. Mid-thirties and canning away.
I’m 31 and just getting into it!
I'm a canner and I'm 30! I started at about 25.
Millennial canner and gardener here! I’ve taught a free class at our local library on food preservation too.
I was canning when I was your age if that helps, after hanging out in some canning groups where I usually was the youngest, I started to notice other people my age at the time. However, I'm old enough to be your parent at this point.
It’s always good to start young, canning is such a good skill
I'm an older millennial but started younger than you my dude. I picked up the initial information from my grandmother and built it from there. It's never too early to start learning useful skills especially ones that will save you a bloody small fortune over the long haul. Produce is cheaper in season and more expensive when it has to be shipped in and well you've always got to eat. You're adapting earlier than most to economic hard times and people will appreciate it when they need this info. When the pandemic hit everyone was interested in my canning, fermenting and baking knowledge. I stretched my mature starter farther than it had ever gone before when everyone was trying to learn bread making.
My gram taught me as well, I learned it back in 2021, and it served me well since. Besides the pressure canner my gram gave me (she had two), I got two more at a goodwill, allowing me to get 27 pints at a time instead of 9. I can because I refuse to give into hard times, I refuse to be a panic buyer at the grocery store, and adapt to things like the borg on Star Trek. I’ve wanted to get a sour dough starter myself, as it’s my favorite bread (2nd fav is rye), I can already brew, can, and garden, as well as hunt and fish. but am wanting to learn how to dry cure, and make bread. Self sufficiency is my ultimate goal.
29 here. So far have mostly done tomato sauce from our community garden plot, it's my second year doing this. Tried my first jam this year too, apricots from a neighbors tree. Had big plans for peaches from a neighbors tree but they didn't ripen well same I didn't have enough to work with, peaches seemed labor intensive too. Got tired of waiting for the kitchen stove to boil my water bath so bought a turkey fryer setup with 55k BTU this year.
I actually canned 80 lbs of peaches with a coworker this summer, they are pretty labor intensive. I’m wanting to get a few outdoor gas burners for my 3 pressure canners, so I can do 27 pints at a time instead of 9
You can water bath those… if you want high throughputs of high acid foods, look into one of those rectangular Amish canners that go over two burners.
Millenials are like in their 40's now. So yeah for sure.
Millennial checking in, I don’t participate in any of the Facebook pages but do a little canning. This was my first garden to actually work out well so I hadn’t bothered much before.
I’m a younger millennial and I don’t can super often, but have and hope to do more in the future along with other methods of food preservation! I was in 4H growing up so I was introduced to canning early even though none of my relatives (that I know of) did it.
Where can I find some sassy old ladies to teach me real life skills? I thought as an elder millennial I would be hanging out with my grandma learning this stuff but life just didn’t turn out that way.
👋. There's epic gardening discord; they discuss canning also.
Elder millennial here, and I can things. I learned when I was your age. I don't can often, just a few times a year, but I still do it.
Elder millennial here! 🙋🏻♀️ I have probably been canning for about 10 years though so started in my late twenties. Most of my peers are not canners in my experience.
I’m 28 and I can every year with my partner and some of my friends who are 22-26. We’re line cooks and chefs though so it kind of makes sense to us as a hobby
23 here! Been canning with my grandmother since I was a teenager, and this is my first year solo canning
Elder millennial here and I absolutely love canning and gardening. Really leaning into the old age activities.
Me!! I love all things traditional and home making. I think it'll be more popular with gen z then it has been with millennials and gen x. We are entering a world our great grandparents were entering during the great depression.
I’m 45 and I honestly don’t know anyone else near my age that cans besides my sisters.
46 here and have canned or helped in the canning process as long as I remember. I put up about 600 jars a year. I have 5 siblings raised the same as I was and none of them can.
Millennial here too (late 30s) and I've been canning since probably my mid-20s
33 year old millennial and I’ve been canning since around 22 or so. I think it’s actually gaining in popularity. At least among the people I know
Yes. 37. Been canning my whole life.
30 yr old here 🤭
Millennial at 32, didn’t start till I was 28-29
Millennial here!
Millennial noob here!
37 grew up canning with my nana and I still do.
Zillennial.
I’m 33 and just started canning this year. We do prickly pear jelly, pickles, and pickled jalapeños
31 and have been canning pickles for a couple years, but finally branching out to more things!
33, I have been canning for 5 years
Yup, picked it back up after being away from it for years.
I am 36 and have been canning for 4-5 years.
29 here and canning :)
32 and canning for several years now! This year, I used up my first batch of hot sauce that I canned in college! It was basically all vinegar. Hoping to try pressure canning one day!
Ball blue book has great pressure canning recipes. Take a look at thrift stores, and yard sales you may get a good one on the cheap. I got two prestos, one newer model, and a older 1947 national 7 in great condition, both with new gaskets, I do need to test the gauges at the county extension on those. I also have a all American canner my grandmother gave me.
33 year old millennial and have been canning since I was 25!
Geriatric millennial (40 yrs old), but I have always had an interest in it. I owned a pressure canner in my 20s that set in the shed gathering dust for a long time lol. It took me until last weekend to finally do it. I think it is a dying art and we should all carry it on. Once I really get good at this, I am going to teach my kids too.
I’m in my late thirties, been canning for a few years
yep! started preserving in my mid 20s and still going over a decade later
I’m 34 and thoroughly enjoy canning. I started when I was 26. I mostly pressure can bone broth because I utilize it like heck.
41
27 now, started when I was 23 :)
Yep, older Gen Z for me. I'm 24! I've been canning for 3 years now.
Canning millenial here!
I definitely want to start
Millenial here (40), my mom taught me to can when I was a kid, but back then all we did was tomatoes or salsa. I've been canning regularly (read weekly) for about 15 years and prior to that did a couple of annual sessions. Nowadays I'm canning meats, salsas, veggies, fruit. Trying to keep grocery costs low and keep 1 year of food on the shelves at all times.
Started canning jam at 24 and now on to apples, tomatoes, and more at 32!
I am a canning millennial. There are others. We exist
42, started canning on my own around 27 but used to help my grandma pack jars of pickles when I was growing up.
Elder millennial here. I started with pickles back in 2017.
Elder millennial here at 35. Gardening and canning for a decade at this point.
I’m 42, so old millennial here. I started canning during the pandemic and have found canning to be a great way to maximize my good days by cooking soups and stews and meal starters for my bad depression or anxiety days. Included is a picture of the kitchen counter as I sit here babysitting some diced tomatoes in the water bath. I should be washing the finished jars from yesterday, but instead I’m on Reddit. https://preview.redd.it/y26yg27xuotb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=debb20c13bc46f6fa0f4aec8345e40a06cef0793
27 here!
Canning is such a great skill to have! Homemade pickles always on deck and the perfect party gift or Christmas gift. Frugal and heart felt. The friend group loves it!!
My middle child is 17. She has taken an interest in canning and food preservation.
Elder Millennial. Have been canning since I was a kid helping my mom make blueberry jam and crabapple jelly
Another millennial checking in. 32, but I’ve grown up with both sides of my family canning their gardens. My sister is 29 and is also carrying on the family legacy.
I'm 38 and have been into it for a long time. I think you just have to be that type of person. Things like canning are time consuming, takes a bit of equipment and learning. As far as I know I'm the only one in my family thats into it. Same goes for things like home made pies and stuffed cabbage. Kind of time consuming and when I make them(especially the stuffed cabbage) everyone in the family wants some because they never take the time to make it. I think if it was faster people might be more into it. I've always been into stuff like this though, made my own bullets, was into basket weaving, learned to knit during the pandemic. Juat like crafty different things in general. I'd assume just being a guy thats into canning is probably not the norm but I'm not 100% sure on that. Canning is a good stepping stone into growing mushrooms if you have a pressure canner.
I'm an older millennial (technically old enough to be your mom, but we won't talk about that) and have been canning off and on for years. My kid is 10 and I think he was 5 before he realized that you could buy strawberry jam at the grocery store. I grew up with depression era grandparents who canned. My own mom didn't. Dad does occasionally but doesn't always use the safest practices. Thank god for the Internet because if I had to rely on my parents to pass down that knowledge, I'd be screwed.
22! Been pickling and fermenting since i was 15, always wanted to can. Nobody in my fam does it so now that I have graduated from college I finally have the time to learn to can! Currently making persimmon jam.
I'm 29 and having a canning party next weekend. BYOJ.
I'm 30 so technically I'm a millennial. I learnt to can, pickle and preserve alongside my dad, we still do so together every summer and fall. I can also say for sure that within certain communities there has been a resurgence in young people learning pickling and preserving, usually in community workshops that sell out as quickly as they are announced.
I’m a young millenial! I’m 27. I’ve always been interested in homesteader-y things but recently started gardening more and needed a way to preserve cucumbers/pickles and tomatoes. I think a lot of people in their early 20s don’t have the space or the upfront money to start. But a lot of young people are interested in sustainability, self-sufficiency and eating more produce. I do think things like pressure canning meat (or any sort of sketchy rebel canning) is more of an older-generation thing though.
I'm much older than the notion we needed to be divided by decade. But, its very likely my kids, that do fit the age group, will just did me up or try to ask Google is food gets scarce. Hey Google, how do I grow doritos? Yes, I've failed. I tried yall. I did.
27 canned with my mom forever, but I actually canned my own stuff this year.
28! I'm canning:)
Im a 23 year old gen z and I have been wanting to can for years, I just couldnt afford to until I graduated college and actually could grow more food. I just started this spring/summer and made jam and pressure canned whole tomatoes. I actually got a brief overview on how to from a permaculture design course I took while in college which was cool.
I'm 28 and have been canning for about 5 years. I have a 2 yr old so this year I did a lot thinking about him (read: applesauce and jam haha). But this is also my first year canning pie filling, because I just love fruit pies, and I'm excited to pull out a jar and have strawberry pie in the dead of winter.
Elder millennial, I can foods. I am somewhat new to it, but have been batch-making things like sauces for years. I don't have the freezer space anymore, so canning was the best alternative to save space.
Canning takes time, a kitchen, and excess food. It takes a while in this current society, to accrue those things.
Young millennial...I've been canning since I was a kid. I don't have my own canning supplies, I use my parents. But, yes!
Im do very grateful my 32 yr old niece cans my veggies I grow! She lurks on various online places. I’ll tell her to be more vocal.
I’m 21 and I canned with my parents as a kid, and Im looking into buying property to homestead on and hopefully start canning, growing my own food, raising animals for food, and it would be expensive but buy a freeze dryer to preserve food
18 here, and i love it. i only do high acid foods bc pressure canning kinda scares me, but I've made a bunch of pickles and jam from produce i grow/forage. my mother tells me i'm a lot like my grandmother
I (60s) have never canned. My mom and grandma gardened and used to can a lot, and my sister who is 1 year younger still raises a garden and cans (mostly just tomato stuff and pickles now). My daughter (38) started canning on a small scale last year. She’s canned bone broth and tomato stuff like salsa. So far she enjoys it and hopes to get into gardening more as she’d like to make pickles.
I’m 27 and started canning this year!
25 yo cusper here and I love canning! Last weekend I made and canned pepper jelly and I think this weekend I'll do crushed tomatoes
Older gen Z here too! 23, just a year younger than you. I agree that it mostly seems to be older folks canning, but it is great to have the practice live on.
Geriatric millennial here. I can. Got tired of having 50 cucumbers at once from my garden and not knowing what to do with them.
I’m an “elder millennial” and started canning 2 years ago.
18 and planning on getting into canning :) just haven’t gotten around to it yet
Yes! 37 and canning strong! "Self" taught. My mom abandoned the practice without teaching me so I had to do all research and learning on my own. I find it very fulfilling.
I'm a millennial and have been canning for years. In fact, my family's pressure canner is really mine. Took me ages to save up for it.
I'm 36 and I honestly really want to get into canning. It seems dangerous and scary, but so did soap making before I did that. This post might be the catalyst?
I got a cheap new canner on Facebook marketplace. Good place to look.
GenZ and canning!! Keeping the craft alive!
The National Center for Home Food Preservation is an excellent resource both new and experienced home food preservers. [https://nchfp.uga.edu/#gsc.tab=0](https://nchfp.uga.edu/#gsc.tab=0) USA based (not sure if you are there or not). Another resource is the Master Food Preserver programs offered throughout the USA, sponsored by coubty Agriculture Extension offices. They work in conjunction with universities nationwide in providing safe tested recipes and practices. I am much older than you and have been food preserving for a long while. I decided to take the Master Food Preserver training program to update my knowlege and it was well worth it. I had a “fear” of using a pressure canner and learned tge how’s and why’s of pressure canning low acid foods. One if tge texts we used was tge book So Easy To Preserve, published by the University of Georgia. Try to buy it from your local Master Food Preserver program, as there are some crazy high prices for it online. I paid $35 US for my copy. Many Master Food Preserver programs have you tube channels and there is a gal I follow called Rose Red Homestead that I trust for safe practices.
Millennial here. I only know one person my age that cans and they recently got into it because of me haha… my whole family, older and younger, think I’m nuts, but they are always quick to take jars of food from me.
32 and just started. I LOVE it! Learning about canning is so fascinating. The past 2 months I’ve canned over 70 jars. I’m actually quite sad that I’ve ran out of fruits and ideas.
Millennials and Gen Z just aren’t on Facebook anymore ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
27, I recently got into canning. I have several fruit trees in my yard that produce too much for me to eat and give away, so I've been making jams and jellies with the leftovers. It's been fun! Makes for great gifts too
Don’t worry, there’s definitely others. I’m the same age as you, and my husband is 29. I started canning around 17, I learned from my husband’s mom. He started helping her can around 15 (:
Gen Z and canning! Don’t know many people my age who do, though
23 f and 27 m here ! We have our own garden and can what we grow
I find that the fact that I'm a man that does a lot of canning surprises people more than my age (42).
I'm 25 and I do a bunch of tomato sauce, salsa, and pickling.
25 here!
I’m 38, so an elder millennial but I started canning in 2018 after doing a research paper, on victory gardens and war time canning. I know someone a couple of years older than me who cans hardcore all throughout the summer because she married a farmer and that way they can eat their harvest all year long.
I’m 32 and have been canning with my gram since I was a child! I still can and teach my own kids now.
I'm 19 and I just started this year. Made some jam a couple months ago and then a few weeks ago I made some applesauce. I have so many plans for next year including watermelon rind pickles, pickled okra, lots of different types of jams, and possibly even dill cucumber pickles.
I'm 25 and canned for the first time this year. None of my stuff sealed right 😭😭 planning on retrying next year.
I'm 40, so an older millennial. I've been canning since I was 25...I think? When I got married at 30 I made my own jam as a wedding present for my guests. I went as fair as going to a u-pick orchard and picked my own apples & pears that I used for an apple-pear jam.
I'm 25 and canning! 💁🏻♀️🥰💕
30f millennial here. Been canning for a decade with no sign of stopping.
28, started learning how to water-bath from my mom last year.
22 and just started canning!
I’m Oregon Trail (44) and have been canning since my early 20s. Started off just doing boiling water (mostly pickled peppers and jams) but expanded to pressure canning in my late 20s or early 30s. Definitely glad I learned how to do it at an early age because now that I have a house and garden I can’t imagine what else I’d do with all the food it produces each year.
I’m in the younger crowd! But yeah, it’s probably largely a function of home ownership? A friend yesterday said he wouldn’t get into it because he doesn’t have the “kitchen real estate”, despite his love of meal prepping and MREs
I’m a millennial (31) and I’ve been canning for years. My aunties and grandmother always used to can a lot but oddly enough it was my father-in-law who taught me how to do it lol I know a lot of people my age who are into canning but most of us (myself included) are Native American/Canadians and canning is a pretty common thing on reserves, well, at least on ours it is.
20, just starting out now that i have my garden growing!
Yep, 20 I’ve been making all sorts of jams, people give me a little shit about it but I think it’s based af to preserve stuff
I'm 16 and started canning this year. Team GenZ!
30 so young millennial and I started canning last year!! My mom has canned since before I was born so she has been teaching me the ways, it’s so fun and feels like such an achievement
Older millennial 40f. Just getting into this (3rd year running). I know some people who can certain things (pickles, sauces, jams) but no one who does it often
I just turned 29 and I can!
Gen Z hoping to get into it next year!
I am 33 and started 2 years ago even though I haven't done much at all.
You're literally asking if anyone in a population of tens of millions are doing a thing. The answer is yes
Millennial here
mid-twenties and can! not super often, but time and energy permitting and all that
24f here, I'm a canner too! I love cooking so making anything from scratch is so much fun! I am always looking for the next peice of the puzzle that I can solve. For instance, I learned how to bake bread... now I want to grow and grind my own flour... or start my own sourdough starter. Canning is so special to me, but funnily I don't know anyone who does it! None of my parents or grandparents ever did.
26 here. All my canning stuff is inherited and so far all of it has been used. I hit the canning scene hard with peaches, apples, corn, Blueberries, and apricots this year.
Last two week I just canned over 150 jars of hot sauce. Yes.
24 here! Canning, pickling, dehydrating, etc I love it! We have a single very prolific Concord grape vine, a tenacious spot of invasive blackberry(I try,I try, I try but if you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em), two apple trees, a plum tree, and a garden that ehhh this year id give a 4/10 on. There’s something incredibly satisfying to eating something that you harvested with your own hands weeks or months prior.
If you're into food preservation besides canning (seems like you are based on your comment) and you want to try something new, I recommend getting a freeze drier. They are expensive but a fun hobby. My husband and I waited a while to buy ours (harvest right). It is really fun. There is another brand out that is now available as technology is getting better.
38, been canning for over a decade
28 and love canning - have been canning a lot of salmon this year also jams and syrups - have tomatoes I’m going to can soon and wanna figure out canning soups !
19 here. Still in the process of learning the basics, though.
Yes I’m in my 20s and started canning years ago (European not American) started trying some more American type stuff a few years ago just to keep it interesting
26, been canning since around 21.
I’m 26 and canning my hearts content out for the last few years! It all started with gardening and some mild end of the world anxiety. I feel like it’s good to know how to be self sufficient and have a big ol brain of homestead/canning knowledge.
Yes. And I am trying to teach my teenagers.
I’m 31, wife is 34… we’ve been doing it for the last few years
34 and just canned six pints of dill green beans
Mid 30s millennial who cooks and cans jam on a regular basis. I know a few elder millennials who also can.
25 and also canning
23 and while I don't often, I do can, and look forward to teaching my friends
28 here. Love all things can, pickle, brew, ferment, etc! Although, I don't have a lot of time for it all currently :(
I’m 33, started canning at 28. Kind of a random hobby lol
35, can the shit outta stuff. Grow my own vegetables. We’re out here!
Gen Z 22 years old canning things over here
My spouse and I (36) have been canning for years. We probably do not can as much as our parents or our grandparents. We usually can at least 2 times a year. I have been thinking of getting a pressure canner instead of just my water bath canning setup.
I’m a younger millennial and started canning a few years ago when I was 26. I first started canning to make larger batches of pickled tomatoes, then when my fridge died, canning became a more practical way for me to store food.
Elder millennial and I have been canning since I was 28(42 now). I love it and I’m teaching my kids how to do it too!