I haven't posted anything for a while because my Wife and I have been extremely busy with all our fruit. It seems like we have been canning nonstop for a month. Out of the six fruit trees that we have planted, only two of them are old enough to give us fruit. This was an amazing year for Peaches and Honeycrisp apples. The peach tree is about five years old and the Honeycrisp apple tree is three years. I think we canned 60 quarts of peaches, froze 10 quarts, and ate more than I can count. We canned about 21 quarts of apple pie filling, 20 quarts of apple sauce, and dehydrated a lot.
During that same time, we made about 10 batches of raspberry freezer jam, and canned a few batches too. The raspberries just keep coming. I can pick about 7 cups or berries every other day! Needless to say, we have gone through a ton of supplies. I guess that everyone else in our little valley is having the same "problem" of having a great fruit year...You can't buy quart jars anywhere! We have gone through tons of sugar, and pectin.
I won't waste your time with the recipes that we are using for canning. We have decided to stick to the recipes that are considered safe and are published in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. If you don't already have this book, it is a definite must have.
Another absolute necessity is a product called Clear Jel. Clear Jel is a modified corn starch that is absolutely amazing thickening agent. My apple pie filling and fresh peach syrup thickens so nicely with this stuff. No more ugly lumps.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again...If you have to plant trees in your yard, be sure to plant fruit trees!!! I can't explain how satisfying it is to come home from a long day of work and just walk into the back yard to grab a perfectly ripe apple or peach from my very own tree.
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| Honey Crisp Apple Pie Filling. |
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| My Honey Crisp Tree. These babies cost $3.99 / lb in the grocery store! |
Happy Canning!
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