The wife and I have been busy canning lately. We've done pickles, peaches, and lots of salsa (with lots more salsa and tomatoes to go). It is a lot of work, but it pays off the rest of the year. For those long time canners out there that have seen it all, Ball has a greatly expanded revision of their classic canning publication. Lots of new recipes, you might want to check it out. A new one that we tried this year is "sprited peaches." We have a bumper crop of peaches and have been sharing them with friends and family. We decided to try the spirited peaches for a Thanksgiving treat. Each pint jar had two tablespoons of rum added. I like to perform the processing in the backyard (the house is already hot enough in July in California's central valley). The smell of rum coming out of the canner must have made the neighbors wonder what I was doing. Anyway, here are a few photos of the canning action!

I haven't canned, yet. But once you've got the hang of it, I'm can see you get addicted.

It all looks wonderful, Terra - I haven't even started harvesting much of anything yet, the canning is a ways off for me
I usually do salsa, canned tomatoes, pickled peppers, cucumber pickles, pickle relish, and beets - sometimes pickled asparagus. I love the idea of those "spirited peaches" !

I tried out my new "Fruitsaver" steam canner this week while making apple sauce. It is a new way to can acidic foods. (Well, it is new to me, I guess steam canners have been around for a while.) It was easier than water bath canning because a much smaller amount of water needs to be brought to a boil. The only thing I'm not crazy about, is that the canner won't fit back in the manufacturer's box without removing the heat dial. Not a huge deal, but a little inconvenient. Here is a link to the manufacturer's webpage (I am not affiliated, nor do I have any financial interest in the company).
https://vkpbrands.com/store/al...

I just pulled three jars of green tomato chutney out of the pot to tighten their lids. It will mostly go into egg salad and mayo dip for breaded fried things.
Two days ago, I put four jars of crushed tomato into the pantry - after their four days of probation out on the counter, so if a lid loses its seal, I catch it in time. (Trust no-one! I mail-ordered jar lids that I heard, only afterward, are not reliable. Okay, so far.)
Last week, I did the beets.

I didn't grow enough peppers to preserve, but I got a bushel of Shepherds on half price sale yesterday, and tomorrow they're going into the oven to get nicely roasted, then gutted and peeled, then pickled and canned. It's a lot of fiddly work, so I set aside a full day with no other projects or commitments. But I'll be so happy to be able to reach for one when a sandwich needs waking up or a pizza needs embellishment or SO's diabetic lunch is just too boring.

Since I have a small amount of produce to preserve at any give time,I just pop three or for jars into a tall soup pot with a piece of towel in the bottom. Seems to be sufficient.

Ummm, kiddoes, we remove the lids to store canned jars. The reason is that the rims can unseal the jar and spoil the foods. The rims are only there to help while the vacuum is being pulled.

Kat, I think you mean the "bands," not the "lids." I agree about removing them, they can also trap stuff that got forced out of the jar in the canning process, I always clean around the top of the jar with a damp dishcloth (or whatever) before storing them.

Yeah, distracted today, chuckl freezing those poblanos, omg they aren't sweet, but so good!

kittriana said: Ummm, kiddoes, we remove the lids to store canned jars. The reason is that the rims can unseal the jar and spoil the foods. The rims are only there to help while the vacuum is being pulled.

I tighten the rims when the jars are still hot. They stay in the pot until morning. Then I check it for concavity of the lid - that's the three or four day probation, touching every top every day and checking for bubbles. Only then do I take off the rings.
Is there some advantage to taking them off sooner?
I didn't always.
In fact, I recently found four uncircumcized jars of overlooked chutney from 2006, when we participated in a weekly farmers' market. (No way would I be able to sell de-ringed jars!) I threw the contents away, though it seemed perfectly fine. Never had any trouble, whether the rings were on or off.

Spoiled contents by looking discolored, it depends on how the jars are stored as to damages they can get. Like a tin canned product, the food gasses up and boils out. Some stuff lasts longer than others.

Vera jars with rings...

Friend of mine found some canning jars at Goodwill, dirt cheap! Just mentioning as a potential "hot tip"

@76Terra -- the peaches sound soooo good!

We had a ton of peppers when I pulled my plants earlier this week, so my husband requested that I can some pickled peppers and onions. The brine tasted really good, so hopefully the finished product will as well.


We canned tomato sauce earlier....I just blanched and froze any extras after that.

Yesterday the wife and I made orange marmalade using fruit from our minneola tangelo tree. Came out pretty well. This time of year we have so much citrus that we could sell it out front (some of our neighbors actually do). We used the steam canner, which seems to work pretty well and is easier than a water bath canner. Here are a couple of looks at the progress.

One of my favorite things to make is tomato sauce. I grow my own tomatoes in the backyard, so it's great to be able to enjoy them all year round. I also love making jams and preserves, especially when I can find fresh, local fruit.