Home canning is making a comeback, as rising grocery prices have spurred people to stretch their food budgets.

Jarden Home Brands reports a 28 percent increase in the company's Ball canning products since 2007. Also, sales of the company's plastic freezing containers have doubled.

In a recent survey of 1,800 visitors to Jarden's Web site, www.freshpreserving.com, more than 70 percent of those who responded said they intend to preserve more foods this year to save money on weekly groceries.

But here's a scary thought: In a 2005 national telephone survey, almost a third of home canners interviewed admitted they deviated from current USDA recommendations, increasing the risk of spoilage and food poisoning. Clearly, there's a need to learn proper canning techniques.

Irene Brock of North Salt Lake has been gardening and canning what she grows for nearly 40 years, since she was 8 years old. Over the years, she has won numerous ribbons from state and county fairs.

"It helped me with the family budget, and it makes you feel more self-sufficient knowing you have a food supply on hand," she said. "There's also a standard of safety. With all the scares that you have each week, whether it's tomatoes and jalapenos and salmonella, or spinach and E. coli, or whatever, I know I have tomatoes and peppers in my garden and I know they're good. And I know I've got canned goods that can tide me over."

But be forewarned: "If you don't like hard work and activity, gardening and canning is not for you," Brock said. "I only can the foods that I'll definitely eat. If not, it's a waste of time."

In fact, if you have to buy all your fruit or vegetables, jars and equipment at regular prices, and factor in wages for your time, you might be better off finding a good case-lot sale, said Teresa Hunsaker, a home economist with Weber County's Utah State University Extension.

However, the jars and equipment are reusable year after year. And if you have fruit trees or a garden, or you're able to get a good deal on tomatoes, then you can save money. Besides, learning to home can is an investment in learning to be more self-reliant, Hunsaker pointed out.

"When the trees are loaded with apricots, and people are giving them away like zucchini, you've got that skill to turn it into syrup or jam and stretch your food dollars," she said.

Also, you can make it a family experience, with everyone working assembly-line style. Turn on the TV, and they can catch a Saturday afternoon football game or a movie while they're peeling and coring.

Other advantages: better flavor, color, texture and taste, and possibly better nutrition, Hunsaker added. "You can take into account health concerns like hypertension or diabetes and adjust the sodium or sugar."