Summer Canning Begins ~ ~ ~

Today was the first day of our canning!  Mmmm ~ strawberry season is right on track this year to be spectacular!  We live half way between Santa Maria and the Salinas areas where most strawberries are grown.  Which means great big, sweet berries are plentiful and very inexpensive!  Four pounds for $5 of giant, sweet strawberry's!!  

These are 4 pound packages, so you can see how large they are, no green, even on the very bottom tips.  They are field ripened and just as sweet as can be.  The eight pounds we put up today we had 2 berries that spoiled, 7 that were a bit too bruised for the jam, so we just ate them, and the rest - well they cooked up to 7 pint jars, and 1 half pint jar!

I thought there would be more ~ you too?  Well, I forgot a pint does take a pound of fruit. We got to taste a bit left on the bottom of the pot - oh yummyness heaven!!

Today we made a double batch at once.  Holy strawberries did that take a long time to bring to a boil!  Normally I do half pint jars because I gift so many (one year I even made 1/2 CUP sizes - total waste of a good jar and time!)  So tomorrow - I have 18 half pint jars to do!  

I'll make one batch at a time to speed up the process.  I know - it does sound backward.

So, what about you?  Do any of you can your own veggies or fruit?  Do you make jams or jellies?  I'm growing lots of beets, hoping to can those this year!

Oh my gosh!!  I just remembered!!  For Christmas, our youngest son and daughter in law bought us a food dehydrator and I think it's time to crack the box and learn to make fruit roll ups, or dried fruit!  Oh yum - now I can hardly wait for mangoes to come in to season!  Dried mangoes are just soooo, so so good!  As a matter of fact, mango jam, roll ups - frozen. 

Oh my, I'd better get going - I need to get the dehydrator how to book out and read it in bed tonight!  So, nightie night!

Blessing to all!

Hugs,

Donna

Peach, Mango and Strawberry Jams!!

Wow, it's been a great year for tasty fruit!  With the crazy weather we've had this spring and summer (so far) our fruit has had lots of blemishes, which means lots of tasty fruit at great prices.  Strawberries were again 88 cents a pound today!  If I hadn't already put up about 80 pounds of fruit - 40 or so in jam and 40 or so in fresh frozen - we'd be picking up more than just a few pounds to munch on this week!

Mangos came in at 2 and 3 for $1, so - yep - I put up a lot of mango jam.  Oh my goodness, it is really tasty!  I love jams with big chunks of fruit!  spreads so nice on fresh warm bread!  Yummy!!

Last week, my daughter in law brought me over a large crate of fresh peaches she was able to pick up for $6.  SIX DOLLARS!!!  Oh my heavens - Elise, my oldest granddaughter (8 years old) helped me and we put up 12 small, 15 medium, and 12 large jars of peach jam.  5 batches,  20 pounds of peaches just in jam and we had a big bowl left for ice cream topping or just eating!!  There's nothing like fresh fruit picked that day or a day or two before. 

Of all of the jams this year, Elise and I agreed, the peach takes the prize, hands down!  It tastes so good - oh my gosh!  I wish I could give everyone a spoonful through the screen!

I'm sorry for the farmers not being able selling their fruit for top prices because of the late frosts and freezes, but blessings for us getting such tasty fruits for so little in price!  Now blueberries - I'd really like to pick up another 20 or more pounds of blueberries for the freezer.  It's a bit late in the year for them, but one can dream!

I pray everyone is having a safe and wonderful summer vacation.  I've been enjoying my grandchildren and the great weather we've been having!

Blessings,
Donna