No, this is not a post about childbirth. It is about canning! Some may think it is as hard and time consuming as childbirth. For some it may be, but it almost just as rewarding. After our peach and berry picking venture yesterday, I decided to get on the ball and get my fruits put away. I froze my blackberries and I canned the peaches.
The blackberries are easy enough to do. Wash them by putting them in a tub full of cool water. swirl them around a bit. Drain, rinse and repeat if you need to. Let them drain just a bit and then lay them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Be sure to cover the cookie sheet with plastic wrap or a silicone baking sheet. Let them freeze over night and then put into your freezer containers. That simple!
Blackberries
For the peaches, they involved a little more work. First they were blanched and then peeled. Then you halve them and cut them into your desired sizes. Keep them in water with lemon juice (1 tbsp lemon /gallon water) or ascorbic acid and water (1 tsp/gallon). Boil your liquid, either a simple syrup or a fruit juice, I use apple juice. Fill your jars with peaches being sure to pack them tight, I forgot to, so my jars ended up being only about 1/2 full of peaches after processing. Then you can water bath can or pressure can. I chose pressure canning because it takes less time, therefor less heat in the house for the A/C to have have to cool and less cook time means less energy used by the stove and the A/C! I ended up making one batch with cinnamon sticks in them and one regular batch! I may have to go back and get more peaches to can some more!
Peaches in apple juice
Cinnamon peaches in applejuice. Shrinkage, Jerry!
Hot from the oven! Now we just need some ice cream!!
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