Canning

What is more beautiful than a branch loaded with McIntosh apples!

Note to self: this photo taken August 29, 2011 

The McIntosh apple is sweet and crisp, but not hard like a Delicious. We have never ever sprayed this tree with insecticide or anything else, yet rarely, rarely have I found a wormy apple. It's a great eating apple, not a good keeper, not the best pie apple for those who like to see individual slices of apple in their pie because it bakes fast and becomes soft, but wonderful for applesauce, apple crisp, and dehydrated apple slices.

 

 McIntosh Apples

Canning season has begun. I love the abundance of fruits and vegetables from the garden. It still amazes me that a little seed put into the ground can grow into a huge plant that bears so much fruit. What a gracious and generous Creator!

Ye Olde McIntosh tree

Unfortunately, last year we didn't get a single apple from this tree because after the tree had flowered, we had a hard frost which killed all the blossoms. No blossoms, no fruit. :-(  This year, the tree more than made up for the loss of apples last year. It's loaded!

 Applesauce, September 2011

There's something so rewarding about seeing those jars of applesauce sitting on the shelves. But it's a long way from the McIntosh tree to the shelf. Each morning I pick the apples from the yard under the tree, and each day I either dehydrate those apples or sauce them. Canning is a messy process, especially for me, for I seem to make a huge mess in the kitchen when doing any project, involving the apple peeler, corer, slicer, food mill, pots on the stove, etc. etc.

 Kitchen utensils

I thought I had taken a photo of the kitchen when in the throes of canning. Evidently not. What you would have seen is just about every pot and pan I own, out on the kitchen counter. Misty would be lying at my feet, as would apple juice and a few errant apple peels. What you do see above are apples that I dehydrated, peaches that I made into peach jam (my first peach jam and good grief! is it delicious!), the apple peeler, corer, slicer (inexpensive - $19.00) and indispensable when canning or dehydrating apples, (If you're doing this the old fashioned way, stop! This little tool is worth its weight in...apples) fragrance and essential oils for the batch of soap I made yesterday.

The Baby Mac

We added another McIntosh tree this year. The nursery had them on sale and I thought it was about time that another tree share the responsibility of providing apples. After all, our other McIntosh is 22 years old. I asked the nursery lady if I should feed the tree, but she said no, just give it lots and lots of water. It's now in the ground and doing well. (I am happy to report).

 Tomatoes waiting to be canned

I planted Early Girl, Roma, and Beefsteak (the Early Girl are my favorite, about tennis ball size, uniform, a determinate tomato (which means it grows so long and stops, most of its fruit coming in about the same time - making it a nice tomato for canning). Of all the years I've been gardening, I'd never noticed the words 'determinate' or 'indeterminate' on a package of tomato seeds - until last year!

The Canning Dungeon
More tomatoes are in the canner, processing at 11 # pressure for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, I sit and work crosswords while waiting.

So today, I'll be canning more tomatoes and apples. Autumn has arrived in Wisconsin.

...and more!

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