Your Family Can Save Money By Preserving Food

Preserving food will save money for you and your family in many ways.  In our modern world where fresh produce seems to spoil quickly find out how to save money using food preservation techniques. 

We have all been guilty of wasting food and throwing unused produce into the garbage.  The wilted fruits and veggies and forgotten leftovers are signs of our inaction and should be seen as wasted opportunities.  

However, have you ever stopped to consider the money that you are throwing away with all this food?  Instead of buying and then not using your produce, think of all the useful products going to landfill and money wasted each day. Then, add that over a full year and you can see that you can save money with food preservation.   

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year. Looking at those figures means that one third of the food produced for our consumption ends in landfill.  

The average US household wastes around 32% of its food.  This equates to $1886 per household and easily shows how preserving food will save money.

From what we have shown you already, it is easy to see that there are many benefits to preserving excess food.  Not only can you help the planet by reducing garbage, you will be healthier and save money with food preservation.

Preserving Food To Save Money And Have Fun

There are many helpful ways to make preserving food simple and fun for the whole family.  We show you how easy it is to save money with food preservation.

1.  Reduce your purchasing cost and buy goods in bulk.  Not only do you get large quantities at wholesale prices you have lovely fresh produce to eat now and lots for your preserving.

Check with your local or farmers markets to get high quality produce at the best prices.

2.  Shop smarter by buying seasonal produce when it’s in season and prices are low. If you can have bulk lots with lots to spare then preserving food will save money. 

Think especially of fruits in syrup or juice that if processed properly can be enjoyed all year round.  You can avoid wasting money on buying the same product at higher prices during the rest of the year.

3.  Reduce your weekly or monthly grocery bill as you will now use any surplus food you buy.  Preserving food combined with a systematic meal-planning system will ensure that you never overshoot your budget again.

Add these all up, and in the long run you will save money with food preservation and not be wasting food.

Preserving food will save money and enable you to enjoy a healthy and preservative-free lifestyle.  If you wish to really get into it try and grow your own fruits and vegetables – it really is easy.  And best of all, you will always have reserves of food to tide you through emergencies or economic hardships.

Save Money With These Food Preservation Techniques

Preserving food will slow down the process of spoilage by inhibiting microbial activity and chemical reactions in the food. Use these simple ways to preserve excess produce in your daily living.

The heat helps to destroy microorganisms, while vacuum sealing preserves the contents until the seal is opened.

You can preserve most of your vegetables, fruits, meats, and seafood either by water bath canning or pressure-canning them.  One of the simplest processes to use, this is an easy method of preserving food and will save you money. 

All you need are jars and seals, canning tools and a rack, a large stockpot or a specialized pressure-canner.

Read our Best Canning Equipment Reviews.

Drying/ Dehydrating

Dehydrating preserves food by drawing out its moisture and creating an environment unsuitable for microbial growth.  

Dry fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood using the sun, hot air, or your oven.  

To best save money with this food preservation method invest in an electric dehydrator for your home.

Pickling

In pickling, food is soaked in solutions of salt, brine, alcohol or vinegar. The solutions being highly acidic, draw water out of the food through a process of osmosis.  

Extend shelf-life, enhance flavor and save money with food preservation and pickling.

Freezing and Vacuum Sealing

Freezing is a preserving technique used by every household in the modern world.  Our refrigerators and freezers are jam-packed with produce but even then we see food spoiling with freezer burn.

Inadequate packaging of items causes water crystals to form within the packets.  When they come out of the freezer and dehydrate this results in freezer burn.

Vacuum sealing your produce before storing in freezers will help prevent freezer burn. 

This method of preserving food will save money as it makes food last 5 times longer than ordinary plastic containers.  Vacuum sealing is also highly effective as it retains the flavor, texture and nutritional value of food.

Preserving Food Will Save Money When You Know Mature And Ripe

• Pickle, can, or make jams with mature/under-ripe produce.
• Dry, freeze vacuum seal, or eat any ripe fresh foods.
• Ferment any overripe foods to avoid wastage.

Conclusion

Most of the techniques for preserving food will save money, are simple and do not require specialized equipment.  However, it is important to note that some may. 

That is not to say that you need to spend a lot of money.  You have a wide variety of appliances to choose from which we cover in our review pages. 

Select one within your budget and suited to your needs to save money with food preservation and reduce waste.

Check out our recent post on preserving leftovers.