I love the idea of canning.  Food in a jar, for months to come.  Its nostalgic and yet thrifty.  I should mention though that I have never attempted such a feat, nor has anyone in my direct lineage.  In order to efficiently “can”, you must have an abundance of food as well as a source.  This means you might need a green thumb, or the inheritance of a self-maintaining tree.  I have, and am, none of the above.

This is where Violet comes in…the perfect name for her gypsy soul.  She owns the self-maintaining tree with the abundance of food and she has the lineage of canners.  (Shameless plug:  She also owns the Ranch Bar-B Rustics LLC brand and her furniture re-do’s will make your heart skip a beat.)  PS. She invited me to come can.  If there is one thing I love, it’s being a side-kick!

With two little boys and a puppy in tow, we wandered down to the apricot tree with wagons and baskets.  Honestly, we should have been filmed because it was straight out of the Andy Griffith Show.  Violet climbed the tree while we all waited below for it to pour apricots (not gonna lie, I questioned any bugs that might fall too).

Voila!  We now had baskets of plenty and two little boys giggling over squished apricots with a puppy frantically trying to catch them.

Back up to the house we went to start the process.  Thankfully you don’t have to skin apricots and a quick rip in half will do the trick.  Seeds in the trash … and worms too!

Canning lids sanitized in boiling water –Check.

Canning jars sanitized in the dish washer –Check.

Two big pots –Check.

Canning funnel and ladle –Check.

Boys playing in the bedroom -Check. Check.

Now for the pot of heavenly goodness.  Who knew it was as simple as boiling them down with a few dumps of sugar and a splash of water?!  Literally in nano seconds it looked and smelled like candy.

After about 10 minutes, scoop the heavenly goodness into jars and leave an inch or two at the top (we don’t know why, but the lineage of canners does)

(Update: Some lineage of canners have spoken and it is needed for headspace.  It has to do with the expansion of the food during the heating process and the amount of space that is needed for a proper vacuum seal. Usually James and jellies are 1/4 -1/2 inch.)

Lids on tight, place in boiling water for 8 minutes.

(Update: More like 25 minutes for high altitude and 15 minutes for sea level.)

Jars come out to cool on counter.

Isn’t it beautiful?

…That’s right, now you wanna be my friend.

(Update:  Flipping the cans for cooling may not be such a great idea for most foods as it can change the bacterial growth and may not work for a proper seal.  However there are different schools of thought on jams and jellies.  Some believe that since they are high in acid and high in sugar that it will stunt the growth of bacteria and they do highly recommend this method.  As you can see, we chose to live on the edge momentarily.)

**Updates are credited to the Chicken Guru who clearly has a knack for  canning.