I Can, and So Can You!

True to my word in my previous post, I spent last night canning. The process was a bit lengthy, and I would have preferred to do it on a weekend. Unfortunately, cherries don’t last very long, and I had to can/process all of them last night before they turned. Since last night was my first time canning, I documented my experience with pictures.

A big bowl of cherries just waiting to be pitted!


One of those manual hand-pitter things. I borrowed it from Kai’s mom.


A bowl of pitted cherries. The pitter was very effective, but it sure did hurt my thumb!


Canning jars undergoing the sterilization process.


Some cherry jam on the stovetop. I “chopped” the cherries in the blender. I’m not much for extra chunky jam.


A jar of cherry jam – all sealed up and ready to store!


How could I resist constructing a jam tower?

In addition to cherry jam, I canned some whole cherries for kicks. I’m hoping that they taste kind of like maraschino cherries (only better) when the time comes to eat them. Canning whole cherries was VERY simple. All I had to do was pit the cherries, shove them in the jar, pour a boiling sugar/water mixture into the jar, slap on the lids, and place the jars in a boiling water bath. Ta da!


Canned whole cherries! They sort of look artifical in this picture, but I swear I added nothing but sugar and water.
I thought I packed the cherries in pretty tight, but evidently that was not the case. They probably lost some of their juices during the canning process - which caused them to become smaller and more likely to float. I hope they relax once they’ve soaked up all the sugary goodness.

Anywho, I’ve decided I like this whole canning thing, and I’m thinking about all of the other stuff I can preserve. I’d love to make some kiwi jam, and I found a recipe for dandelion jelly that looks interesting. Now if I could just find a field full of dandelions…