October 1, 2026, the 274th day of 2026
Enjoying the Fruit of Labor
There is always something beyond the normal feeling of accomplishments that come on a day, when we get to enjoy the fruit of our l... View MoreOctober 1, 2026, the 274th day of 2026
Enjoying the Fruit of Labor
There is always something beyond the normal feeling of accomplishments that come on a day, when we get to enjoy the fruit of our labors. Sometimes that is a lot and sometimes it is a bite.
God always gives blessings with hard work, and the ones we can eat are tasty ones.
During canning season we usually get leftovers to sample that didn't quite fit in a jar. It is always good when we do, because we don't have to wait to pop ope a jar to find out how it turned out. The pan scraping spoonfuls give us a clue, but a bigger sample is always better.
Pickled anything is the exception, as it needs to time setting to absorb the flavors in, usually a year after canning. Longer is even better. Pickle relish can be sampled right away though, as it is simmered in the liquid and so gets cooked in. Our pickes are cucumbers, onions and peppers layered raw and the spiced brine is poured over it, then canned.
Often when we are canning we chop up extra pieces of fruits or vegetables to make a dessert or add to supper. That is always an added bonus.
Every year is somewhat of a surprise to what will be in abundance when we can get it, or if we can get it at all. Friends who have extra produce are always a blessing and we are thankful for them.
With varying weather conditions affecting our produce and the produce of the farmers we purchase from, our canning varies quite a bit year to year.
Because we want to make apple cider vinegar, which uses the peels and the cores--we have switched from mostly applesauce, except in the extremely ripe apples--and have gone to makeing apple pie filling instead.
So, each year can be quite different in what we can, and that makes things interesting.
Quite often what we do is related to our timing and supplies. And that is why we decided to make grape jelly yesterday.
A friend gave us another batch of grapes, nice and ripe, so we needed to do something with them right away.
Because I did not get quart jars yet this year, but had half pint and pint jars, we decided on grape jelly. We first cooked the grapes, simmering them quite a bit, then strained out the peel and seeds. We kept some juice out to drink. It was delicious. Then we simmered the rest down a bit more.
Then we made the grape juice into jelly. We still have the grapes we were given, and picked earlier, in my brother's freezer to make into juice later. So it seemed the perfect time to try jelly.
This morning I tried it out on toast. It seemed the best way to do it, right before a delicious brunch my daughter had made of poached quail eggs, toast and tea.
It has a good flavor. We never make our jams or jellies really sweet, so they retain the fruit flavors.
I was so thankful when we found the calcium and pectin mix, because it doesn't require a lot of sugar to gel properly. The traditional jelly and jam pectin requires so much sugar to gel that it tastes more like jellied fruit sugar.
Soon...on to the next project.
Stay strong! Enjoy the fruit of your labor.
NAN
