What are you canning now?

[donrae]

Oh wow...great score! I was able to scrounge lots of pears last fall but seems it just wasn't a good year for pears this year.

Our pears have done well. I canned 11 quarts and made two sour cream pear pies today. I live in pear country so I get them for free

Free Food Tastes Better. Our family motto.

Was off work Tues, Wed and Thurs. In addition to the above canned 14 pints of red/navy/northern beans, 15 quarts shredded chicken and something else I can't recall right off......

 

[silkensunlight]

I'm doing apples today, juice and sauce. I think I read somewhere that I can keep the cooked peels and cores to make jelly down the road? Am I right about this? Just re-boil the peelings to get the juice for the jelly? How much flavor is left in those used peels after all the juice and sauce is done? I know one of the more experienced folks on here will be able to advise here. Thanks!

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'm doing apples today, juice and sauce. I think I read somewhere that I can keep the cooked peels and cores to make jelly down the road? Am I right about this? Just re-boil the peelings to get the juice for the jelly? How much flavor is left in those used peels after all the juice and sauce is done? I know one of the more experienced folks on here will be able to advise here. Thanks!

Yep, just stick them in the freezer until you are ready.

Here's how you do it. It is tricky to get it to set - can take a few days. My first batch came out too thick, 2nd was perfect!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/78434/what-are-you-canning-now/3600_50#post_5502837

 

[mickey328]

I boil all that stuff to add it to juice later on...and I keep any liquid left from making applesauce as well. Can't see any point in letting it all go to waste

 

[silkensunlight]

Can't see any point in letting it all go to waste

Exactly what I thought too. I think by the end of a 1/2 bushel of apples I'll have about 3 quarts of juice and at least 8 quarts of sauce. Then if I can still use the peels and "junk" it'll have been a great investment. I would love to able to get fruits for free or super cheap but that's not happening around here I don't think. I did post on Kijiji for anyone who may have trees that need picking but no dice so far.

 

[mickey328]

kijiji must be the Canadian version of Craig's List? There were quite a few posts here earlier, but not so much now. Do you ever see trees growing on public property? You should be able to harvest those. If you're willing you can even ask folks if you see someone with some in their yard where the fruit's on the ground...they may be happy to have someone come pick and save them the clean up. We have a number of big store lots that have some crabapple trees on them...I can't imagine they'll have any use for them, so we're going to stop and ask them about it. I'd like about as many more as we already had...I'd like another 15 or so pints of apple sauce and another batch of apple butter and lots and lots of juice, LOL! We don't really care too much for jelly here (except for crabapple jelly) so after the sauce and butter, I'll just juice the rest and we can drink it. Yum!

 

[silkensunlight]

Yeah Kijiji is just like Craigs. Some people around here post to craigs but not nearly as many as kijiji. It's weird. There are hardly any fruit trees around here unless you go to the big PYO farms. This year everything is incredibly expensive too. We had a really weird spring and then a drought all summer so the fruit isn't even all that great anyways. I know there's a few crabapples around but even they suffered. DH knows a lot more people around here than I do since he's been here for more than 50 years, but even he can't think of anyone who might have fruit trees. Slim pickin's for us I guess.

 

[mickey328]

Yeah, we didn't have a great growing season either...way hot early on and not nearly enough rain. Last year was much better, so...guess we just have to hope it turns around next year. LOL

 

[silkensunlight]

Yeah that's for sure. I'm hope to get my first crop of apples next year. My trees are still young but I was looking at them and there are several well developed spurs on them. Fingers crossed that we can at least have a little taste of what's to come with them. We did get one pears this year though...LOL

 

[mickey328]

We have a little Mac that we're hoping will give us a taste next year but...reckon we'll have to wait and see. We did get a really nice harvest from our little plum this year...made us some GREAT jam! I'm also hopeful that, if I do some serious pruning, we'll get some nice grapes off our vine next year too. If we can squeeze some $$ out of our budget, I'd like to get a peach, a pear and a cherry in the ground this fall. They can be "iffy" for us since we often have temps warm enough to make 'em bloom, then get a hard freeze, but...what the heck...at least there's a possibility, right? LOL