Today, after six years of saying that I wanted to and was going to, I canned peaches, ALL BY MYSELF! I do need to admit that I had a tutoring session last year from Jessica, and then another step by step run-down yesterday from Katie and several phone calls to Katie and the extension today. But, I was alone in the kitchen and I now have eight beautiful bottles of peaches! Whew! This is a HUGE deal for me, so please don't ruin it by thinking to yourself, "peaches are so easy!" I've heard this already! But it's not easy for me. Let me explain.... When I was up at BYU-I, I took a class called "Practical Homemaking." I was banking on Louis proposing and figured I'd better fine tune some skills. Acquire them is more like it. We learned several useful things and I discovered that I really already possessed some skills that interested others. (i.e. hair and skin care; I can hear you all, "gasp! SHE does hair? Why doesn't she do her own?" I know, but it's another post for another time.) We learned how to make pie crusts, bread, meals, pillowcases, jelly, and we even canned stew! It was all yummy, and I was NEVER able to replicate ANY of it!!! We had an entire section on preserving and canning. I paid close attention, I thought. I should tell you, though, that I failed my canning test which gave me a "B" or maybe "B-" in the class. So, Louis was warned! I was so distraught and assumed that it meant I'd kill everyone if I ever tried. The one thing I learned is "botulism." That stunted my growth in the canning department, but now I have proved that wrong! Well, OK, we haven't actually EATEN the peaches yet, so I suppose that declaration will have to wait until all the jars are empty!
All day as I was going through this.... process, I was bloggin' in my mind. I told Katie today about half way through that I wasn't sure yet which blog to use... the "Introducing the New Mrs. Domestic USA" or the "Canning for Dummies is a myth." I have decided on a middle road.
Here are some lessons I learned from today:
- You should can your peaches VERY soon after buying them! Don't wait!
- When people tell you "peaches are so easy!" What they mean is, "most intelligent people should be able to do this without killing anyone," This doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea to jump right in by yourself! It's not like a "nature's instinct" type thing.
- Canning peaches is "smart." (I learned this from Charles.)*see below for full explanation
- You should really put the pectin in the syrup BEFORE you fill the jars. But, as Anna pointed out.... we've been canning for years before there was ever "fruit fresh!" But, it was worth the extra step to make sure I did it right!
- Canning really takes ALL DAY, no really, ALL STINKING DAY!
- Seven quart size jars of peaches displace a LARGE amount of boiling water.... so don't fill the pot too full!
- I decided the reason it's called a water bath is because the jars get SO STICKY, they need a bath before they can be put on the shelf. (Does this process work well on children?)
- When you call the extension office, if a man answers.... ASK FOR THE WOMAN! Mine is named, Peggy. Of course, I did feel good knowing that someone else in the universe doesn't know EVERYTHING about canning peaches!
- It takes a lot of peaches (and work!) for only eight little jars!
- The jars really are beautiful and there is a sense of pride looking at them!
*My conversation with Charles:
Charles: Mom, what are ya doin?
Me: Canning peaches.
Charles: Why?
My mind: Yeah, why? Didn't mom tell you it was such a big mess and really not worth it? Besides, you don't even know what you're doing!
Me (optimistic me): So we can have yummy fruit to eat in the winter.
Charles: Oh, that is smart!
My mind: Yeah, we'll see about that one!
Here is my proof!!!
Getting ready to fill the jars with syrup. Please don't notice how you can see the peach pit part. I tried my best to hide it in the middle, but peaches have a mind of their own!
Boiling the lids and making the syrup. (see the white bowl with premeasured pectin? Yeah, forgot to add it in to the syrup BEFORE filling the jars, so I had to pour the syrup back out and stir in the pectin! Blah!)
The beautiful, sanitized jars awaiting the peaches! (Actually these are the reject jars that didn't get any fruit because apparantly a half bushel only makes eight jars!)
The eight beautiful, STICKY, jars awaiting their "water bath."
The beautiful jars AFTER their bath. So far, they have all sealed!!! Whew!
Now that it's all over, I am TIRED! But, I am glad I did it! Finally!!! This is kind of like running the marathon, I'm glad I did it, I really wondered if I could, and I'm not ready to answer the question, "Are you going to do it again?"
As a side note, I have to just add this. This year in Relief Society we are focusing on Self-Reliance. I chose to set a goal in the area of Food Storage. I have been very pleased with what I have done this year. Not as much as some, perhaps, but it's been a HUGE leap for me! Three MAJOR things (with pictures to prove it!)
- I grew something! 23 tomato plants to be precise! I gave away A LOT of those because Louis said we didn't have room for them on our itsy bitsy porch. Whatever! The tomatoes were small, but very yummy. I feel so motivated to plant again next year. Maybe I'll do a couple tomatoes and perhaps some peas? Ooh! The possiblities!
- These aren't the best pictures of my tomatoes, since they're dying, but it proves they LIVED once!
- Canning, yes we've been over this, I know. But that is HUGE!
- Technically this has nothing to do with food, but I revived a plant! Kaylee gave me a small flower for Mother's Day from preschool. I killed it because I didn't know it was only wrapped in paper! But, I repotted it and it grew a ton of beautiful pansies, which I love!
Again, not the best picture, but there are still a couple good blossoms to see.
12 comments:
You are my hero! How I wish I could can, but I have not yet attempted it. And to do it by yourself...you are so much braver than I am! Way to go! Your peaches look wonderful!!
You are amazing Camille! Not marathons nor peaches can stand in your way! Really, I am very impressed with your peaches! I wish I were closer so I could be inspired by your...domesticity (is that a word?)
Way to go! I knew that you could do it. They look beautiful. I always struggled getting them all to face down too.
Way to go!!! I've canned peaches only once (in my MIL's kitchen) and I'll attest that it's harder than it looks. But the jars are oh so pretty when they're done. I did tomatoes once too, but I was too afraid to eat them. So they just sat on my shelf and looked pretty.
nice work camille! and yes, those peaches are beautiful. i have only canned strawberry jam (while being supervised) so i am SO PROUD OF YOU!
I think the pit part is very pretty and I am impressed. I'm sure they will taste very yummy and that you won't end up dead.
I'm very impressed that you worked hard and conquered! But I do have to admit, I have NO desire to ever do this. I admire those who do it though! Good job!
I didn't think canning was so hard, but so far, I have left it to the companies like "dole" do it for me!
You are so talented, and funny!
They look Awesome! I use a long handle shake spoon to reach in the jar and turn them. (Just a hint.) Congrats on doing it yourself! It was fun seeing you today! You're so awesome! Becky wants to make Salsa if you want to join us!!!
I have always canned peaches because they taste so much better then the kind you gets from the store. YUMMY! Enjoy your, they look beautiful!
You should know that canning is always better and easier then you do it with a friend (in my case its usually my mom). It makes the time go so much faster and doesn't seem so much like work. Make a canning friend if you decide to do it again! :)
I know the feeling you're talking about. In my case it was after making raspberry jam. The problem being that I was so proud I just kept making jam and now I have a cupboard full. I don't know why I thought it was such a good idea - we rarely eat jam! But your peaches look great - I'm really proud of you :)
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