This started as an old thread but for new people here, let's update it some more. Suppose you want to sell your jam to a small number of people or at a farmers market. What does it really cost to become a "food manufacturer"? I have been selling my jams and pickles (plus GF baked goods) at a farmers market for 8 years, and sell small quantities wholesale to a local food co-op. In NC we have to have kitchen inspections by the Dept of Ag and have well tested for bacteria every year. My canning kitchen is separate from my home kitchen so fewer issues for me and is deemed a commercial kitchen by them. There are a ton of rules for a home kitchen so check on your state's regs. All labels have to contain specific information so making them is a pain if you have several canned products. As for pickling, I took a course guided by the FDA for safe canning of pickled products ($500 and a week long) and each product has to be tested ($100 each) for each size of container at the State's Food Safety Lab. You also need to register as a "food manufacturer" (for pickled products) with the FDA in the event they have to track contamination. The FDA does not allow anything that is pressure canned in a home kitchen to be sold to the public, no matter what state you live in. I can't even do that with my "commercial kitchen" because it is home-based. As for pricing, here in NC we have to collect and send in State retail sales tax on everything. It's 7.25% so that has to be added into to the price you set. A 4 ounce sample jar is $3.25, 9 ounce jar is $6.50 for jams, and pickled pints are $6.00. Very few people balk at the price once you explain that fruit is fresh and mostly local, has no corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or weird chemicals and is handmade in small batches by one person without robots or conveyors. Even if you get your fruit for free there is still the cost of sugar, lemon juice, and pectin. Besides the ingredients, you have to consider your time making the jams, the cost of electricity, air conditioning and heating your space, insurance ($1M liability), table and market fees, plus the cost of the jars, lids and bands, labels, printer ink, canning pots and utensils, cleaning supplies, boxing, tables and displays, storage, banners and signs, business cards, wear and tear on your vehicle, and gas to transport to the customer or market. There is also waste to consider if you don't sell everything and have to dispose of old product, or you scorch a batch, or some break. I only use free advertising like Facebook and rely on word of mouth and whatever marketing the farmers market management does. I don't ship my products because the cost is ridiculous for the sheer weight of each jar, cost of boxes, insurance, and padding, besides my time packaging it up and getting it to the post office. There are a lot of hidden issues to consider if you want to sell your canned goods. I hope this information helps you decide if the pin money is worth it. Nancy

Ty, you might find someone wanting to trade. But I'd recommend that you go either to Sandhill Preservation Center or Sustainable Mountain Agriculture, and order a packet. It won't cost you that much more than in a trade, and you'll be able to pick from a much greater selection. Sustainable Mountain Agriculture, particularly, has great histories and pictures of the beans offered. Their prices may seem a bit steep. But one receives a very good sized packet. As one who has saved seed for over 25 years now, I've come to the conclusion that when I want a new variety, it is worth paying for exactly what I want, rather than "mucking around" for a couple years before finding it. Hope this helps. George Tahlequah, OK Here is a link that might be useful: Sustainable Mountain Agriculture

sally2 - You don't know what you're asking for.... (LOL) hawk307 - Hubby loves and adores me and tells me so quite often - and knows full well he's eating things like chia seed goop and flaxmeal in his bread. The grown kids say they love me, but I think they have ulterior motives. jessyf - I have two free-standing solar ovens. I wheel them out of the garage on a steel cart I store them on and set them up in the yard on the cart. One is a Tulsi Hybrid, which also has a low-wattage electric option that is a food safety feature (http://www.sunbdcorp.com/). If clouds move in and there's not enough sun to maintain a safe cooking temperature, the electric feature will kick in. You can cook with the electric feature alone (so you can use the oven without sun), the solar feature alone, or the combination. It looks like a large hard-sided briefcase. The other one is a Sun Oven and is solar-power only. http://www.eartheasy.com/sun_oven.htm If you watched the HGTV show, Living With Ed, it's the same solar oven Ed Begley used in his backyard. I can easily use a solar oven 8-10 months a year. It's really not critical whether you live in Arizona or Main - or even if there is snow on the ground or the middle of summer. As long as the sun is shining brightly and the sky is clear, you've got power. They are using solar ovens in Winnipeg, Manitoba and they are about 50° north latitude. The temperature of a solar oven is determined more by the amount of sunshine than the outside air temperature. Clear days are best. I can't achieve 350-400°F temperatures in the summer when the stubble in the wheat fields are being burned and there's a lot of haze from the smoke in the air. It doesn't matter that it's 110°F and not a cloud in the sky. If there's a lot of haze, it will diminish the temperature potential. It takes longer to cook something in the winter when the sun is low in the hemosphere, but it WILL cook. Meats/poultry & fish, casseroles, breads, desserts, vegetables, beans/grains.... -Grainlady

A year ago i found my old popper after running across a video and discussions on a coffeegeek forum. I've been using a chemex drip method for a few years and was researching a new grinder around that same time. I thought the home roasting was a bit nuts but keep the thought on a back burner... Now it is just an easy task i do when i'm in the kitchen anyway. Usually a weekend morning where we are anyway together, planning our day. I still have a favorite Costco bean, the yellow bag. I've even forgotten the name it's been so long. Took a few bags on our trip last summer. (but ran out and had to buy overpriced cans, gack!). Might have to pack a popper and green beans this summer. Watch a few videos and decide if it might be worth it to you.