The most I have ever done in the way of food preservation is some fig jam. Well, I did try green tomato pickles that went very wrong and some flavored vinegars that turned into viscous, cloudy goo. I am big into freezing but there's really no skill involved with putting something in the freezer. But I need to free up my freezer for my soon to arrive local meat (more about that later) so I jumped into canning.
I started with the easy stuff like fruit and tomatoes. My 5 year old son and I set off pushing the Burley trailer, dogs in tow, to pick some fruit. I like to call it my Federal Loop - I go down the alley's of the streets near me and pick the unwanted fruit. I always choose trees that are hanging into the alley and that are obviously not being harvested by the owners. Peaches (3 small crates), purple plums (4 small crates), Claude Reine plums (3 small crates) and 2 different kinds of apples (5 small crates) made up our take for that balmy fall day.
I started with the peaches since they were the ripest and made a FABULOUS (if I do say so myself) spiced peach preserve. I found some recipes on line to get a feel for the basic preparation then created my own combo - peeled/pitted peaches, honey , cinnamon sticks, cloves, ground nutmeg and whole allspice berries. No pectin or "fruit stabilizer", what ever that is - just the good stuff.
Spiced Peach Preserves
A big soup pot 2/3 full of halved, peeled and pitted peaches
3-4 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
15-20 whole cloves
10 whole all-spice berries
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups honey
Cook over low heat, stirring until bubbling. Simmer for 20 minutes, smashing peaches slightly for desired consistency. Water bath can in quarts, pints or 1/2 pint jars leaving spices in**
** I like the way the spices look left in the preserves but if that is not your thing - put all the spices in a muslin spice/tea bag before cooking and remove before canning.
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