Canning last Fall

 

 

 

I know it's a little late to talk about canning, but as I plan my garden for spring, I also plan how I'm going to preserve all my fruits and veg, that is if my garden florishes, which is not always the case.

 

Last spring was cold and not a great year for my garden, but I did get a bumper crop of apples, although they were a little smaller than normal...



 

 

 

... too many for just the two of us to eat, so I canned most of them.   I don't have an apple peeler and corer (on my wish list) so I was doing it all by hand...

 

...then I had an idea; what if I didn't peel the apples then put them through the potato thingy ?

...so I did.  The amazing thing was that the skins were trapped in the masher thing and the skins gave the cooked apples a pink tinge...

 

 

...you can see the difference between the peeled apples with the jar on the right.

Much less work and an unexpected result, although I am still in the market for an old fashioned peeler and  corer.

 

While I had all my canning equipment out I pitted and canned cherries I got from our friends in the  Okanagan.  I added a little brandy to each jar and they are fantastic over ice cream.

The jars on the right are apricot jam I made from apricots we got from the same friends.

This year I plan to buy a pressure canner so that I can can soups, veggies, stalk - now I just have to plan the veggie garden.....