I picked 200 lbs of tomatoes at a pick your own farm today!
Got them all washed and will can them over the next two days.
I should get about 65 quarts of amazing pureed tomatoes. I'll add in fresh basil from my garden. They will last my family through the winter.
Yup, I'm doing the granny thing too , actually more like Italian Nonna for me!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like to can, but it’s been a strange summer, not in a good way, so be done nothing beyond some strawberry rhubarb jam in the spring. I still have a lot of pickles from last fall so probably won’t do any this year. I will make a few batches of applesauce, though I just freeze that, not can. I used to do at least 16 quarts every fall when my son was young, but he’s now grown so I don’t need much.
I’ve never canned tomatoes. I freeze my home grown ones, then use them to make pasta sauce throughout the winter. My tomatoes didn’t do well this summer so won’t have many to freeze.

But you found rhubarb! Nowhere near me seemed to have it when I had enough berries to make decent use of it.

Tomatoes are a ton of work, but it goes by pretty fast when you can get into the flow of it. I don't really look forward to the canning, but I definitely look forward to the cans when it's mid-winter and there's not a single bit of "actual tomato" flavor to be found anywhere else!

Harris Teeter always carries rhubarb. Sometimes it's nicer than other times, but I can always find it.

We have a peach tree, so I do a lot of jars of peach jam.

Anonymous wrote:I like to can, but it’s been a strange summer, not in a good way, so be done nothing beyond some strawberry rhubarb jam in the spring. I still have a lot of pickles from last fall so probably won’t do any this year. I will make a few batches of applesauce, though I just freeze that, not can. I used to do at least 16 quarts every fall when my son was young, but he’s now grown so I don’t need much.
I’ve never canned tomatoes. I freeze my home grown ones, then use them to make pasta sauce throughout the winter. My tomatoes didn’t do well this summer so won’t have many to freeze.

But you found rhubarb! Nowhere near me seemed to have it when I had enough berries to make decent use of it.

Tomatoes are a ton of work, but it goes by pretty fast when you can get into the flow of it. I don't really look forward to the canning, but I definitely look forward to the cans when it's mid-winter and there's not a single bit of "actual tomato" flavor to be found anywhere else!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make lots of pickles for friends and family.

I have a couple of friends who can but not many.

Canned pickles or fridge pickles? I do fridge pickles (and pickled onions!) year-round, but every time I try to can pickles, I'm not happy with the results.

Canned. I like the wide mouthed pint jars. I make dill pickle chips, bread and butter, and every other year pickled jalapenos, same as my mom did. My family eats them like crazy (we go through about 15 jars a year).

Also, you have to use Kirby cucumbers or they get really soggy. They are super easy to grow from seed, so it's not too expensive to do.

Ah, maybe that's where I went wrong... I'll try again next year!

I like to can, but it’s been a strange summer, not in a good way, so be done nothing beyond some strawberry rhubarb jam in the spring. I still have a lot of pickles from last fall so probably won’t do any this year. I will make a few batches of applesauce, though I just freeze that, not can. I used to do at least 16 quarts every fall when my son was young, but he’s now grown so I don’t need much.
I’ve never canned tomatoes. I freeze my home grown ones, then use them to make pasta sauce throughout the winter. My tomatoes didn’t do well this summer so won’t have many to freeze.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make lots of pickles for friends and family.

I have a couple of friends who can but not many.

Canned pickles or fridge pickles? I do fridge pickles (and pickled onions!) year-round, but every time I try to can pickles, I'm not happy with the results.

Canned. I like the wide mouthed pint jars. I make dill pickle chips, bread and butter, and every other year pickled jalapenos, same as my mom did. My family eats them like crazy (we go through about 15 jars a year).

Also, you have to use Kirby cucumbers or they get really soggy. They are super easy to grow from seed, so it's not too expensive to do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make lots of pickles for friends and family.

I have a couple of friends who can but not many.

Canned pickles or fridge pickles? I do fridge pickles (and pickled onions!) year-round, but every time I try to can pickles, I'm not happy with the results.

Canned. I like the wide mouthed pint jars. I make dill pickle chips, bread and butter, and every other year pickled jalapenos, same as my mom did. My family eats them like crazy (we go through about 15 jars a year).

Anonymous wrote:I make lots of pickles for friends and family.

I have a couple of friends who can but not many.

Canned pickles or fridge pickles? I do fridge pickles (and pickled onions!) year-round, but every time I try to can pickles, I'm not happy with the results.

Anonymous wrote:Jams and tomato sauce. Pre-ordered 75 lbs of tomatoes and will be making sauce this long weekend.

Nice! Good weekend for it

Anonymous wrote:The only thing I've done this year is strawberry vanilla jam back in June.

I'd like to make some spicy tomato peach jam (wonderful on grilled cheese), but I haven't gotten to it yet. My tomatoes did poorly, but the small farm down the street always has a ton of seconds that are perfect for it.

Oooh! That sounds amazing! Recipe?

Jams and tomato sauce. Pre-ordered 75 lbs of tomatoes and will be making sauce this long weekend.

I make lots of pickles for friends and family.

I have a couple of friends who can but not many.

The only thing I've done this year is strawberry vanilla jam back in June.

I'd like to make some spicy tomato peach jam (wonderful on grilled cheese), but I haven't gotten to it yet. My tomatoes did poorly, but the small farm down the street always has a ton of seconds that are perfect for it.

What have you canned so far this summer? Anybody got tomatoes done yet? I love doing them, and we've grown enough for at least a round of sauce and a round of salsa, but they always seem like such a PITA that I put them off.

So far, I've done two batches of fig lemon preserves (one from our trees, then a second round w/ store-boughts because the first round disappeared too quickly), a batch of blueberry lavender jam, and some plum jam today. Strawberries are this weekend's work. Still to go: the aforementioned tomatoes, and a 1/2 bushel of peaches, most of which will probably be bourbon vanilla peaches for gifts (SO good on ice cream!). We don't do apple picking so much now that the kids are older, but I love having apple butter when it's snowy and grey in January, so I may do a round of that and some applesauce, too. For the tradition.

I can't be the only person on DCUM who does this "granny" stuff. Who else is out there?