Canning Weekend 2008

This post is intended to chronicle exactly what I did for this year's apple canning season so that I can repeat or improve upon my process for next year.

I purchased about 17 pounds of mixed variety apples from the grocery store for .99/lb. This was the same price it was at the local orchard for pick your own apples when you picked greater than 20 pounds. I opted to skip the actual picking this year...maybe next year I will do it with the kids just for the experience. A few years ago, I took Sara (then about 15 months) and picked about 60 pounds of apples. Did I mention that it was only me and Sara...and 60(!) pounds of apples? Not the brightest idea I've ever had, and probably the main reason I skipped it altogether this year.

In addition to the store-bought apples, I bought 2 big boxes (24 pounds each) of apple seconds from the Catoctin Orchard in Emmitsburg. They were $6 a box for a total of $12. I was not exactly sure what I was going to be getting with "seconds" but I was pleasantly surprised! The apples were not the prettiest things. There were lots that were misshapen, too big, too small, or with a small defect on the peel. But they were all most certainly edible and you can't beat .25/lb! Also, I was able to have the orchard make up my boxes of seconds with the kind of apples I wanted...I only specified red vs. yellow/green, but I think next year I will ask if they can avoid adding certain varieties of apples. (I will have to figure out the type, but there was one kind that was a very soft fleshed apple that totally fell apart when cooking.) For next year, I will definitely go with all apple seconds and no store bought. I think


After I got all the apples home, I cut them into about 6 pieces each and tossed them into this big tub that Sara so (un)willingly let me borrow from her toy room. It didn't occur to me to take a picture till we were well underway, but at the beginning the bin was very full!




In the midst of chopping, I began cooking the apples. They needed to cook for about 15 minutes, so I had a sort of rotating schedule of starting each pot about 7 minutes apart.



When one pot of apples was done cooking, I processed them down to sauce using my Kitchenaid mixer and some amazing attachments (the food grinder and the fruit & veggie strainer)! Sara was a big help with this step mixing and pushing the apples down the chute to be processed. She also dubbed the waste coming out the end of the strainer the apple poop. She thought that was hilarious!



The next step in the process was to cook the applesauce with sugar and cinnamon and then to process the jars. For the applesauce I added about 1/2 c sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon per quart. This was not scientific at all. It looked more like 2 c sugar and a heaping hand full of cinnamon added to the pot on the right in the picture below. As for the jars, some people run them through the dishwasher to get them sterile/hot, but I decided to boil them empty in the canning pot for about 10 minutes before filling them with the hot applesauce. After the jars were filled I processed them in the canner for about 20 minutes. It worked out well once I got my system going. 20 minutes of processing time plus 10 minutes to prepare the next set of jars was just the time I needed to cook up another pot of applesauce. Rinse, lather, repeat...and repeat, and repeat, and repeat...



So here's the final tally...I canned 15 quarts and 13 pints of applesauce and 11 pints of apple butter. Why both quarts and pints of applesauce?? I really have no idea. I wish I had a good explanation...I had enough quart jars to do it all in quarts. At first I thought I would only do the cinnamon applesauce in the smaller jars, then do plain in the quarts but I liked the cinnamon so much I did it for all of the jars. I am wondering if it will work out OK throughout the year to have some smaller jars to use when we don't want to refrigerate leftovers. I will have to see how it goes and plan better for next year.



A note about the apple butter--pick a recipe that starts with cooking the apples in cider vinegar. Don't add too much (if any) of the cooking liquid back into the processed apples...it makes it take forever to cook down again. Spices to be added include ground cloves, cinnamon and allspice. The more the better in my opinion!

So now let's talk about cost effectiveness. I will preface this by the fact that I already had the quart-sized jars and I bought the pint jars for $3 a dozen at a local thrift store. Because they are reusable, I am not going to count them in the cost. Also, the rings are reusable so I won't be counting them either. It wasn't a huge money-saver, but it was alot of fun!

lids $2/dz (x4)
apples $29
Extra ingredients for apple butter $10
TOTAL: $47

This compares to a retail value for similar products of:
Applesauce qts: $2 (x15)
Applesauce pts: $1 (x13)
Apple butter pts: $2.50 (x11)
TOTAL: $70.50

I am adding this post to the Works for Me Wednesday series over at Rocks In My Dryer...go over and check out some other great ideas!

WFMW: A sibling...the best toy ever!

Over at Rocks in my Dryer, this week's WFMW series is all about the best toys. In my embarrassingly overindulgent middle class house, we have seen our fair share of toys come through...if only they would make their exit in the droves that they seem to come in! When we just had one child, the toys that we *stockpiled* (Little People...AHEM!) were admittedly more for me than for Sara. Now our basement overfloweth...there is no space for variety, and the Little People have lost their splendor...with Sara too.

Now that we have our second beautiful baby, we are really feeling the space crunch...more kids, more toys, right? But here's the truth--the girls really prefer to interact (read poke, sit on, hug, carry, wrestle, etc. all with the grace & gentleness of a 3 & 1 year old) with each other than with most toys that are so widely available...hmm, littering...our home. I have come to realize the more kids you have, the less toys you actually need.

What's the toy that my kids enjoy the most? It's each other!

WFMW: Aldi's

Call me simple-minded---un-American even--but here it is..I desire fewer choices in life, not more. I don't need a choice of 18 types of paper towels...any will work just fine. Some will argue there's a real difference in paper towels and this deserves careful consideration. But guess what--they all end up in the trash at some point anyway. I don't need to devote a second more of my time to what brand and color of dish soap will match my kitchen decor the best. (Be assured that NOTHING in my kitchen matches!) I strive to save my time and brain energy for decision-making when it really counts.

Enter ALDI's to rescue me from the world of too many decisions! ALDI is a grocery chain that is only 5 isles long--you heard right--only 5 isles. But where will I find my most favorite double chocolate cherry chip ice cream, you ask? You may not find it at ALDI...but then again you might...but there will only be one brand, not the 7-10 that you might find in a traditional grocery store. This is what is so appealing to me...if I want Saltines...I find Saltines. There's only one kind (no decision-making on brand involved) and they are cheap, Cheap, CHEAP! (Saltines were 89 cents when I went last.) I get a financial reward for my lack of decision-making! When in life does that EVER happen?! This is my kind of place!

ALDI also appeals to me for the ingenious way they modify the behaviour of their customers. In order to use a cart, you must insert a quarter for the cart to release from the line. The quarter stays stuck until you replace the cart. It's your money to begin with, it's stuck in your cart staring at you the whole time you shop, and the line of other carts is so close...the need to retrieve that precious quarter takes hold of the shopper and magically all the carts are put away! There are no...and quote me on this...NO stray carts in the ALDI parking lot! It is amazing how a borrowed quarter can cause shoppers to be conscientious in returning their carts at the end of their shopping! Gotta love the power of 25 cents!

Another way they train their customers costs only 5 cents. ALDI does not provide bags or bagger staff to pack your groceries at the end of your trip. But for a mere nickel per bag, you may purchase bags to do it yourself. Again, the thought of actually having to pay extra for bags...even at only 5 cents each...is so detestable to most shoppers that they either do without altogether, or they have learned to bring their own reusable bags. (The former makes for a fun car ride home, I am sure!) I bring my own bags...I keep a stash of them in my car at all times.

Who can't resist that type of passive control...all for cents on the dollar...brilliant!

While both my lack of decision making and amusement with passive behaviour modification are important, they certainly wouldn't cause me to drive 40 minutes from my house to shop at the closest ALDI's store. It all comes back to the mighty dollar...ALDI's is SO cheap!!! (I hope to post a price comparison from a recent trip...Aldi versus SuperFresh...stay tuned!) Even factoring in the cost of gas (roughly $14), I still come out ahead by making the trip.

Since I am currently on a coupon break, ALDI is the best way for me to get great prices without having to invest the time into comparing multiple sale ads with coupons and hitting multiple stores on shopping day.

It's Wednesday, and it Works for Me!