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Within the confines of this blog, you will find bits and pieces of the life and times of myself, my family and friend dear and near., far and wide, few and far between. You will find bits and pieces of my world, tho small to some, but huge to me. You will find everything from 'soup to nuts',; recipes, hobbies,crafts, gardenings,loves of my life, GrandLoves-a-Plenty, and even my pets... Sooo, if you can handle family life, enjoy the tour of my 'Stuffings'.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Canning and Jamming

Glorious Peaches, do you remember these? They needed a couple more days to mature to perfection before canning and jamming. That's exactly what consumed my day. There was a beautiful cool breeze, so I threw open the windows and got to work. First thing, we had to have some for fresh eating so I choose some perfect ones for snacks, Peach Upside-Down Cake, and topping cereal or ice cream.
Then I got busy with the first step of canning. After getting a kettle of water boiling, the remaining peaches needed to be scalded only a couple minutes....
then cooled enough to handle so they could be....
peeled, pitted, sliced, jarred, syruped with a light syrup. I used a 1 to 4 mix of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, ( 1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water. )
Lid with a canning lid and ring, just hand tightened. Next place in a hot water bath for 20 minutes once the water comes back to a boil. Make sure to put your jars on a rack in the canner, something to space the canning jars from the bottom or they will crack. Always turn your boil down to a gentle one.
A bit of prep work, but the rewards are these amazing canned peaches with less sugar than the store bought ones, and the flavor is like biting into a fresh picked tree ripened peach. 2die4!
I also made Peach Jam. I forgot to take step by step pictures for you but the recipe is really so simple.
With any number of prepared peaches, blanched, peeled and pitted, cut into bite size chunks, put in bottom of large kettle, and cook until heated, mash, but leaving chunky as you like.
Measure the amount.
Add the same amount of sugar as peaches. Bring back to a slow boil, stirring in sugar, cooking another 20 minutes.
A foam will form at the top. Spoon the foam off before jarring, for a sweet taste of your hard work.
Proceed to ladle into prepared jars, ( I prefer 1/2 pint jars ), clean the rim, cap and hot water bath for another 10 minutes once the water starts to boil. Make sure to turn your boil down 1/2 way to a slow boil to avoid cracking and bad seals.

There you have it. Beautiful Peach Jam. Every jar sealed, I'm a happy canner.
I had 8 cups of pulp, so used 8 cups of sugar, I know, SWEET, but so good. The end result was 14 half pints of awesome jam for our winter toast and ice cream.
Onto the next project....Here's a hint. All you need is any old sand from the back yard, mine coming from the bottom of the hill that the garage sits on....and.....
that's it for today....gotta finish that project.

Have a GREAT Weekend
BlessYourHearts

15 comments:

Helen said...

Both kinds look yummy. Shame I am a diabetic. Helen

jack69 said...

We don't do no canning and jamming. But I remember a mother that did. I always loved canning time I got to taste and eat some scraps. I have always loved fruit, she canned peaches and dried apples, I loved them both. Blackberries also were canned and 'Jammed'. Yours look delicious.

But yuck on the 3" spider on the other entry and know the kids were glad to see daddy!
Love from Lower Michigan.
Sherry & Jack

Lucy said...

I like Jack do not do any canning but my mom did when they could get the money to get the peaches. They look delicious. Mom canned her own tomatos or anything else from the garden.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Yum Dar.... I just ate a fresh peach for lunch... It was so delicious... You are so smart to can them and make peach jam... I'm envious--since you'll have peaches year 'round...

Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
Betsy

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

I've got some fresh Alabama peaches sitting right here. I'm affraid there won't be enought for canning. Peach cobbler, peach ice cream, peaches on my cereal...
:-) this is a friday's favorite for sure!

Jacquelyn Stager said...

oh dar, you have brought back memories of my dear grandma, sitting on her back porch peeling peaches for canning. We lived next door till I was 10, and I loved walking in on her! I'm sure you have plenty of peach recipes to go around...one of my favorites is peach-berry cobbler, made with blueberries. We used to have that on Christmas morning for a special treat!

I love your sign about grandkids being spoiled while you wait. THAT'S ME alright! Have a great weekend and don't work too hard!

Suz said...

I swear you are the energizer bunny!!!!

quiltmom anna said...

I love fresh peaches on ice cream. My mom and gran canned alot- I never was very successful at it. Yours look delicious.
For the lady who is diabetic- I am sure that there must be some recipes out there for jam and peaches that have limited sugar content - perhaps using splenda. I know that my mom makes cake and cookies using splenda.They taste just great.
Thanks for sharing your busy day. You really do get lots accomplished. The photos of the peaches bring back some great memories of my mom and grandma.
Regards,
Anna

www.thewhitefarmhouse2.blogspot.com said...

Did you let your sister get ahold of your blog? I like the new look!

I love canning! I am a chicken with the tomatoes though. I freeze those. Your peaches sure do look good! I think that I am going to have to pick some up and do some peach canning now! I just love peach cobbler with homemade ice cream!

crochet lady said...

Looks like a lot of work, but I bet it's worth it. I just love home canned peach anything!

Dogwood said...

Beautiful peaches. Looks like yummy canned peaches and jam. Enjoy.

Osage Bluff Quilter said...

I'd love to havea some of your peaches. Wanna trade my tomatoes for your peaches?

Sue McPeak said...

It's been a Travelin Summer around Texas for me and not much Travelin in Blogland. I hope you'll forgive me for not visiting with you as often as I'd like. Just stopping by to say Howdy and Thank YOU for coming to CollectInTexas Gals Summer Travel Log!
OMGosh, there's nothing better than canned peaches. Made my mouth water....thanks for the memory of my grandmothers peaches!

imac said...

Gee, busy bee and lots of Jamming.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Looks so yummy! I would love to go in your yard and pick some hahaha..