Price of Great Value pintos beans per 15.5 oz can: 86¢.
Price of 4 pounds of dried pinto beans: $3.76.
Number of pint jars worth of beans you get from a 4 lb bag: 15.
That brings us to 25¢ per jar because I’m reusing lids. I’ll test each jar tomorrow for a proper seal to see if any of the reused lids failed. But they almost never do.
If you have to buy lids or don’t have Tattler reusable kids then it’s going to cost 55¢ per can and after figuring in labor and electricity it’s probably not worth it. But if you are paying ~$1.40 a can for name brand pintos in a can then it’s still worth it.
This will become burritos, refried beans and other things in the future.
Walmart doesn’t offer BOGO type deals. But their house brand is cheap enough that even if another store is offering one Walmart brand is, often, still less money. But even then if you own the equipment and have the time it’s still less money to do it yourself from dry.
Jams, jellys and soups.
I have general rules. If fruit is available for less than $1 a pound. If berries are less than $1.50 a pound. If boneless meat is less than $3 a pound. If bone in meat is less than $4 a pound.
If any of those criteria hit then it’s time to think about canning. At those prices points you can probably can something for less than you can buy it. It helps to remember “a pint is a pound”. Most non-dry items are pretty close to a pound per pint. Meat, tomatoes, blackberriesx whatever. Each pound of food can probably fit in a pint jar if canned. How much would you pay for a can of Spam? Probably about $5. How much is a pound of ham? If it’s $3 or less then it’s going to be cheaper to can your own than buy it. Need blackberry preserves for your PB&J? If Blackberries are less than $1.50 then it’s going to be less money to make your own then buy the cheapest jar of blackberry preserves.
These numbers need constant adjustments for inflation.