Place the lids on them & place the jars in the boiling water in the water bath processor. Leave the jars in the water bath for 10 minutes. Use the canning tongs to place the jars in the hot water & pull the jars out of the hot water. Be very careful when pulling the jars out! Don’t want anyone dripping hot water on themselves or dropping a jar. Listen for your jar lids to pop. Double check them by pushing down in the center with your thumb. If there’s no give to the lid, they’re sealed. I hope you enjoy finding directions for fixing different foods on my blog.

Some of our quart jars of pears ready to go in the cabinet.

It’s pear time at the Spears house! I got started peeling, coring & putting up the pears. Almost had one batch completely finished when Jim asked if there was anything he could do to help. He offered to peel & that sounded good to me. He asked about the apple peeler so I got it out for him. He fooled with it & got it to working. So then he was off peeling pears. Then he would give them to Sarah & she would do the touch up peeling. When I got them, I cut them in half & cored them.

Kept the syrup going to cook the pears in as we got a batch ready. Personally, I like to use the light syrup so they aren’t so sweet. We did 3 batches of pears & then it was time to take Sarah to her piano lesson. Not bad at all. We now have 12 quarts of pears sitting on the table ready for us to find someplace to put them up until they’re wanted.

So this evening I was down in the basement dragging out the storage containers with mason jars in them. Hunted around until I found several bags of rings. Dragged it all upstairs so I can be ready tomorrow. Baring a major diaster I’m picking pears tomorrow. Love to can pears, pear preserves are nice. I have a lovely recipe for pear cobbler. Hmm Tomorrow will be a fun day!

Canning time again. If you have a garden, plant tomatoes & don’t can tomatoes, you should start. It’s a great way to save money through the years. The cost involved is just about non-existant after the first year when you buy your jars and a water bath canner. You have to buy new lids every year, a little salt, some lemon juice & that’s all you need if you grow your own tomatoes. You save money, have control over the quality of food you’re eating & have a wonderful sense of accomplishment when you finish.

Even getting started with jars doesn’t have to be a major expense if you’re lucky. Years ago, I bought a few dozen jars new. Then I started getting lucky. First I found some at a yard sale. Just check any you find that way very carefully. Check to make sure 1. they are canning jars & not mayonnaise jars, 2. that they don’t have any hairline cracks in them, and 3. that the lips of the jars are smooth. Chips in the lips of the jar will prevent the lids from sealing properly. A completely tight seal is important to keep the food from spoiling. Next, I managed to find some that were being given away. Now I have plenty of jars.

First thing you need to do is to thoroughly wash your jars & the water bath canner in hot soapy water. Take a medium-sized saucepan & fill it with water. While you wait for the water to start boiling, rinse your tomatoes very carefully. Next you’ll take a knife & cut the core out. Then fill your clean sink with cold water & add ice cubes to it. Once your water is boiling, add 5-6 tomatoes at a time to the boiling water. Leave them in for somewhere between 20-30 seconds. After you take them out of the water, immediately plunge them in the ice cold water in your sink. Now you’ll be able to easily peel the skin off the tomatoes. Put your new lids & clean rings in very hot water to soak.

Pack the tomatoes in your jars. You can use either pint jars or quart jars. I usually put some up in both. That way when I make spaghetti sauce I don’t have to open so many jars. Pack the tomatoes in tightly to within a half inch of the top of the jar. Add 1/2 teaspoonful of salt and 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the pint jars. You’ll need 1 teaspoonful of salt and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice for the quart jars. The lemon juice is to bring the ph of the tomatoes down to make sure they are acidic enough for a water bath instead of a pressure canner.

You are now ready to carefully remove a lid & ring from the hot water for each jar of tomatoes you have. Carefully place the lid on the jar without touching the inside of the lid. Center the lid. Next slide a ring on & gently tighten it. Using your canning tongs, pick up your jars & carefully place them in the hot water. If your water bath canner doesn’t have a rack to put inside it, you can line lids on the bottom of it. Do not let the jars touch each other, or the side or bottom of the canner. Make sure the water covers the tops of the jars by at least an inch. Set your timer for 35 minutes for pint jars and 45 minutes for quart jars.

Check occasionally to make sure the water stays over the lids by an inch. When the timer goes off, use your canning tongs to carefully remove the jars from the water bath & gently place on a towel spread out on the counter. To help prevent an accident, I usually have my hand in a hot mitt or with a double wrapped towel under the jar. After placing the jars gently, listen for the distinctive POP that the lid will make when it seals the jar. I count them. Even if I’m in the next room, I can almost always hear them.The lids will pop from almost immediately to possibly hours later. If I lose count, I check them by pressing gently in the middle of the lid. If it has sealed properly, there will be no give to it.

When using my own tomatoes, I am normally doing 2-4 pints at a time. Occasionally I have found a great bargain at the farmer’s market & have canned several dozen pints at a time. Either way, the pride will be great when you have these colorful jewels just waiting to be added to your soup, chili or spaghetti sauce.