Sackville farmers taking the fear out of canning

Rose Leonard and her partner Alana Brownlee rarely make trips to the grocery store anymore. Instead, they can what they eat.

The two women own and operate Raised From The Bed Farms that specializes in canned goods such as salsa, jam, pickles and pasta sauce, made from food they've grown themselves

"It's rewarding.. it really is, to know that everything that is down in that pantry or in the freezer… we've raised or grown," said Leonard.

Raised From The Bed Farms sells some of what they can at the Sackville Farmers market. But canning is more of a way of life now.

"The one thing we have to go to the grocery store for is milk, butter or cheese, if we do choose to buy cheese. Only because we don't have a goat or a cow yet," said Leonard.

Shift - NB8:34Don't be afraid of canning

Rose Leonard of Raised from the Bed Farms cans everything, and she says with a little knowledge it's not as scary as you might think.

But, canning has always had a negative image. Many people who want to try canning their own food have a fear of contracting botulism.

"It's important to familiarize yourself with that. It's your enemy with canning and when you know what your enemy is you know how to approach canning and not take any shortcuts," said Leonard.

Canned goods that have gone bad are generally easy to spot, things like foul odours or discolouration are immediate giveaways but, no matter what, Leonard says when in doubt throw it out.

"Initially I began water canning … I was really fearful in the beginning. There wasn't internet at the time. There wasn't YouTube to see how other people do it."

But now, Leonard cans everything from meat to dog food.

"We raise our own pigs and chickens so we do a lot of that and some wild meat as well in the hunting season that comes available."

Leonard says canning has reduced her grocery bill significantly, and believes more people are getting into the process and becoming less intimated with it.

"Quite a lot of people are getting back into it again. There's a lot of info out there to reassure people how safe home canning can be. It had a bad rap there for a little bit."