A couple of posts ago I wrote that I was meant to be a teacher. Yesterday I was feeling, "I wasn't meant to be domestic!" I was trying to bottle peaches. Growing up, every year I helped my mom (it wasn't optional) harvest fruits and vegetables from our garden. So doing peaches is not a new thing to me. But doing it by myself-- well, this is only year two.
Imagine me in my kitchen, peach juice dripping from my hands, down to my elbows. Bowls and pans cover the counter and stove. One pot has boiling water where I try to scald the peaches (darn, really wish I had mom's wire basket). I try to skin them before they get cold, only to realize that maybe they are not quite ripe enough. How are you supposed to tell if they are ripe. They "felt" soft enough. Once I have enough in a quart jar, then I pour syrup over them, trying to guess just where the line is that indicates 1/2 inch head space.
I finally get 5 quarts done. I won't admit how long that took. I get the water bath canner going. Once it starts to boil I have to wait at 40 minutes for them to process. When 40 minutes has ended, I take the first bottle out and juice is seeping from underneath the lid. Yikes. Guess I mis-judged the headspace. Bottle #2 is also leaking. Not a good sign. I hope they seal. Last year I left more head space, but maybe that is why some of them turned brown in the bottle.
I finally finished around 7:15 p.m. I only called my mom 4 times within 3 hours. Not too bad a ratio. I asked things like-- "how do I know if they are ripe; why are they floating to the top; do I really need to adjust the time for higher altitude; is 1/2 inch head space right, that is what the Ball Blue Book says." I don't know who I'll call when she is gone-- probably my sister. She knows everything too. But also she calls mom first. Thank goodness for moms.
If fresh fruit didn't taste better from a bottle than a can, I'd go and buy a case of DelMonte peaches and call it good. But instead, I'll try again to bottle the remaining peaches and then start on the pears. Stay tuned.
Life is Good.
1 comment:
Did you ever stop to think that when your mom was on year two of bottling peaches, she didn't know what she was doing either?
The fact that you've attempted such a giant task means you ARE meant to be domestic! You have to start somewhere...
P.S. When you've learned all the tricks, let me know. I haven't tried yet!
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