Fall Canning

  In a recent post I shared how my middle three girls and I canned peaches with a friend in Ohio.  Well, now we are back in Texas and have been canning apples all week.  Towards the end of our time in Ohio we learned about an orchard where we could go and buy freshly picked apples.  I was so excited about our recent canning experience that I decided to take the children to the orchard and for us to travel home with a massive amount of apples.

  We ended up purchasing a bushel of Ginger Golds and half a bushel of Paula Reds. Additionally we bought some paper sacks full of Gala and Honey Crisp apples just for snacking and sharing with friends.  We had never purchased this many apples at one time!  Now since these apples had just been picked, and were mostly hard and good, I thought we would have ample time to get home, unpack and then start the canning.  Well, I was wrong!  Due to the massive amount of stuff in our van the apples got shoved around and bruised here and there, so it was vitally important to process them immediately after returning home.  Suddenly canning apples was more important than unpacking our bags, doing laundry or anything else around here.  

  On our way back to Texas we spent the night with friends in Oklahoma, and when they heard that we were going to be canning all these apples they insisted that we borrow one of their mills to make the process easier.  I had no idea at the time, but I am so grateful that they sent us home with this mill.  It really did make it so much easier to process the applesauce.  What we did is cook the apples down in the Instant Pot and then ran them through the mill two to three times.  It was so nice not to have to peel or core the apples.  

  In the process of apple canning we also enjoyed lining up all the peach jars we brought back from Ohio!  This has been a dream of mine for so many years to see canned Mason jars lining my shelves! It is a beautiful sight, and I told the girls that I see so much more than food when I look at these jars.  What I see is friendship, conversations, memories of canning, time with my daughters, and a friend who cared enough to teach us the process of canning these peaches.

This week has not been without its challenges coming in after a month long trip, trying to unpack, errands that had to be run, losing power in our house two nights in a row and much more.  One night I was in the kitchen canning late at night when the power went out and I was working by the light of my iPhone flashlight!  Somehow we pressed through a lot of inconveniences this week and have finally processed all these apples. All in all we ended up making apple jam, canned apples, apple pie filling, and lots of applesauce.  

  

  I actually do not recommend jumping into a huge canning project immediately upon returning home from a long family vacation, but this was necessary if we did not want the apples to spoil.  I was thinking about how I could bring fruit home on future trips to Ohio, and I am thinking next time I might put the fruit in five gallon buckets and see if that helps protect it from bumps and bruises.  I really like the idea of bringing home canning fruit, because Ohio has so many wonderful fresh fruit stands and orchards.  I just have to figure out how to preserve it until we have been able to get home and situate ourselves.  It seems everything is a learning process, but one thing I have learned is that I REALLY do enjoy canning!  I think it can become very addictive to see these beautiful canned goods filling my shelves.  The girls really enjoy helping me, and so it is good time with them as well.  I am thinking my next attempt might be pears, and I am also researching pressure canning.  So far I have only done the water bath canning, but I feel like I may need to enter the world of pressure canning before too long.  Of course this all motivates me to work harder at my garden as well.  The possibilities are endless, and I am excited to learn more!  Do you can your food?  What are your favorite things to can?  Do you have a favorite pressure canner?  Enjoy your week, friends!