Behold the mighty power of sugar!

With the economy in the toilet, its interesting to see people returning to self-sufficiency activities such as gardening… and canning.  I have always “put up” food through the years, partly because its cheaper, and partly because it tastes so much better than the stuff you can buy in the store.  Folks in this house refuse to eat store-bought canned peaches!

One of the things I consider when putting stuff up, is how and where I’m going to be storing things.  While there is “quickfire” appeal to stashing stuff in the freezer, I like to have things on the shelf to free up freezer space for things like meat and seafood.  That, and the fact that hub hates the taste of freezer jam, means that jams, chutneys and pickles go in jars, and get processed in the hot water canner!

So you want proof that I’m not just a johnny-come-lately to the canning bandwagon?  Well, I just replaced my shelves for the canned goods, and look what I found hidden in the back!  A jar of nectarine jam from 1999 — aged a full 10 years.

Back in the day, I used more sugar than I do now.  When you are canning, sugar is your friend, and helps both thicken (if you are not using commercial pectin), and helps preserve.  That and a good long bath in hot water, generally help keep the nasties at bay until such time as you’re ready to eat it (usually, that’s sooner than 10 yrs!).  Well, this puppy was still firmly sealed, and when I opened it, it smelled fine, no doubt due to the amount of sugar in each batch.  That being said, neither one of us is willing to muster up the courage to test it out!… yet.

On the “fresher” canned goods front, this last week has seen a 1/2 bushel box of peaches turned into jam:  with ginger, and plain:

And, a big box of Bartlett pears from Oldfield Orchard quartered and canned in rum syrup.

I spent an evening putting up the new shelves, and restocking with this year’s canning.  They’re nearly full now, with a bit more room for some more salsa and pickles!  Maybe some blackberry jam?

See you next time — gotta go stir the pot of tomato sauce on the stove!