Vacuum sealing or traditional canning - which is better?

Vacuum sealing is more practical and faster, but traditional canning lasts longer and is safer against botulism if you do it right. It depends on whether convenience or maximum shelf life matters more to you.

What exactly are you looking to preserve - more meat, vegetables, or sweets?

I wouldn't see it as black and white like the previous answers. Traditional canning isn't automatically safer against botulism - it really depends on whether you're working at sufficiently high temperatures and sticking to the timing. Vacuum sealing with subsequent heating (sous-vide) is just as safe if you do it right. The botulism issue is more relevant if you then want to just store vacuum-sealed meat cold without any further treatment - that's obviously risky.

In practice: Vacuum sealing takes up less space, is faster, and is less stressful in everyday life. But you need a good machine, which costs money. Traditional canning is cheaper, you can do it anywhere, and you have that psychological sense of security because it's traditional and everyone knows it. For jams and chutneys, I'd go with traditional canning, because the high sugar content preserves it anyway and canning there is unnecessary. For meat, fish, or low-carb vegetables, vacuum sealing with subsequent heating is more practical and the result isn't worse - just different, less dark, better vitamin retention.

Have you already experimented with both methods, or are you starting completely fresh?

I see the problem differently than the previous answers: it's not just about safe or unsafe, but about shelf life and what you're actually storing. Classic canning works through heat and airtight sealing, but it doesn't last forever - after a year or two, even properly canned items start to lose quality. Vacuum sealing without additional preservatives isn't safe enough for many things, especially with moist vegetables or meat without further treatment. People often forget that vacuum sealing alone doesn't kill bacteria - it only prevents new contamination.

What really works well: classic canning for jams, chutneys, and anything acidic (fruit, pickled items) - you don't have to worry about those. For meat or neutral vegetables, I'd lean more toward vacuum sealing plus freezing, or stick with classic canning, but then really do it with sufficient temperature and time. That's the key point the others are missing: many shelf-life problems don't arise because the method is bad, but because people get impatient with canning or don't go hot enough. Better ten minutes too long than too short - that's a more important rule than choosing between the two methods.