Wrinkled Fingers
By Juliaacv
@Juliaacv (54498)
Canada
August 23, 2025 4:17pm CST
Today was canning day.
I don't can anything but tomatoes, because it is so convenient to reach for a jar of canned tomatoes on a cold winter's day when I want to make chili or something.
Like many, I dislike the mess and time that it takes to get it all finished. We started at 8:30 this morning, and will finish up in another hour or so.
We are doing 50 pounds of tomatoes.
That should last us a couple of years.
Men are funny though........I can because of the convenience, he asked me alot of questions, how much the tomatoes cost and the snap lids and the lemon juice. I rang out the numbers, of course to the best of my knowledge, not to the cent. He was quiet for a minute and then told me the exact price for each jar that we did.
Then he asked me the cost of a jar of tomatoes from the grocery store.
And I laughed and suggested that even though he hasn't factored in the cost of the power (our stove) that he is right that there is a bit of a savings.
The majority of the work was donated, I just took the jars out of the dishwasher and measure in the salt and lemon juice, and wipe the filled jars after he cut the tomatoes and filled the jars, and then I put the lids on them. Other than that I also put the tomatoes into the pot to boil so that the peelings came off easily, but he did that as part of the cutting process.
I think that his fingers are probably really really wrinkled from all of that wet work, not mine. 
11 people like this
10 responses
@allknowing (152249)
• India
20h
I get excied to see on tomato on our plants which these days I do not have and you with so many. Were they from your plants or you bought them?
1 person likes this
@allknowing (152249)
• India
9h
@Juliaacv When you say tomato jars I suppose it is in the form of sauce Huge quantity that is
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@Juliaacv (54498)
• Canada
8h
@allknowing No, we do crushed tomatoes.
I can use those in soups as well as chili.
And I stand corrected, it was 36 jars, I just like to can them, he throws numbers into the mix and it gets me mixed up. 
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Your husband asked all the same questions I asked to my mother and I know that buying at the store is less expensive. I have found a good brand canned in glass from Sicily and I buy now.@Juliaacv (54498)
• Canada
9h
We ended up with 72 500 ml jars.
That will do us the cold months for this year as well as next year.
Since they are heavier than alot of items in the pantry, I keep them in the case so that we can store the empty jars in it, and I will need to store 1 of those cases on a little table in my office. I just ran out of space that I would consider to be safe for weight in the pantry.
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@snowy22315 (194923)
• United States
20h
Those tomatoes will taste good this winter. I am sure he was calculating the costs in his head as to whether the canning chore was worth it.
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@snowy22315 (194923)
• United States
8h
@Juliaacv Yes, as long as you have the space, good deal.
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@Juliaacv (54498)
• Canada
7h
@snowy22315 I have a couple of the cases on tables in my office.
They are under towels, so not too obvious.
@Juliaacv (54498)
• Canada
9h
Yes, he was trying to calculate that, but he doesn't get groceries and didn't even know the cost of a can of tomatoes.
We ended up with 72 500 ml jars, which is good for a couple of years because we will start eating them come November and depending on the year, but will likely still be eating them in different dishes up until March or early April.
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@RebeccasFarm (95718)
• Arvada, Colorado
21h
What fun! And tasty tomatoes..from your garden is it Julia I suppose.
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@RebeccasFarm (95718)
• Arvada, Colorado
8h
@Juliaacv Oh I see Julia. I was thinking that would have been a lot of tomatoes for you to garden.
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@psanasangma (7913)
• India
12h
I could see you are going to have good stock for another season.
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@Juliaacv (54498)
• Canada
9h
That is true if you can get the correct variety for canning, which isn't easy here.
My Dad used to grow tomatoes and he would get a very small percentage of his contract as the Roma tomatoes.
He could not have too many because they did not grow well in our region, but when he did, he was approached by friends and neighbours about buying some for canning reasons. He never sold any, but would direct some people to the field, to the correct area of the field where those rows were, to pick their own, or if time permitted he would pick some for them. He only ever asked that they return the plastic hampers to the field when they finished with them-that was fair.
@LindaOHio (198701)
• United States
10h
50 pounds of tomatoes is a lot! Kudos for getting it all done. A big thanks to hubby as well!!!
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@MarieCoyle (47539)
•
20h
Home canned tomatoes are so good in chili, soups, etc. My daughter and son in law are doing them for me and for them this year, they said to relieve me of the mess and stress. I know I appreciate the gesture so much.
You will be glad to have them on hand, I’m sure!
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