Puttin' Up



 I don't know what they call it where you live, but around here, when you are canning things for winter you are puttin' up.  As in, I'm going to put up these peaches.  I guess it comes from the fact that once you can them, you put them up on your shelves. Let's not even delve into why they call it canning and not jarring.

I don't need to put things up so that I have food for winter.  Compared to people that 'can' their harvest, I do very little puttin' up.

However,  I still put up things I know I will want during the colder months.  This apple butter is a good example.  I peeled apples yesterday until I thought I might cry.  I hate most apple butter because I find it too sweet and too loaded with spices, so, to have good apple butter, I have to make it myself. I want to serve it on the Thanksgiving table this year and the only was to take advantage of the fantastic apples I am getting right now, is to make it and put it up!


I also found the first cranberries of the season and just to be able to tick it off my list, I made my Thanksgiving cranberry relish and put it up to.  It's so satisfying to see them finished and ready to be placed on my shelves.

 I also make berry sauces and jam during berry season and can them.

 It's been a few years since I put up peaches, I thought I would this summer but I didn't; it's very easy to put this task off.  You talk about work! I always wish I had an army of little Polish women working with me during peach season.

I usually freeze my tomato sauce but I put up my pizza sauce.

I taught myself how to can.  I come from a long line of dead people so there was no one around to teach me how to do these things.  No grandmothers or mother, no aunts.  There were a couple aunts around but not really present, if you know what I mean. When I was little, I remember my mother canning grape jelly.  I really hated that stuff.  She added way too much sugar to it.  I remember she sealed the jars with paraffin. My brother and I dipped our baseball cards in it which made them better for flipping. I was too young to help her with the jelly but I sure remember playing with the wax.  She also canned the damson plums my father grew in our orchard.  It was at least 35 years from that time that I actually canned anything myself.  But, as is often the case, here I am 60 + years later, repeating history, though hopefully doing it a bit better.

In between the canning, I managed to make my friends some pao de qeijo.  I've created some monsters by introducing these into peoples lives.  Everyone is hooked on them and I am the only source for them.  Even the W's come running when I say...Pao de Quejo.  It's the only Portugese they speak.

I also made the friends, and my husband, Appalachian sweet breads.


These too are only sourced through me.  Most people don't come right out and ask me to make these things but a lot of them have mastered the art of hinting!

Comments

I remember my Mom canning when I was a little girl. So much work! She sealed her crabapple jelly with melted paraffin wax too.
Christer. said…
We did a lot of canning when I grew up, mostly lingonberry jam. We have lingonberry jam to everything :-) and yes we used wax too and I'm so glad we don't have to do that now days :-) :-) Canning peaches is just awful, the first jar is fun and every one after that is just messy :-) :-)

Have a great day!

Christer.
Leanna said…
My mother canned with paraffin too. Yucko. I couldn't rely on my mother to teach me much about canning so I learned through reading and watching youtube. Youtube is great for so many things.
JustGail said…
I helped Mom can tomatoes - the boil, dump in jar, let seal method. I don't recall that she did much with jelly. I do recall she got distracted while making corn cob jelly and came back inside to a house full of smoke and a pan with the bottom burned/melted away. Otherwise, IIRC, Mom mostly did just corn and beans to the freezer.

Not so sweet apple butter sounds tasty! Maybe with some Appalachian Sweet Bread that you gave the recipe for a while back and I still haven't tried :-/
Rain said…
Hi Joyce :) I learned how to put up myself too, nobody taught me. Actually that's kind of the story of my life, I am 100% self-taught in homemaking and homesteading! I try to can as much as possible for the winter. This year I fell short and only really did some strawberry jam and tomatoes. My harvest sucked so I couldn't really put that up. I need to make apple butter!! :) Your sweet breads look fantastic!
TARYTERRE said…
i used to do this many years ago. lovely to see all your delicious things.
I helped my mother can, so it was familiar to me. I canned my first thing, apple jelly, shortly after I married. I was so proud of that and took Mama and Daddy a jar. It was so clear that they both commented on the quality.
chickpea678 said…
Ooooooh, everything looks SO delicious. We had that Brazilian cheese bread—it’s addictive!!!