I have never made preserves before, or canned anything. I tend to blanch and freeze if my garden is over-abundant, but after freezing several quarts of strawberries for smoothies, I had to try my hand at canning or waste many pounds of strawberries that we picked. So, I learned as I went, and I hope to learn more, but one must start somewhere. Long after everyone else went to bed, Sylvia and I were up chatting and preparing strawberries and rhubarb. We had about 14 c. of sliced strawberries and about 2 c. of rhubarb. We added about 8 c. of sugar, which seemed crazy excessive to me, but was still significantly less than what the mainstream recipes called for.
The next day, I washed and sterilized the jars, lids, bands, funnel, and tongs, and cooked the fruit up to 221 F (which was difficult to do because at that temperature, the whole thing wants to boil over the pot). I filled the jars, then sealed them by keeping the jars submerged in boiling water for 5 min. If all went well, I see lots of canning in my future. This is a skill that I would love to have and to share with my kids.
I would love to learn how to do canning and preserving on a larger scale than the odd pot of jam too!
ReplyDeleteThat bedtime reading looks interesting. I've always been a little (over romantically) edeared by the amish way of life.
Looks like you all are learning a lot out on the farm. We're very proud of you!
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