Canning
The follow is sort of a loose description of a canning day with pictures to demonstrate some of the steps we use in canning. Prior planning and set up is the key to a smooth canning day! Setting up an "outdoor kitchen" is very helpful, too! The pictures below will give you an idea of what different canning steps look like.
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Dip
peaches (4 or so at a time) in a pot of boiling water and then drop
the peaches in a bowl of ice-water that will loosen the skins so
that you can easily slip them off. When the skins are slipped off of the peach then place each whole peach in another bowl of clean cold water until you have enough for a canner-load. About 4-5 peaches per jar, depending on the size of the peach and how you cut and place them in the jar. 1/8 cuts yield more peaches in a jar. Halves are prettier, but they take up more space and it seems few fit into each jar. |
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I make a light syrup mixture for canning our peaches. The pot holds about 1.5 gallons of water and I add about a cup and a half of sugar to that and bring it to a boil and then leave it simmering while I sliced the peaches into 7 or 10 quart jars. One of my canners hold 10 quart jars at a time and the other holds 7 quart jars. For the light syrup, I use an electric pot so that I have the burners free for the canner and the pot of boiling water for dipping the peaches. After the peaches are sliced into the jars, then I pour the boiling light-syrup into each jar (about a cup of liquid for sliced and a cup and a half for peach halves). |
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I run a knife down and
around the inside of each jar to allow air bubbles to escape. Then I take a clean wash-cloth and wipe the rim of each jar so that I make sure there are no bits of fruit and no syrup on the rim. I can also check one more time for nicks or cracks in the rim. |
In another
little pot I have the jar lids simmering until I am ready to use
them on clean packed jars. I slip the number of jar bands I'll
need for the canner load onto my wrist and then slide then down onto
each jar as I go. I have a bowl of clean bands ready on the table
for the next "load" I'll do. My canners, with the canning rack inside, are on the burners filled with simmering water and I work quickly so that I am putting very hot jars into the simmering water---this pretty much ensures that I'll have no breakage of jars due to extreme temperature changes. I use a "jar-lifter" to set the jars down into the canner. |
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After setting the lid centered on
each jar and placing a band on each jar, I quickly tighten each
band---tight for a woman, not tight for a man. I continue the process until all seven jars (or ten---depending on the canner size) are done and then I quickly set each jar into the rack in the canner of simmering water. Once the water comes to a boil, I "water-bath" can peaches for 20 minutes and then remove them to cool on a folded towel. *Don't* press the center of the lid---it'll pull a vacuum and *pop* as it seals! Soon your favourite sound in the world will be the *pop* of lids sealing as jars cool. |
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You see,
*YOU* can do it, too! |
MORE ABOUT CANNING
Home Canning Supplies, Recipes & Techniques"
Home Canning