I have always been fascinated by canning, and I’d love to do more of it myself. It always seems kind of intimidating, but it’s really not too complicated, and this handy infographic from SurvivalLife.com breaks canning stone fruits down into simple steps.
Stone fruits are some of the easiest items to can, and the steps taken in this guide can be followed with a $10 canning kit from Walmart or any grocery store. Cherries, plums, apricots, and peaches, make great preserves, from jams and jellies to easy pie fillings.
I think my favorite thing about canning is how long preserves last, up to several years when stored properly, and how an afternoon of canning can produce months of delicious preserves. If you don’t have a local supply of seasonal stone fruits, you could always wait until they’re on sale at your grocery store, buy a bunch and try your hand at canning them!
One comment on “Canning Stone Fruits (Infographic)”
I started canning with my mother when I was a child. When I married and had a family I canned anything I could find. Some folks had trees and didn’t want to use the fruit so, I fell heir to the treasures. My children grew up helping with the canning of fruit each year. Recently my little 5 yr. old great grandson went to the storage room, picked up a jar of peaches from the shelf, brought it into the kitchen, and proceeded to open it by himself. He gets his own bowl and spoon and eats half a quart by himself. Home canned fruit picked and canned when they are at the peak of their flavor is much tastier than the commercial fruit in the stores. They have peaches now that are bred to peel easily.
While visiting my son in Hawaii I had 5 boxes of pineapple shipped home. It canned up easily. On a trip down the coast of Oregon we stopped along side the road and picked blackberries. Since we were in our camper and I had canning jars stored in it, I proceeded to make blackberry jelly. I washed out a pair of panty hose and strained out the berry seeds. When we arrived at my grandmother’s home in Anaheim I was thrilled to be able to treat her to several jars of jelly. My grandparents really enjoyed it!
Where I live we have a lot of cactus prickley pears. They are a deep reddish purple and make beautiful jelly. Using tongs we wash the fruit and cut them in half, because they are large, and then put them in my steamer, stickers (thorns) and all, to make juice. The juice is so clear and pure and beautiful. We hold the fruit with the tongs and slice the fruit so we never get any stickers in us.
Canning beans, meat,tomatoes, salsa, etc. is convenient and economical. My pressure cooker has lasted for years. All that needs to be done is to replace the gasket at times and have the pressure gauge checked for accuracy at the local state university home economic center.
I encourage everyone to can. It is so rewarding to see shelves full of quarts and pints filled with good food.