Monday, November 10, 2008

Opinion and some polls

I received a comment on my last post concerning canned butter from EJ, who sent this link, which links to information against canning butter. I have only read and/or heard positive things about canning butter besides this, so I leave it to you and your opinion, as always, to decide what is best for you and your family. Thanks to EJ for the comment and link.

Thanks to everyone who answers my poll questions, as always. Thought you might find the following to be of interest:

When it comes to canned foods like soup, pasta, etc. is your family picky about the brand that they will eat, so that you have to be picky about what you store?

Yes 39%
No 30%
Sometimes 30%

This leaves me thinking that if your family members are picky now, (which mine sometimes are) it will only be intensified if they are unhappy and in the middle of an emergency situation. Something is better than nothing, but if you can get your choice at an affordable price now, there will be less to worry about later... :)

Then there was this poll:

Did you plant anything in your garden that you will use for food storage for the first time (like I will try with my pumpkins) this year?

Yes 87%
No 12%

After I posted the poll I realized that some people might take marking no as a negative, but I know some people have been using everything in their garden in the most efficient way possible for years, so for them to mark no just shows that they are miles ahead of me, in a good way.... :)

Sometimes my poll questions might seem odd, but lots of times they are generated by something I have been thinking about for awhile. Like this week's question about rising prices in the various food departments--we don't eat all that much meat, but we do like to buy ground turkey at the local national chainstore. We buy it in 3 lb packages, brown it, and freeze it to use as needed. It has been $6.54 for a long time now, but even when I am not buying it, I will check it, so I can gauge what's going on with the economy. I also buy ham slices that are $2.98/package now, and they have gone up $.10 since I started checking, as have some of the dried beans I buy, which are now $.88/package. Not a big change there. The places I feel most squeezed are probably the cereal aisle and the toilet paper aisle in the store. I have mentioned before that cheese gives me sticker shock. I appreciate your input, because even though I don't know exactly where you are, I like to know if it's the same all over...

I always appreciate your poll participation and your comments. I think a lot of times I learn more information in the comments than I put out in the posts..... :)

5 comments:

Stephanie in AR said...

I answered no because in our tiny backyard garden there was only room to grow what we would eat & would save us the most money. Once we finish moving and next garden season begins the answer will change to yes.

Cheese sticker shock here too! I have moved most of our cheese uses to the commercial canned size. In the most recent "Ask Jackie" Jackie Clay has directions on how to re-can this cheese. Since we are moving we have been eating more from storage - trying to have less to move - without draining too badly. One of my biggest shocks has been the rise in plain oatmeal from my local Aldi's. I was able to keep base prices in my head but now need to build a bacis price book because the stores that were always cheaper are changing.

riverwalker said...

I continue to see the prices on all foodstuffs increasing, although at a somewhat slower pace.

We have a tendency to consume most of our garden produce, while the really good performers, like tomatoes and cucumbers, leave some for canning.

Unfortunately, drought type conditions left little extra. The weather can sometimes have devastating effects on your garden.

The price of fuel has gone down some but I don't expect it to stay that way for long. Even now I think it will start to slowly creep back up to a higher price level.

Polls can be funny sometimes and like you said, people can read and interpret them differently.

Riverwalker

Marie said...

Stephanie--I'm always impressed by people who can make the most of their garden. Little by little I'm hoping to get to the point where I use everything--hopefully sooner than later. :)
I've noticed that about oatmeal too! I have bought some in large quantities for my storage, so the price was ok in bulk, but when I look at the smaller packages, it is getting pretty pricey. I'll have to look into that cheese storage--I've heard of some methods, but have yet to try anything in that area. Thanks for your comment!

Riverwalker--Weather was really hard on our garden this year--in our case it was more cold temperatures than drought, but the results weren't good for our corn, especially. I hope the fuel prices keep going down, but from what I've heard lately I bet that you're right that they'll go up again soon, unfortunately. If we store some food, maybe we'll have a little extra money for rising fuel costs--I guess you can only do the best you can... Thanks for your input!

riverwalker said...

Hate to pop the optimistic bubble but the wife works for a large fuel supplier and the indications are for rising fuel prices.

Have a nephew in Florida that has his own fuel supply company and it looks the same in his part of the country.

RW

Marie said...

I have no sources whatsoever when it comes to fuel supplies, so I appreciate the heads-up. Thanks for the warning!