Well Planned Day

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Canning: 101

You might remember, last week, we picked apples.


I also found this (vintage) box of jars in MIL's basement.


Got a couple recipes from the wonderful world wide web and we're off!

See this cool peeler? I know it's not a fancy, heavy duty metal one...but it works great and it only cost $3!!!


My first recipe to tackle is cinnamon apple rings, using red hot candies, similar to what my Great-Grandma Langendoerfer used to make.


In the same day, I thought it would be fun to go ahead and make a batch of apple butter. (Crazy, really)


3 hours of stirring over low heat...


And, wa la!

Now, I'm thinking, this whole time, Christmas gifts!!! But we did bust into a jar of the cinnamon rings...just to make sure they were okay. Ohhhhh... there might not be any left come December!!!

That was Friday.
Today, I tackled Apple Chutney.

You know, the stuff you put on pork and such.
It called for apples, tomatoes, prunes, currents, onions and the sauce was made with vinegar, sugar and spices.


Here are the "vintage" jars and a wonderful gift (thank you, Margaret) of a canning utility set. I didn't have it for my first day of canning, so my second go at it was MUCH easier!!!


And, here are my 10+ jars of chutney. It is very tangy!
And I still have MORE apples! I plan to make 1 more batch of apple butter (I think) and probably 2 more of the cinnamon rings. Maybe 3. Or 4.

2 comments:

amanda said...

wow girl, you have been doing so much. I am impressed, is the canning easier or harder than you thought? My grandma always canned tomatoes, and I would love to try it someday...

but those cinnamon apple rings, ummm, you know how I feel about cinnamon, right?

Always an Adventure said...

Water bath canning is much easier than I thought it would be. Haven't tried the pressure cooker yet!

Hmmm...forgot about you & cinnamon, Amanda. What am I to do with you?! Do you like cinnamon candy? To me, that's very different from the spice. The apple rings are made w/the candy, not the spice. I'll remember, no cinnamon for you for Christmas!