Sunday, August 4, 2013

Pickled Jalapeños - Cost Breakdown

This weekend I did some canning with Katie from NC Garden Gals.  We had a blast!  She canned some pickles, salsa, and we both did some pickled jalapeños.  She brought cucumbers, tomatoes, and jalapeños from her garden, and I bought my jalapeños from the farmer's market.

I bought 8 pints of jalapeños after checking for the vendor with the best price.  The full price was $3 per pint, but I got 1 pint free as a quantity discount.  So altogether I paid $20 for the 8 pints, which did make 8 pint jars of pickled jalapeños.

That means the homemade pickled jalapeños cost $2.50 each.  Sad... I'll have to check the price on the ones at the grocery store next time I'm there, but I know it's less than that!  Of course, these are locally grown jalapeños that have been canned with no additives or preservatives so the quality is better than what I could get from the store, but I also want to save money by canning the staples we use the most.

I think the moral of the story is that to really get the best price you just have to grow your own.  You can get an entire packet of jalapeño seeds for $3.49.

Next year!  By then we should have some land cleared and I'll have room to grow my own.

1 comment:

  1. I had a great time - thanks for "showing me the ropes" of canning and pickling!

    Re: the jalapeños, the nice thing about growing them is the pests stay far away from hot peppers. If you can get them started from seed they practically take care of themselves!

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