I know I officially declared my canning season over with the last grape juice fiasco, but I looked out my window this weekend and noticed all the leaves had fallen off the grapevine but there were still lots of grape clusters hanging on.
So I trudged out and lo and behold, they were still good grapes! So I picked a box, brought them in and canned more juice!
This time everthing went ok {mostly}--no burnt pan or burnt stove top. This time only a burnt finger which I iced for six hours before going to bed then put a frozen gel pack wrapped around it while I slept and worried if I was going to wake up to a frostbitten finger.
What was I thinking??? Did I mention how awesome I am at canning? Oh how soon I forget!
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4 comments:
The grape juice was the hardest thing I've done this year. I declaired it a learning experience (what not to do) and vowed to find a more efficient process next year. The grapes have more sugar in them after they've been frozen.
My most painful experience was with apples - I cut my finger so badly that I cut nerves and the scar is still painful to the touch but the numbness is going away.
We'll have to share better ways to do grapes next year.
Really? I thought juicing was the easiest. But I'm using an actual canning juicer that steams them, not doing the method suggested in the Ball Blue Book. You should look into one of those for sure!
I have heard wonderful things about doing grape juice with a strainer. Check this out: http://www.canningpantry.com/220.html There is a more expensive model too.
I thought I was done canning, too, but I was given some apples that are going rotten and we are cutting out the bad spots and making sauce. I borrowed a peeler/corer/slicer at first, but it's hard to use with bad spots. We got the strainer (oh, and they shipped the same day I ordered it--I ordered right after midnight--and I got it in 2 days, out of state!) and we are flying through the apples.
We are really enjoying having applesauce again.
It has a seperate piece for making grape juice. My grape vines are only two years old so I haven't got much yet, but perhaps in a few years I can get more and make juice. If I can glean any I will as well.
So, though canning is long, I am so grateful to have more to can!
Hey! I have one of those too! Aren't those the coolest? Thanks for the link to that site though, I didn't know about that one yet.
That's how I made my applesauce. Well first I steamed them with one of these http://www.canningpantry.com/a12.html to get the juice out, then ran them through the strainer for the applesauce. Mmm! Maybe I'll do another post on them just so that others can see the equipment too!
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