In my house, canning has become a tradition. It’s basically a family ritual which seems to start with the tomato season and go right into other fruits and berries and the such.
I will also not deny that while this tradition deep into my heart it drives me nuts simply due to logistics. Canning tomatoes involves large scale boiling, heat in general, and more importantly a touch of misery.
I appreciate the emotional connection but I cannot sit in the garage sweltering all day. If I get to avoid the stage of canning tomatoes, we seem to more to the cavalcade of fruits. Making marmalades and jams.
While this is a marked improvement over sweating in the garage it’s still no joy and we are now simply getting hotter in another room. It’s also exceptionally messy no matter how I try to do that because for some reason every time I boil anything it seems to want to boil over. Upon itself and everyone else.
What makes the Nesco rather interesting is that everything is self-contained and timed. There is no way to screw it up beyond not following the recipe. I have limited screwing up and making a mess, and limited the chance to burn myself on scolding hot liquids.
My fear of canning is pretty much a shame because all too often I would love to continue the tradition of canning. I’ve always found the basic function to be so exhausting I simply avoid the task of all together.
Given the price point here and given how much is alleviates my stress. Well, to me it’s a well worth it investment. Just the stress reduction alone is probably worth the cost but also the fact that I’ll more frequently try the tradition is even better.