canning peaches, and blueberry pear jam

peaches and jam


we made a second batch of raspberry jam because the first was so awesome.
4 cups raspberries, pureed and strained
3 cups sugar
2 TBSP pectin
and we got 5 half pint jelly jars, plus one little quarter pint jar.
we had the jars in hot water in the canner, pulled them out and filled them, and they all sealed.

more rapsberry jam


yummy yummy raspberry jam



the summercrisp pears (they ripen early, in august)


summercrisp pears


i made pearsauce back at my house with most of them. i brought the rest to my moms for blueberry pear jam.


the pears were too ripe for blanching so we peeled them by hand and chopped them up.


blueberries, pureed, and strained


cooking down the pears


pureeing with the stick blender after cooking until soft


blueberries have a lot of pectin, and just the pureed blueberries turned solid in the fridge and wouldnt come out of the bowl when tipped on its side


blueberries and pears


blueberry pear jam


blueberry pear jam


4 cups blueberries, pureed and strained
14 summercrisp pears from my tree, the blemished ones. medium to small size.
that got us 6 cups of peeled and chopped pears with all the bad parts cut out.
2 TBSP lemon juice
we cooked the pears down on the stove with the lemon juice and pureed them. added the blueberries.
5 cups sugar
4 TBSP pectin
we got 1 pint jar, 7 half pint jelly jars, plus one half pint in tupperware (ran out of jelly jars).
it turned out ok, fully edible, but not much pear taste. in the future, more pears, less blueberries.


canning peaches


colorado peaches


mountain gold, tree ripened, though why a pickaxe is needed....?


16 pounds, 44 peaches


wash/sterileize the jars and rings


our setup - from left to right/bottom to top - a bowl for cutting, a bowl to catch the spill of syrup and dropping peaches into, the yellow bowl is cold water for holding peeled peaches before i get to cutting them, the green bowl is cold water for blanching and rubbing the peels, the silver pot on the stove is the hot water for blanching, the big black canner is behind it


the stovetop - back right- a little pot of water for heating up the lids, back left- the syrup, front left- water for blanching, front right- the canner


blanching the peaches - put in nearly boiling water for a few seconds, then drop in cold water and the peels rub right off. this water needs to be changed often because it fills up with peels and warms up.


filling the jar with peaches


cutting up the peaches (these in-progress pictures are hard to get because i have to stop and wash all the sticky off my hands, and dry them super well so i dont kill the camera). the red spatula is to help pack more stuff in the jar and let the air out. the metal measuring cup is for scooping syrup from the pan to the jar.


yummy peaches!


more peaches


peaches


jam


then we canned peaches.
we had 1 box, 46 peaches (44 plus 2 from moms fridge). colorado mountain gold. mom paid $29 for the box at cub.
the syrup was 18 cups water and 4 cups sugar - with about 2 cups of syrup leftover
we added 18 tsp of fruit fresh produce protector (which was half the skinny little jar)
we got 19 pints, with 4 peaches leftover.
processed 13 minutes in the canner.
some of the peach pits were a little clingy.

jam and cookbooks

my mom made a small batch of seedless blackberry jam. it was SOOOO good! makes me want to grow a patch of blackberries.


my shelf of cookbooks. this is most of them. i'm trying to get them all in one place.

ground cherry jam

i made ground cherry jam for the neighbors.


cooking it down




the neighbor i made it for gave me these jars to use. it went straight into her fridge, thats why i just poured it into jars instead of canning it proper.



GROUND CHERRY JAM recipe
5 c. berries
1/2 c. water
4 c. sugar
1/2 can (6 oz. size) frozen orange juice
4 tbsp. lemon juice

Remove husks and wash berries. Measure berries and water. Bring to boil and cook until berries burst. Add sugar and frozen orange juice concentrate (not diluted!), and lemon juice. Cook for 30 minutes stirring often to prevent scorching. Jar and seal.
- http://www.cooks.com/recipe/w0j80z8/ground-cherry-jam.html

triple berry jam making

last weekend my mom and i made triple berry jam.

we went to the farmers market, despite the rain


and bought blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries


we ran them thru the sauce strainer thing i got for making tomato sauce. it made really quick work of the berries.


the pictures are so dark because it was terribly dark outside from the rain. i didnt take that into consideration while snapping all the photos.

the seeds getting strained out


i like the color change. from left to right in the pan its blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.


end result of all the seeds


boiling


ladling into jars


try not to drool


prepare for nomming!


2011 triple berry jam
1 pt blackberries, 4 pts blueberries, 3 pts regular red raspberries, 2 pts purple raspberries, 1 pt black raspberries.
Ran thru strainer and got 10 cups of juice.
Nearly 2 boxes of pectin (perhaps half to one tablespoon short).
8 cups sugar.
Stir pectin into fruit juice in stockpot.
Bring to a full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly.
Stir in sugar quickly, return to a boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, skim foam, ladle into jars.
Process in canner 10 minutes for jam, 4 minutes for jelly.
Made 12 half pint jars and 2 pint jars.
Took 24 hours of cooling before setting up properly.

and, a 13 second video of how awesome the strainer thing is to use

strawberry jam making

a few weeks ago my mom and i made strawberry jam.

fresh strawberries picked by me at bauer berry farm


what was left


mash the berries


bring to a boil


scoop off the foam


foam is funny stuff when it cools, it gets stiff


fill up the jars


try not to drool


strawberry jam recipe

2011 strawberry jam
8 cups strawberries
4 cups sugar
5 tablespoons pectin
Mash berries in pot with pectin.
When liquid, add sugar.
Bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes, then turn off heat.
Scoop off foam, fill jars.
Process 10 minutes in canner.
Made two batches, the second was closer to 7 cups berries with 3 cups sugar. Total of 13 and 1/ 2 jars

necessary canning equipment


load up the canner


the tall skinny jam jars dont stay upright in the canner when the water is boiling, so my mom solved that by wrapping the jar in a dishrag.


done! commence eating!