Where are my canning jars?

Ever start the summer canning season asking yourself the question
"Where oh where are all my canning jars?  Didn't I have more than this??"

That is me.  Sent my willing hubby to the root cellar outside to look.  He came back with some, but not the ones I wanted.  So I went a 'lookin' ~ oh there you are my canning jars!  Right where I left you ~ in the root cellar with canned peaches, dilled carrots, tomatoes and such in them.  HUMMMM

Maybe I can go a little easier on myself this canning season?

Are 32 jars of cherries a little excessive?  ha ha!  Did 6 jars of saskatoons and 3 batches of strawberry/rhubarb jam so far.

I think I'll start up the dehydrator now ~ dried herbs are a little easier to move than jars of cherries!

Happy canning everyone!

Canning Saskatoons ~ Jam Recipe ETC

My poor, deprived children and hubby have never tasted canned saskatoons or blueberries.  I set out to remedy this situation and canned me up some saskatoons!  ha ha.
I have many fond memories of Mom's canned blueberries when we lived in Ontario and how us kids would pretend the purple juice was our "medicine".  Can't wait for my girls to take their medicine!
I used to be so afraid of canning, but really, just read the instructions and follow them.  Don't take short cuts, and always put your best fruit in the jar.  It won't come out looking better than it went in.  No food does.  That is the best thing I have learned about canning and freezing...only the best goes in because it won't miraculously convert to something wonderful in the freezer.  Throw it out or use it in muffins, etc.
Anyhow...onto the canning of the saskatoons.  I often give a lot of detail, but this is for my girls benefit.

First, gather your troops to pick the fresh berries.
Sing and pick and eat

In our area in BC Canada, we don't seem to have many wild fruits, etc to benefit from, but I have finally found some saskatoons.  Check in your own areas for what grows naturally... organically and God given for your benefit!

Silly little plastic containers that I didn't throw away from the stores.
The air holes work wonderfully and they stack so nicely.  

Sorted berries, took some time, but well worth it.  Biggest and best for the jars!

 Instead of writing my recipe out, I've copied a link to another web page... try this...
Canning Fruit
I use a ratio of 1:3 white sugar and water and hot water bath my jars of peaches for 20 mins and saskatoons for 15 mins.

Syrup ~ 1 cup white sugar to 3 cups of water.  I used 12 cups water for 7 quarts.
Lids in hot water, clean jars in hot water.
This is sterilizing and getting ready.

Fill the jars up as much as possible by shaking and gently banging the bottom
of the jars on the counter to settle the berries.
Unless you like more syrup and less berries ~

Middle jar first.  The water has already boiled.  Jars are hot.  Syrup is hot.
Otherwise you will have cracking or bursting jars.

Add the other jars alternating side to side so it doesn't tip over

Canning Hot Water Bath time it after it returns to a boil

 Everything is hot hot HOT...so be careful.  One jar did tip over a little on me and lost some juice, so it didn't seal but we can eat it fresh anyhow.

Remember to wash jars off once they have cooled.  Otherwise in the winter
you may give yourself a hernia trying to get the lid off

Approx. 35 lbs of saskatoons in the freezer.

Opps, forgot to say that I usually place my berries on a cookie sheet to freeze individually first, then bag them.  This gets rid of that nasty clumped up bag of berries.  I can just take out however many I need at a time.  Girls love eating frozen berries as well, or putting a few on top of their oatmeal.
We have since learned a trick with taking off the stems.  Freeze clean berries, then when they are frozen, just roll around a bit and all the stems are OFF!

The Pectin I used for the Rhubarb-Saskatoon Jam 

This pectin I saw for the first time, "on sale" in a Safeway store.  I looked at the ingredients and no aspartame, etc, so I thought I'd try it.  So far, so good.  We loved the jam.

So yummy.  It was great warm and then warmed up on waffles the next morning.

My family finds fruit jams too sweet, so I add rhubarb to them.  It also thickens, adds nutrients and we use less sugar than they say and it never goes bad on me.

Saskatoon-Rhubarb Jam

8 cups chopped up rhubarb

1 cup water

Start to simmer this while you get your berries ready to go in

Add 12 cups saskatoons

1/2 cup white sugar mixed with your pectin

1 box of no sugar Pectin

Stir up and get to boiling, stirring constantly for 1 minute or so.

Add 2 1/2 cups white sugar, stirring and reducing heat.

Taste it, add more sugar if you need, more berries if you want even.  It is not rocket science.  Flavors blend more as it sits.

Place in hot jars, fill with hot jam, clean jar rim, place hot lid on hot jar.  Set aside on a towel and wait for the POP POP POP.  Label and store.  I leave mine on the counter for 24 hours to make sure they have sealed before I take them to the root cellar.

Notice I say HOT a lot ~ it is important to have everything hot, it sterilizes and seals your food.

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